By Donna Heiderstadt
Each year, NKBA | KBIS honors the top kitchen and bath projects by the industry’s most innovative and influential designers at the Kitchen & Bath Design + Industry Awards — and the lineup of finalists for the ceremony at KBIS 2025 in Las Vegas couldn’t be more impressive.
The awards, taking place on Monday, February 24, 2025 in the Lafite Ballroom at Wynn Las Vegas, will spotlight 18 finalists vying for first, second, and third place — and a total of $100,000 in cash prizes — in six kitchen-and-bath categories. The winners of each category are then eligible for the Best Overall Kitchen or Best Overall Bathroom prize.
Both the Professional Design Awards ceremony and the KBIS Opening Party gala that will follow are always a high-energy celebration of the industry’s top kitchen-and-bath design talent. The spacious Lafite Ballroom at Wynn, where the awards and gala were held to kick off KBIS 2024, means there will be guaranteed seating for all attendees.
NKBA | KBIS has once again called on a panel of NKBA | KBIS-certified designers to judge the competition. While we won’t be revealing the finalists just yet — stay tuned for weekly articles spotlighting the three guaranteed prize winners in each of the six categories — the gorgeous spaces these finalists designed will make the Kitchen & Bath Design + Industry Awards a night to remember.
The Categories and $100,000 in Prizes Explained
In the kitchen category, awards will be given for Large Kitchen (over 300 square feet), Small Kitchen (under 300 square feet), and Specialty Kitchen (spaces such as outdoor kitchens, Kosher kitchens, or guest-house kitchens).
In the bathroom category, awards will be given for Primary Bath, Secondary Bath, and Powder Room.
Now for the incredible prizes. First-place winners in each of these six categories will receive a $5,000 prize, second-place winners will receive $3,000, and third-place winners will get $2,000. The final two awards — Best Overall Kitchen and Best Overall Bath — will be selected from among the six individual category winners. The two designers who win Best Overall will each be awarded $20,000.
A Look Back at the 2024 Kitchen & Bath Design Industry Awards
At the Kitchen & Bath Design + Industry Awards that kicked off KBIS 2024, the two top winning projects showcased distinctive materials and finishes.
Best Overall Kitchen was awarded to Bahar Zaeem and Co-Designer Shima Radfar of Toronto-based RZ Interiors for “Ultra Modern Kitchen.” The project, which clinched first place in the Large Kitchen category, was for an investment property client who desired a clutter-free, open-concept main floor. The kitchen featured an asymmetrical layout with a large bay window as well as 11-foot ceilings, which the designers embraced to create a “meticulous spatial arrangement” that’s both visually pleasing and practical. The judges appreciated the designers’ use of clean lines and contemporary style, calling it “a very welcoming space.”
Best Overall Bath was awarded to Jaque Bethke, Founder and Principal Designer of Scottsdale, AZ-based Jaque Bethke Design, LLC, for “Small But Mighty.” The space, which won first place in the Secondary Bath category, was for a client who requested “a masterpiece” as part of a total home remodel. Bethke relocated a closet to add a wet room with a bathtub and chose a show-stopping tile pattern to create a focal point. One-by-one-inch glass tiles and a vinyl wall covering added texture. The judges appreciated the designer’s use of tinted glass to give dramatic proportion to an otherwise shoebox shape, as well as the dynamic visual effect achieved with a floating vanity, large mirror, and textured tile.
Who will take home top honors in 2025? To watch the awards ceremony in person, reserve your tickets, priced at $150 per person. Wynn Las Vegas is a spectacular setting for this semi-formal kick-off event, which will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. As always, the party that follows will feature a lavish buffet with an open bar and live musical entertainment.
In the coming weeks we’ll reveal details about the three finalists in each of the six Professional Design Awards categories. At the event itself, you’ll also get a chance to salute the industry’s talented next-generation winners of the Student Design Competition as well as applaud the Showroom Awards winners.
