October 17, 2022

Thermador, the iconic American luxury home appliance brand, has announced the national winners for their 2019-2022 Kitchen Design Challenge: Julie Howard as the Grand Prize Winner for Exceptional Kitchen, Dane Austin in 2nd place for Exceptional Kitchen, and Dalia Carter in 3rd place for Exceptional Kitchen; Shane Harr won for the Original Innovator/Out of the Box Space category; and a tie between Hailie Lewis and Ella Wynsma for the Compact Kitchen Suite category. Holly Lord Sherrell, graduate of the University of Georgia, was also named Student Concept Kitchen winner, the first winner in the contest’s brand new category.

“We were amazed this year by the record number of applicants who submitted designs to this challenge, and we were completely inspired by the creativity demonstrated in each of the spaces submitted,” said Beatriz Sandoval, Head of Marketing for Thermador. “The spirit of luxury kitchen design in the industry was captured beautifully by each of these submissions, and it now becomes part of our Thermador design culture. These talented professionals have truly showcased the innovation around our brand, and we are extremely grateful.”

In its fourth iteration, the Thermador Kitchen Design Challenge offers designers, builders, architects and now, students, the opportunity to enter their designs in a national competition that offers winners nationwide industry recognition and cash prizes. The Thermador Kitchen Design Challenge was reimagined with a new category to allow designers the opportunity to showcase their work outside of the kitchen by submitting a design concept. In addition to cash prizes, the winners will receive national coverage of their winning designs on the Architectural Digest website as part of their winners’ package.

As part of the thorough three-phase judging process, an expert panel judged finalists from a record number of entries: Eddie Ross, author and co-founder and chief content creator of Maximalist Studios; Kristina LoMonaco, Design Council member and founder of a NYC Design Firm; Breeze Giannasio, design firm founder and known for her work on HGTV, “Brother vs. Brother” and “Property Brothers at Home”; and Nathan Turner, special projects editor at Architectural Digest, and contributing editor to C Magazine.

Although both national and regional winners have been announced, there is still more to come from Thermador Kitchen Design Challenge, including the Designer’s Choice Award and Fan Favorite Awards, which will be announced in early 2023.