February 12, 2021

The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) Design + Industry Awards held its annual ceremony on Feb. 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 NKBA 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, British Columbia
Beach View Kitchen (shown in photo above)
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, British Columbia
Lovely in Lynn Valley
Images Here

Shea Pumarejo, Owner & Designer, Younique Designs

CONTEMPORARY BATH, LARGE (250 Square Feet and Over)
First Place
Shea Pumarejo, Owner & Designer, Younique Designs
San Antonio
Dated Dud Turns Modern Master-Piece (shown in photo above)
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, Calif.
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, British Columbia
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, British Columbia
Images Here

OUTDOOR KITCHEN
Reisa Pollard, Founder & Lead Designer, Beyond Beige
North Vancouver, British Columbia
Images Here

Judges for the two-round competition included 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 Businessmagazine.

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.

NKBA Bath Winners

• First Place – Dana Hoffman, Arapahoe Community College
• Second Place –Cindy Biebl, Century College
• Third Place – Payal Thakkar, West Valley College

NKBA 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:

Fisher Paykel showroom in Costa Mesa. Calif.

Best Brand-Specific, Non-Selling Experience
Fisher Paykel
Costa Mesa, Calif.

Honorable Mention, Brand-Specific, Non-Selling Experience for Aesthetics
BlueStar Café
Glenville, Ill.

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, OhioBest Traditional Independent Showroom – Large
Chown Hardware
Seattle

Best Multi-Location, Multi-Brand Showroom- Large
Trail Appliances
Surrey, British Columbia

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.