NKBA honored its Innovative Showroom Award recipients at KBIS 2023. Here’s a closer look at this year’s winners.
By Dianne M. Pogoda
The NKBA Innovative Showroom Awards honor excellence across the entire showroom and selling experience. Whether working with designers, builders and other trade professionals, or directly with consumers, these outstanding showrooms create inspiring and informative environments in which to showcase innovation in design and technology, while also representing the integrity of the industry.
This year, four showrooms were honored for providing a superior experience. Judges included showroom experts Sarah Nielsen, design and sales at Showplace Cabinetry in Urbandale, IA; Jason Artus, AKBD, partner at Dovetail Sales in Denver, PA; Nar Bustamante, principal of Nar Design Group in Sacramento, CA and Tracy Israelsson, associate director of wholesale and showrooms at Kohler Co., Kohler, WI.
Kitchen & Bath Design Center Showroom Winners
Two showrooms earned top honors in the category of Kitchen & Bath Design Center, combining a beautiful, inspirational environment with expert design and project management:
Marvista Design + Build in Pittsburgh won for medium-sized center, 2,500 to 5,000 square feet. This design by Emily Borne features unique vignettes that reflect the creativity and personality of Pittsburgh, tucked in a neighborhood adjacent to historic Frick Park. Visitors are greeted with boldly colored kitchen displays that would fit into any of the city’s historic industrialist mansions; The concept of balancing old and new is important for this customer base, and permeates the showroom. The space features a live kitchen for demonstrations and hosting events. Additionally, a harmony with nature is apparent in the bathroom display, an ode to Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic Fallingwater (just an hour outside the city).
The Dacor Kitchen Theater in Irvine, Calif., won for large center (over 5,000 square feet). The Dacor Kitchen Theater, designed by Callison RTKL, is the complete manifestation of the brand’s personality, connecting the consumer to an elevated luxury experience, while also referencing Dacor’s Southern California roots. The space centers on modern entertaining with a luxe living and dining area, surrounded by kitchen vignettes showcasing Dacor’s high-end finishes and advanced technology. This space, located at The Boardwalk at Irvine, is the brand’s third experience center, serving as a full-service showroom, product-training, and event space that celebrates the brand’s heritage.
Additional Showroom Winners
The winner in the category of large, Multiple-Location/Multiple-Product showroom (5,000+ square feet) is Faucets N’ Fixtures, Long Beach, Calif. Designed by Joel Warners, Faucets N’ Fixtures opened in December 2021 and showcases plumbing products in vignettes to inform and provide inspiration for client projects. Spaces include a large working kitchen with a substantial island, a lounge, and conference room. The selection offers cutting-edge technologies as well as artisan brands, and products are functional so clients may try out different brands and styles. Adding to the ambience, the showroom backs up to the marina in Long Beach, making for a striking view and entertaining space for clients.
The winner for Small Traditional Independent Showroom, under 2,500 square feet, went to Adorned Homes in White Bear Lake, Minn. Adorned Homes is a full-service interior design studio nestled on a historic street in a lake town. The area had fallen into disrepair, but principal designer Katie Kurtz (also a local realtor and house-flipper) restored a run-down building and transformed it into a luxury design center – now an asset to the community. Owned, operated, and invested by women, the studio is designed like a home and clients are treated as guests, offering complimentary refreshments before design meetings. Kurtz’s experience as a renovator helps her clients through the remodeling process, elevating their spaces with high-end brands and a luxury aesthetic.
Check out NKBA’s website for information on next year’s Innovative Showroom Awards.