Canadian contractors land several NKBA awards

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

BEST OVERALL BATH

• Shea Pumarejo, Owner & Designer, Younique Designs
  San Antonio, Tex.
  Dated Dud Turns Modern Master-Piece

CONTEMPORARY KITCHEN, LARGE (250 Square Feet and Over)

First Place

• Madeleine Sloback, Principal, Madeleine Design Group
  Vancouver, B.C.
  Ocean Park Estate

Second Place

• Blue Arnold, CMKBD, Owner, Kitchens by Request
  Jarrettsville, Md.
  Green

Third Place

• Sandra Diaz-Velasco, AIA, ASID, LEED AP BD+C, Principal Architect, EOLO A&I Design
  Miami
  Sunny Penthouse

CONTEMPORARY KITCHEN, SMALL (Under 250 Square Feet)

First Place

• Paul Knutson, Owner & Designer, Knutson Residential Design LLC
  St. Paul, Minn.
  Mid Mod Redux

Second Place

• Nahal Gamini, Interior Designer, Vancouver Development
  Vancouver, B.C.
  Beach View Kitchen

Third Place

• Mina Zeighami, Founder & Principal Designer, Azure Design Studio
  Vaughan, Ontario
  Doris Kitchen

TRADITIONAL KITCHEN, LARGE (250 Square Feet and Over)

First Place

• Summer Thornton, Principal & Interior Designer, Summer Thornton Design, LLC
  Chicago
  Vintage Co-op

Second Place

• Jennifer Stoner, Owner & Designer, Jennifer Stoner Interiors
  Richmond, Va.
  Charlottesville New Build

Third Place

• Mark Cayen, Design Consultant, Empire Kitchen & Bath
  Calgary, Alberta
  Bespoke Renovation

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

Second Place

• Tiffany Waugh, Owner and Principal Designer, Tiffany Waugh Interiors
  San Francisco
  Presidio Heights

Third Place

• Reisa Pollard, Founder & Lead Designer, Beyond Beige
  North Vancouver, B.C.
  Lovely in Lynn Valley

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

Second Place

• Blue Arnold, CMKBD, Owner, Kitchens by Request
  Jarrettsville, Md.
  Mosaic

Third Place

• Laleh Shafiezadeh, Interior Designer, Teale Architecture
  Newport Beach, Cali.
  Rich House

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

Second Place

• Jaque Bethke, Owner & Principal Designer, Jaque Bethke Design
  Scottsdale, Ariz.
  Uckun

Third Place

• Ariana Adireh, Owner & Principal, Ariana Designs LLC
  Bellevue, Wash.
  Small Hallway Bathroom

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

Second Place

• Blue Arnold, CMKBD, Owner, Kitchens by Request
  Jarrettsville, Md.
  Kallman

Third Place

• Reisa Pollard, Founder & Lead Designer, Beyond Beige
  North Vancouver, B.C.
  New House on Oldtown Road

TRADITIONAL BATH, SMALL (Under 250 Square Feet)

First Place

• Jaque Bethke, Owner & Principal Designer, Jaque Bethke Design
  Scottsdale, Ariz.
  Talmage

Second Place

• Cynthia Garten, CID, Interior Designer, Unique Techniques
  El Dorado Hills, Calif.
  Staying True to My Spanish Roots

Third Place

• Reisa Pollard, Founder & Lead Designer, Beyond Beige
  North Vancouver, B.C.
  Big Bang on Blenheim

BUILDER-REMODELER, CLAY LYON AWARD

Nahal Gamini, Interior Designer, Vancouver Development
Vancouver, B.C.

OUTDOOR KITCHEN

• Reisa Pollard, Founder & Lead Designer, Beyond Beige
  North Vancouver, B.C.

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

• BlueStar Café
  Glenville, Illinois

Honorable Mention, Brand-Specific, Non-Selling Experience for Technology

• Middleby – Residential
  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

• Trail Appliances
  Surrey, B.C. (Western Canada)

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.