The Portland Community College student earned a $5,000 scholarship for her design that tied the kitchen into the Colorado landscape.
By NKBA Staff
Allison Hedrick of Portland Community College in Portland, OR, earned top honors and a $5,000 scholarship for her first-place win in NKBA’s prestigious Student Design Competition, kitchen category.
Each year, NKBA honors six outstanding student designers — three kitchen winners and three bath winners — in the annual contest, which is generously sponsored by Fisher & Paykel. In addition to the first-place prizes of $5,000, second-place winners take home a $2,500 scholarship, and third-place winners earn a $1,000 prize. Winners will be recognized on Monday, Feb. 16, during the Design & Industry Awards at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando during KBIS 2026.
In the 2024-2025 competition, aspiring designers were tasked with renovating a kitchen and/or bathroom using floor plans and a client profile that described specific lifestyle needs. Their fictitious client was Lydia Bachman, an anthropology professor who recently retired to Colorado Springs. Designers had to make the kitchen and bath areas more accommodating for frequent overnight guests, and the renovation also needed to consider Lydia’s two Labrador retrievers. A history buff, the homeowner wanted the space to be simultaneously modern, luxurious, and charming, updated but respectful of the 1895 Craftsman-style bungalow’s heritage.
Judges included Rebecca Sutton, CMKBD, CKBR, senior designer at Kitchen Design Concepts in Dallas; Jenni Russell, CMKBD, of Design in Perspective in Colorado Springs, CO; and Paula Kennedy, CMKBD, owner of Timeless Kitchen Design in Seattle and an educator at the Heritage School of Interior Design.
Hedrick said her biggest challenge was transforming the L-shaped space into a layout “with a pleasing flow and more open space, while still preserving the Craftsman aesthetic, which required a lot of experimentation.”
The designer combined three existing rooms to create the new open kitchen, flowing into the walk-in pantry and dining room. She incorporated an existing hutch, made space for an herb garden, created a feeding station for the dogs (complete with a pot-filler for easy access to water), added wine storage, and seating for four. Among the Fisher & Paykel appliances used were a speed oven, coffee machine, under-counter wine fridge and vacuum drawer for resealing wine bottles. Hedrick integrated plenty of outlets for countertop appliances and charging devices, and installed a new window in the pantry for extra light.
She tied the aesthetic into the surrounding Colorado vistas. “My design was titled ‘A Walk Through Redwoods’ because I was deeply inspired by that concept — the beautiful wood, the deep shades of green, and the golden light shining through,” Hedrick said. “I was also inspired by the beautiful casework and millwork inherent to Craftsman houses and wanted to showcase them in my design.”
About the NKBA | KBIS Student Design Competition
The NKBA Student Design Competition allows emerging designers to showcase their talent on an industry-wide stage and gain invaluable visibility. Winning entries are recognized at KBIS, featured in NKBA editorial content, and awarded scholarships.
How to Enter
The competition is open exclusively to NKBA Student Members enrolled in an educational institution at the time of submission. Students may enter the kitchen competition, the bath competition, or both.
Entries must follow NKBA Graphics & Presentation Standards and include dimensioned drawings, renderings, a concept board, and a design statement between 500 and 1,000 words. Incomplete entries will be disqualified.
Projects must be submitted through Award Force, where students can upload, edit, and finalize materials, and the submission deadline is June 5, 2026, at 5:00 PM ET.
Winners also receive complimentary registration, airfare, hotel accommodations, and access to KBIS 2027 in Las Vegas.
Competition Scenario: 2025–2026 — “The Great Indoors: Texas Edition”
This year’s participants are tasked with reimagining the kitchen and primary bath of the Williams-Garcia family home in Dallas’s Preston Hollow neighborhood. The challenge invites students to design for a bustling household of five that values hospitality, family connection, and high-functioning spaces for cooking, gathering, and retreat.
Students must balance bold style, functionality, accessibility, and clever space-planning to create environments that support the family today — and adapt gracefully for years to come.
For more information, visit the Student Design Competition page at nkba.org.
