ROAM Furniture & Lighting | Residence | Minneapolis

Purchasing and completely gutting a home is a daunting task, but John Stedman and his partner Marta Koepke were uniquely qualified to tackle the project. As owners of ROAM Furniture and Lighting—a destination showroom in Minneapolis featuring a collection of the best in modern design—Marta and John were well aware of the challenges ahead when they started renovating their new house.

Exposed to the latest modern design pieces in their showroom every day, Marta and John’s standards were high. They carefully selected clean design elements and pieces that enhanced their minimalistic vision.

“We were very hands-on with every single decision—right down to the doorknobs,” said Marta. “It was important to us that there was an open floor plan, with lots of natural light.”

There was no exception when the two started selecting cabinets for the kitchen and mudroom. John and Marta weighed many options, looking for a high gloss surface with a luxurious feel that would enhance—but not overpower—a modern space. Eventually, they settled on and purchased high-gloss cabinet surfaces and doors from IKEA.

The plan changed when Marta attended a Milan trade show and saw REHAU's matte material.

“Immediately, I loved it,” said Marta, describing her first impression of the surface. The solid, soft-to-the-touch finish without the roughness of granite or quartz was ideal for their vision. The wide range of colors, and the seamless finish of laser edgebanding, only confirmed her decision.

Marta selected REHAU’s matte cabinet doors and compact countertop surfaces for their kitchen—and brought the previously purchased doors to the IKEA return counter.

The elegant super matte surface allowed John and Marta to bring the modern decor of their dreams to life. For their kitchen, they chose matte black in 19 mm for cabinet doors and 12 mm for countertop surfaces.

The couple also used REHAU’s products to bring together other elements of their home’s transformation. They brought a light and clean look to the mudroom with grey matte vertical cabinet surfaces and used RAUVISIO crystal Bianco, a back-painted polymer glass surface, for their bathroom cabinets.

Today, the matte cabinets offer a breathtaking first impression to those who enter the couple’s kitchen. Faced with daily wear and tear, the cabinet doors remain free of substantial scratches, and maintain the soft feel and the clean look that caught Marta’s attention in Milan.

Even with the wow factor of matte surfaces, it was the ongoing relationship with their REHAU representative that John notes as one of the many positive elements of their experience with the product.

“Mike McCormick was fantastic. I was a rep for 30 years myself, so I’ve dealt with countless sales managers,” said John. “Mike had a lot of product knowledge and we saw very quick turnaround on any requests we made. We really enjoyed working with him.”