October 3, 2019

KBB is pleased to announce the winners of our 2019 Product Innovator Awards competition! After combing through multiple submissions, our rock-star panel of judges chose the best kitchen and bath products in our industry. Criteria included fulfilling market needs, technological advancements, aesthetic merit and – of course – innovation.

View a gallery of the winners HERE.

Our signature Kitchen and Bath Product of the Year winners were awarded in the mix, which also includes second and third places. We also gave honorable mentions in both categories.

One major theme took center stage with this year’s award-winning products – design for health and wellness. This is such an important aspect to include in your clients’ kitchens and baths, and a variety of products can fulfill this consumer demand, including body dryers for the bathroom, food gardens in the kitchen and a self-locking drawer for prescription medications. Another major desire of today’s homeowner is personalization through customization – something to directly meet their household needs and bring out their individual style. Several products fulfilled that growing need as well, including modular outdoor cooking units and a plumbing fixture system that allows for custom engraving.

Meet the judges:

Dawn M. DeLuca, AKBD, CLIPP, CAPS, is principal of NYC-based Dawn DeLuca on Design, a boutique firm and purveyor of fine cabinetry. Her firm’s motto – Your Vision Is Our Passion – speaks to her primary goal for every project: Bring a client’s vision to life with a beautiful, comfortable, safe and accessible space. With a strong focus on kitchen and bath, the firm also designs entire homes, outdoor living spaces and small to mid-size hospitality projects. DeLuca has been a professional speaker and educator since 1993, and she has also developed a training program for a national decorating and sales company. She was designated as the first Ambassador Member of The Living In Place Institute and has been a volunteer with the NKBA since 2006.

Scott Dresner possesses the rare combination of expertise in both construction and design. Having started his cabinetry company in his garage at age 20, he quickly grew it into a multi-million-dollar business. Dresner soon designed and built out new headquarters – a 15,000-sq.-ft., fully-automated cabinet factory and one of the largest in metropolitan Detroit. It is this type of passion, dedication and expertise that has afforded him the ability to maintain his position as an innovator in the cabinetry industry today and for the last 30 years. Dresner remains recognized in the industry as a pioneer who brought reasonably priced high-end Italian cabinetry to America, and he recently launched his own private- label cabinetry line fabricated in Italy.

Molly N Switzer, AKBD, launched Molly N Switzer Designs LLC in 2017, and she combines her love for product knowledge and industry relationship building by hosting independent designer training opportunities in her home. Switzer’s design business specializes in residential interior design with an emphasis on kitchen and bath. She focuses on transparency, communication, honesty and trust in her business and everyday life. Switzer serves several roles, including contracted specifier to designer of entire home interiors – complete with construction plans, specifications and a trusted ear to bend during the most stressful of processes. She enjoys the opportunity to connect with student members of the design community as a point of contact to them as they start down the path of transitioning from student to professional.

From a young age, Jack Bernstein learned to swim against the tide. Hanging around his father’s plumbing supply shop, he closely studied the industry and all its intricate facets. Through those early experiences, he gained an immense appreciation for his craft and quickly realized that design innovation can transform a room from functional to fabulous. Bernstein is an entrepreneur and design enthusiast at heart, so he opened his Kurrent Kitchen and Bath boutique showroom in Brooklyn in 2017 with one- of-a-kind products and modern technologies to connect with clients and manufacturers on a personal level. He is currently supplying a new 500-unit residential project in Brooklyn, as well as brownstone renovations and nursing homes, and he recently donated 10 toilets to a local synagogue.