Ingrained Wood Studios | Condominiums | Twin Cities

Downtown living in stylish condominiums is all the rage in major urban cities across the U.S. Affluent residents of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have joined the rush to this urban lifestyle. Often, new condominium owners want to put their own touch on a new home before moving in.

That was the case with separate remodeling projects tackled simultaneously by Ingrained Wood Studios. The Twin Cities-based maker of high-end custom cabinetry turned to REHAU to help create the distinctive looks that were requested by condominium owners in the two cities.

As Ingrained Wood Studios shop manager Chad Johnson explains: “The owners of both condominiums were looking for something other than a painted surface – something colorful and durable.”

For the industrial loft overlooking CHS Field in downtown Saint Paul, Johnson used FENIX NTM on cabinets in the kitchen and bathroom. The product’s matte surface is soft to the touch yet durable, exactly what condominium owner Mike McAvoy said he was after.

“We were frustrated with wood grain doors in our previous home that showed a lot of wear and fingerprints over time. They got tired looking. FENIX was recommended to us as a durable emerging new product.”

Durability wasn’t the only characteristic FENIX brought to McAvoy’s home. He and his wife chose a vibrant blue FENIX NTM Blu Delft for the kitchen doors and drawers to contrast with the natural ash cabinets and the ash-clad staircase that is adjacent to the kitchen.

“We wanted to be a little eye-catching,” McAvoy says. “The building we live in is a warehouse that’s over 100 years old. It’s industrial modern with earth tones and wood beams throughout the building, so we wanted to add a pop of color.” The McAvoys chose the more understated matte white FENIX NTM Bianco Kos for their master bath vanity.

For the remodeling project in Minneapolis at the Loring Green Condominiums on the west edge of downtown, Johnson used REHAU RAUVISIO crystal Sabbia in a matte finish for lower kitchen cabinets and the kitchen island.

Jodi Gillespie, a Minneapolis designer who worked with the condominium owners, says the couple wanted to replicate the look and feel of a Valcucine high-end glass-front cabinet they had in a previous home. “RAUVISIO is not glass, but it has the matte translucency that the glass cabinet had and it is more durable than wood fronts,” she says.

Johnson incorporated REHAU LaserEdge seamless edgebanding technology for the wrap-around on the kitchen island. The drawer fronts were attached to Blum LEGRABOX premium metal drawers, which feature easy-glide closing. “The REHAU front provides a seamless European look on a soft closing drawer,” Johnson says.

Don Forsman, owner of Welch Forsman Associates, the general contractor on both projects, says REHAU products are a reliable choice when clients want to pair a unique look with durability. “It’s a beautiful product. The edge detailing is very refined. The matte surface is something you just don’t see with other products. It’s so much better than paint, and more upscale than plastic laminate, which are the only two ways you could come close to replicating the look,” Forsman says.

The two condominium projects marked the first time Johnson worked with REHAU products, but he is confident it won’t be the last.

“They’re offering something new. In our business, there are always trends. People like new things, so this is certainly getting popular. The most remarkable thing about the finish on FENIX NTM and RAUVISIO is that people look for their fingerprints and they’re just not there. It stays remarkably clean for such a super-soft-looking product.”