The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) Design + Industry Awards held its annual ceremony on Feb.11, 2021. The 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.

Best Overall Kitchen

• Summer Thornton, principal and interior designer, Summer Thornton Design LLC; Chicago; Vintage
  Co-op.

Best Overall Bath

• Shea Pumarejo, owner and designer, Younique Designs; San Antonio, Texas.; Dated Dud Turns Modern Master-Piece.

Contemporary Kitchen, Large

• First Place: Madeleine Sloback, principal, Madeleine Design Group; Vancouver, B.C.; Ocean Park Estate.
• Second Place: Blue Arnold, CMKBD, owner, Kitchens by Request; Jarrettsville, Maryland.; Green.
• Third Place: Sandra Diaz-Velasco, AIA, ASID, LEED AP BD+C, principal architect, EOLO A&I Design; Miami; Sunny Penthouse.

Contemporary Kitchen, Small

• First Place: Paul Knutson, owner and designer, Knutson Residential Design LLC; St. Paul, Minnesota.; Mid Mod Redux.
• Second Place: Nahal Gamini, interior designer, Vancouver Development; Vancouver, B.C.; Beach View Kitchen.
• Third Place: Mina Zeighami, founder and principal designer, Azure Design Studio; Vaughan, Ontario; Doris Kitchen.

Traditional Kitchen, Large

• First Place: Summer Thornton, principal and interior designer, Summer Thornton Design LLC; Chicago; Vintage Co-op.
• Second Place: Jennifer Stoner, owner and designer, Jennifer Stoner Interiors; Richmond, Virgina.; Charlottesville New Build.
• Third Place: Mark Cayen, design consultant, Empire Kitchen & Bath; Calgary, Alberta; Bespoke Renovation.

Traditional Kitchen, Small

• First Place: Tanya Woods, AKBD, CLIPP, owner and designer, XStyles Bath + More; Royal Oak, Michigan.; Betcha by Gallery WOW.
• Second Place: Tiffany Waugh, owner and principal designer, Tiffany Waugh Interiors; San Francisco; Presidio Heights.
• Third Place: Reisa Pollard, founder and lead designer, Beyond Beige; North Vancouver, B.C.; Lovely in Lynn Valley.

Contemporary Bath, Large

• First Place: Shea Pumarejo, owner and designer, Younique Designs; San Antonio, Texas.; Dated Dud Turns Modern Master-Piece.
• Second Place: Blue Arnold, CMKBD, owner, Kitchens by Request; Jarrettsville, Maryland.; Mosaic.
• Third Place: Laleh Shafiezadeh, interior designer, Teale Architecture; Newport Beach, California; Rich House.

Contemporary Bath, Small

• First Place: Sandra Diaz-Velasco, AIA, ASID, LEED AP BD+C, principal architect, EOLO A&I Design; Miami; Cocoplum.
• Second Place: Jaque Bethke, owner and principal designer, Jaque Bethke Design; Scottsdale, Ariz.; Uckun.
• Third Place: Ariana Adireh, owner and principal, Ariana Designs LLC; Bellevue, Washington.; Small Hallway Bathroom.

• 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, Maryland.; Kallman.
• Third Place: Reisa Pollard, founder and lead designer, Beyond Beige; North Vancouver, B.C.; New House on Oldtown Road.

Traditional Bath, Small

• First Place: Jaque Bethke, owner and principal designer, Jaque Bethke Design; Scottsdale, Arizona.; Talmage.
• Second Place: Cynthia Garten, CID, interior designer, Unique Techniques; El Dorado Hills, California.; Staying True to My Spanish Roots.
• Third Place: Reisa Pollard, founder and 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 and 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.

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, Colorado., 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.

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, California.

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, California.

Best Kitchen & Bath Design Showroom – Small

• Longley Kitchens; Fort Myers, Florida.

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 the following 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, Colorado.
• Toni Sabatino, AKBD, CLIPP owner, Toni Sabatino Style, Northport, New York.
• Ellie Knips, director of channel brand marketing, Cambria, Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
• Shaun Ayala, marketing manager, Best Buy, Torrence, California.

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.