March 2, 2022

Designer Richard Anuszkiewicz – also fondly known in our industry as Richard A to Z discussed what it takes to design exhibitor booths for industry events and the difference between that and residential design.

Anuszkiewicz has been attending KBIS for several years now, and his first foray into booth design was with a Perlick design competition, where a handful of designers were invited to submit their work. His “Cart Before the Horse” design won the overall competition, and some of its highlights included an antique mirrored wall and a leather countertop. He then went on to create a kitchen as part of a DXV national ad campaign, which was then displayed at that year’s KBIS. Anuszkiewicz also created a booth at a EuroCucina show for German brand Liebherr. For the last three years, the designer has been working with GE’s Monogram brand – he is now its creative director – and he brought the 4,000-sq.-ft. booth to life at KBIS 2020 through his inspirational vignettes.

As far as the differences between booth design and purely residential projects, Anuszkiewicz says booth design allows a little more creative freedom with less parameters involved. With residential projects in someone’s home, there can be space restrictions and structural issues a designer needs to consider.

One challenge with booth design is the tight timeframe with which to work, and having a great time makes all the difference. Anuszkiewicz says there is a lot of planning involved on the front end and quick decision making toward the end.

For KBIS 2022, the designer created his ultimate masterpiece – Villa Monogram. He worked with three different environments all under one roof, and despite some supply-chain challenges, the booth was no less than a monumental success.

Anuszkiewicz shared with me how he is able to fit booth design into his already busy schedule and had some great advice for anyone wanting to add this to their own expertise.

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