“When I showed them the REHAU product, their immediate reaction was, ‘Can you move it a little closer so I can touch it?’ It has this velvety sleekness to it – it’s just a unique material that makes people want to touch it.”

Bright Wood Works | Treasure Island Condo

Penthouse Remodel Marries Clean Lines With Complementary Finishes

After helping her clients build a house in Nashville and then taking it through two subsequent renovations, interior designer Barbara Rushton of Dimensional Spaces had become their trusted advisor. So when they decided to do a total remodel on their high-end condo penthouse in Treasure Island, FL, they naturally sought her advice.

The clients love to cook, and wanted a non-trendy modern gourmet kitchen that would do a lot more than just look pretty. To meet the couple’s cooking needs, high-performance Miele appliances with a Graphite finish were selected. However finding materials to work with this less-than-common finish presented a challenge. Fortunately, REHAU surface solutions provided the perfect complement.

Additionally, the husband is a surgeon, and with the remodel happening during a pandemic, health and hygiene were top priorities. This also played into the material choices, particularly the REHAU surfacing, which captured the client’s interest when he looked at the brochure and took note of the antibacterial properties.

The original kitchen had an Italian villa feel, with a Tuscany-style peninsula and an abundance of ornamentation – very much at odds with the clients’ more minimalist tastes, according to Rushton.

Since both Rushton and the clients lived out of state, it was crucial to find someone local who could be trusted to share their minimalist vision and work collaboratively. Enter Michael Bright of Bright Wood Works, who connected with the client so well, it seemed like they’d known each other forever – which made sense when, months after the project was completed, they realized they’d actually attended the same high school.

Bright was already a fan of REHAU, noting that their surfaces are among his favorite products due to their appearance and incredible durability. And, he adds, “I knew REHAU had several grays that would be the ideal complement for the Graphite finish.” So he brought the product to the clients, and he says, “Their immediate reaction was, ‘Can you move it a little closer so I can touch it?’ It has this velvety sleekness to it – it’s just a unique material that makes people want to touch it.”

Of course matching the Miele Graphite finish wasn’t the only concern. Rushton explains, “The condo’s flooring was like limestone, but very sandy colored and yellow-y, so we wanted a cabinet material that was more neutral. When we looked at lighter materials, none of them worked, but the [Grigio Antrim] had a deeper grey color, which didn’t call attention to the floor but lived well with it.”

Project	Graphite Kitchen and Bath
Project type	Remodel, completed in 2020
Interior Designer	Dimensional Spaces
Cabinet designer/Manufacturer	Bright Wood Works
General contractor	TriplePoint Design Build
REHAU products used	REHAU matte surface and RAUVISIO brilliant^TM Cemento with perfectly matched REHAU LaserEdge^TM technology
Photographer	Julian Bright

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They also had to find countertops that would blend with the space. After three trips, in which they couldn’t find quite what they were looking for, Rushton ended up going to Nashville where she discovered the perfect material and decided to have it shipped. “The first time, it broke in transit. But it was worth it because the countertops and cabinetry all blend and live happily together,” she states.

The remodel tackled the master bath as well. Rushton’s goal was to replace the old-fashioned jetted tub and poorly designed layout with “a Zen-like, restful space – one that would have a fresh feeling.”

She explains, “I wanted it to feel like the fixtures themselves were floating, anything built in was floating. That was my thought process in selecting materials.” She worked with Bright to choose products that would lend themselves to that peaceful ambiance, noting, “They wanted gloss, and RAUVISIO brilliant Cemento was the perfect choice.”

Centered in the vanity, open shelving adds a sense of symmetry to the space. Bright notes that creating the open shelving with the high-gloss surface was a challenge, but it definitely contributes to the ‘wow power’ the clients wanted.

Rushton agrees: “The cabinet material is a beautiful opal-y color and feel. We were lucky to find a quartzite that had that same kind of feel, so the cabinet material and countertops just seemed to marry well together without competing with each other. They wanted something not busy on the back wall, so we chose porcelain tile in herringbone, and used the same tile on floor.”

The end result was a space as fresh and brilliant as the glossy material that bears its name.