National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) Reveals its 2021 Design + Industry Award Winners
The annual competition recognizes excellence in design and performance; natural tones, sculptural elements and textural accents were among the elements featured in this year’s winning designs.
Hackettstown, NJ — The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) Design + Industry Awards held its annual ceremony on February 11, 2021. These awards shine a spotlight on the design professionals whose work is elevating the kitchen and bath design, building and remodeling, outdoor living and living in place industries. Each is a measure of excellence for this corner of the interior design world. NKBA CEO Bill Darcy and CSO Suzie Williford hosted the ceremonies, handing out more than 40 awards during the evening, which also included the Chairman’s Award, innovative showroom winners, and Student Design Competition winners.
Congratulations to this year’s Design Competition winners:
BEST OVERALL KITCHEN
Summer Thornton, Principal & Interior Designer, Summer Thornton Design, LLC
Chicago
Vintage Co-op
Images Here
BEST OVERALL BATH
Shea Pumarejo, Owner & Designer, Younique Designs
San Antonio, Tex.
Dated Dud Turns Modern Master-Piece
Images Here
CONTEMPORARY KITCHEN, LARGE (250 Square Feet and Over)
First Place
Madeleine Sloback, Principal, Madeleine Design Group
Vancouver, B.C.
Ocean Park Estate
Images Here
Second Place
Blue Arnold, CMKBD, Owner, Kitchens by Request
Jarrettsville, Md.
Green
Images Here
Third Place
Sandra Diaz-Velasco, AIA, ASID, LEED AP BD+C, Principal Architect, EOLO A&I Design
Miami
Sunny Penthouse
Images Here
CONTEMPORARY KITCHEN, SMALL (Under 250 Square Feet)
First Place
Paul Knutson, Owner & Designer, Knutson Residential Design LLC
St. Paul, Minn.
Mid Mod Redux
Images Here
Second Place
Nahal Gamini, Interior Designer, Vancouver Development
Vancouver, B.C.
Beach View Kitchen
Images Here
Third Place
Mina Zeighami, Founder & Principal Designer, Azure Design Studio
Vaughan, Ontario
Doris Kitchen
Images Here
TRADITIONAL KITCHEN, LARGE (250 Square Feet and Over)
First Place
Summer Thornton, Principal & Interior Designer, Summer Thornton Design, LLC
Chicago
Vintage Co-op
Images Here
Second Place
Jennifer Stoner, Owner & Designer, Jennifer Stoner Interiors
Richmond, Va.
Charlottesville New Build
Images Here
Third Place
Mark Cayen, Design Consultant, Empire Kitchen & Bath
Calgary, Alberta
Bespoke Renovation
Images Here
TRADITIONAL KITCHEN, SMALL (Under 250 Square Feet)
First Place
Tanya Woods, AKBD, CLIPP, Owner/Designer, XStyles Bath + More
Royal Oak, Mich.
Betcha by Gallery WOW
Images Here
Second Place
Tiffany Waugh, Owner and Principal Designer, Tiffany Waugh Interiors
San Francisco
Presidio Heights
Images Here
Third Place
Reisa Pollard, Founder & Lead Designer, Beyond Beige
North Vancouver, B.C.
Lovely in Lynn Valley
Images Here
CONTEMPORARY BATH, LARGE (250 Square Feet and Over)
First Place
Shea Pumarejo, Owner & Designer, Younique Designs
San Antonio, Tex.
Dated Dud Turns Modern Master-Piece
Images Here
Second Place
Blue Arnold, CMKBD, Owner, Kitchens by Request
Jarrettsville, Md.
Mosaic
Images Here
Third Place
Laleh Shafiezadeh, Interior Designer, Teale Architecture
Newport Beach, Cali.
Rich House
Images Here
CONTEMPORARY BATH, SMALL (Under 250 Square Feet)
First Place
Sandra Diaz-Velasco, AIA, ASID, LEED AP BD+C, Principal Architect, EOLO A&I Design
Miami
Cocoplum
Images Here
Second Place
Jaque Bethke, Owner & Principal Designer, Jaque Bethke Design
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Uckun
Images Here
Third Place
Ariana Adireh, Owner & Principal, Ariana Designs LLC
Bellevue, Wash.
Small Hallway Bathroom
Images Here
TRADITIONAL BATH, LARGE (250 Square Feet and Over)
First Place
Gina D’Amore Bauerle, Partner and Interior Designer, D’Amore Interiors
Denver
What the Farmhouse
Images Here
Second Place
Blue Arnold, CMKBD, Owner, Kitchens by Request
Jarrettsville, Md.
Kallman
Images Here
Third Place
Reisa Pollard, Founder & Lead Designer, Beyond Beige
North Vancouver, B.C.
New House on Oldtown Road
Images Here
TRADITIONAL BATH, SMALL (Under 250 Square Feet)
First Place
Jaque Bethke, Owner & Principal Designer, Jaque Bethke Design
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Talmage
Images Here
Second Place
Cynthia Garten, CID, Interior Designer, Unique Techniques
El Dorado Hills, Calif.
Staying True to My Spanish Roots
Images Here
Third Place
Reisa Pollard, Founder & Lead Designer, Beyond Beige
North Vancouver, B.C.
Big Bang on Blenheim
Images Here
BUILDER-REMODELER, CLAY LYON AWARD
Nahal Gamini, Interior Designer, Vancouver Development
Vancouver, B.C.
Images Here
OUTDOOR KITCHEN
Reisa Pollard, Founder & Lead Designer, Beyond Beige
North Vancouver, B.C.
Images Here
Judges for the two-round competition included designers Charles R. “Rick” Beckham, CMKBD, Patricia Davis Brown, CMKBD; Katheryn W. Cowles, CKBD, CAPS, CRBC; Paula Kennedy, CMKBD, CLIPP, CACC; Nick Ritota, CKD,CBD; Cailin M. Thelen, CMKBD, and Chelsie Butler of Kitchen & Bath Business.
STUDENT DESIGN COMPETITION
Also recognized at the awards ceremony were the winners of the 2020 Student Design Competition which tasked students to design either a kitchen or bath project for an imaginary 40-something couple living in Boulder, Colo., looking to incorporate sustainable elements in their home.
Bath Winners
- First Place – Dana Hoffman, Arapahoe Community College
- Second Place –Cindy Biebl, Century College
- Third Place – Payal Thakkar, West Valley College
Kitchen Winners
- First Place – Morgan Jones, Virginia Tech
- Second Place – Cindy Biebl, Century College
- Third Place – Dana Hoffman, Arapahoe Community College
All of the winning students were awarded a scholarship prize.
INNOVATIVE SHOWROOM AWARDS
NKBA revealed the winners of its Innovative Showroom Awards, which recognize the kitchen and bath industry’s most creative, innovative and experiential showrooms in North America and the creative design professionals — architects, technology integrators, designers, furniture makers and display experts — who create outstanding environments. Congratulations to this year’s winning showrooms:
Best Brand-Specific, Non-Selling Experience
Fisher Paykel
Costa Mesa, Calif.
Honorable Mention, Brand-Specific, Non-Selling Experience for Aesthetics
Glenville, Illinois
Honorable Mention, Brand-Specific, Non-Selling Experience for Technology
Orange County, Calif.
Best Kitchen & Bath Design Showroom – Small
Longley Kitchens
Fort Myers, Fla.
Best Kitchen & Bath Design Showroom – Medium
Snaidero USA
New York
Unique Application Showroom (such as pop-up, mobile or virtual)
Jaxbox (by JennAir)
Best Traditional Independent Showroom – Medium
JTEK Home Access Design Studio
North Canton, Ohio
Best Traditional Independent Showroom – Large
Chown Hardware
Seattle
Best Multi-Location, Multi-Brand Showroom- Large
Surrey, B.C. (Western Canada)
Click here to download high-res images of each winning showroom
Winners were determined by an advisory panel of NKBA members and showroom professionals.
Kelly Manas, CKD, Senior Sales Designer, Signature Companies, Northern Virginia
Jeremy Parcels, AKBD, Designer, Christopher’s Bath and Kitchens, Englewood, Colo.
Toni Sabatino, AKBD, CLIPP Owner, Toni Sabatino Style, Northport, N.Y.
Ellie Knips, Director of Channel Brand Marketing, Cambria, Eden Prairie, Minn.
Shaun Ayala, Marketing Manager, Best Buy, Torrence, Calif.
CHAIRMAN’S AWARD
Also honored during the ceremony was this year’s recipient of the NKBA Chairman’s Award. Regarded as one the association’s highest honors, the NKBA Chairman’s Award was created in 2009 (originally as the President’s Award) to recognize industry leaders for their unparalleled positive impact on the NKBA and the industry. Lowe’s was the winner of the 2021 NKBA Chairman’s Award, which was presented by Allison Lowrie, NKBA Chair for 2020 and accepted by Lowe’s Executive Vice President of Merchandising, Bill Boltz. As one of the NKBA’s largest members, Lowe’s operates more than 2,200 stores in the United States and Canada. In tremendous support of the association’s initiatives in professional development across design, remodeling and skilled labor, Lowe’s committed to training associates with more than 4,000 Specialty Badges and 200 certification bundle packages. This program encourages its K&B associates to expand their professional skills, and is truly a commitment to excellence in the industry.
The 2021 Kitchen + Bath Design Competition & Industry Awards were generously sponsored by 2020, Beko and House of Rohl.
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