The Competition awarded $100,000 in cash prizes and honored the best projects of the year.
By Dianne M. Pogoda
NKBA | KBIS’s annual professional Design Competition is one of the highlights of the Design & Industry Awards gala the night before KBIS opens. This year, 18 winners chosen from hundreds of entries competed for $100,000 in prize money in six kitchen and bath categories.
Designers earned prizes for first, second and third place for projects in the following categories:
• Large Kitchen (over 300 square feet)
• Small Kitchen (under 300 square feet)
• Specialty Kitchen (including outdoor, scullery, butler’s pantry, “dirty” kitchen, etc.)
• Primary Bath
• Secondary Bath
• Powder Room.
First-place winners took home $5,000, second-place honorees earned $3,000 and third-place designs netted $2,000. In addition, Best Overall Kitchen and Best Overall Bath grand prizes of $20,000 each were selected from among the first-place winners.
All judges for the 2024-2025 competition are certified as CMKBD and included the following:
• Kelley Barnett, CMKBD, principal of Kelley Barnett Interior Design, Austin, TX
• Ellen Lopez, CMKBD, EL Design Studio, Hicksville, NY
• Stacy McCarthy, CMKBD, Stacy McCarthy Design, Jupiter, FL
• Christie Board, CMKBD, Board By Board, Prescot, AZ
• Doug Walter, CMKBD, Doug Walter Architects, Denver, CO
• Cailin Thelen, CMKBD, Thelen Designs, Dunwoody, GA
KITCHENS
Best Overall Kitchen
Small Kitchen, First Place: “Breckinridge Kitchen”
Designer: Thu Trinh, ASID Allied, Thu Trinh Interiors, Richardson, TX
Photography: Michael Hunter, Michael Hunter Photography
This sleek remodel of an existing kitchen and adjacent family room creates a cooking and entertaining oasis. Designer Thu Trinh offered a sophisticated, timeless style consistent with the empty-nester homeowners’ European travels, including vintage elements and materials, antique furniture, and honed marble and wood that replace stainless steel for a warmer look. Integrated appliances and custom millwork conceal a working pantry, while an expansive center island provides additional workspace and seating. The centerpiece is a matte black La Cornue French range with polished brass and stainless-steel trim.
Small Kitchen, Second Place: “Parkway Kitchen”
Designer: Kate Roos, Kate Roos Design, Minneapolis, MN
Photography: Andrea Rugg, Andrea Rugg Photography
This 1930s kitchen needed a full renovation to create modern function while matching the warmth and beauty of the rest of the home. Keeping within the original footprint, designer Kate Roos reworked the existing layout by incorporating a back entry area, existing closet, and small pantry to the new configuration. She was able to increase the size of appliances and sink, add storage and counterspace — including a moveable furniture-style island — to create symmetry and balance without compromising flow. Details include white oak drawers and cabinet inserts, and a fluted range hood that ties into the home’s woodwork.
Small Kitchen, Third Place: “Evanston”
Designer: William Adams, William Adams Design, Oakland, CA
Photography: Tetiana Sokolova, Capture Studio
The challenge in this project in Evanston, IL, was to maintain the historic charm of a 1910 home while adding modern function. Designer William Adams opened the layout and introduced natural light to create a spacious, inviting environment ideally suited for two serious cooks. Dark, custom oak cabinetry, hammered brass hardware, and honed white countertops respect the home’s original Prairie Style. Adams incorporated plenty of counterspace and placed modern appliances strategically to accommodate the homeowners’ cooking preferences, resulting in a harmonious, timeless space that functions flawlessly and connects past and present.
Large Kitchen, First Place: “West”
Designer: Leann Lynn, McCroskey Interiors, Village of Loch Lloyd, MO
Photography: Nate Sheets, Nate Sheets Photography
Designer Leann Lynn’s dramatic use of Arabescato Corchia marble on counters, backsplash, and walls creates a stunning, luxurious statement in this lakeside space that’s at once grand and intimate. Every detail upholds the homeowners’ commitment to sustainability. To take advantage of sweeping lake views, Lynn incorporated walls of windows while ensuring ample storage, workspace, and state-of the-art amenities, including custom built-ins, a statement range hood, integrated appliances, and two generous sinks.
Large Kitchen, Second Place: “Bailey”
Designer: Laura McCroskey, McCroskey Interiors, Village of Loch Lloyd, MO
Photography: Nate Sheets, Nate Sheets Photography
Rich finishes and materials collide with modern styling and selections in this full-scale kitchen remodel. Custom sliding panels and an exquisite hood are among the many tailored details that elevate Laura McCroskey’s design, which exudes traditional French elegance. She expanded the space while keeping it cohesive with the overall space. Custom millwork, bleached wood, deeply veined Calacatta Macchia Vecchia marble, brass shelving, and a blend of bespoke furniture and handpicked accents enhance the integrated design.
Large Kitchen, Third Place: “Sea Glass”
Designer: Bianca Fathauer, Splendid Home Design, Stuart, FL
Photography: Devon Fathauer, Splendid Home Design
A bright, light, airy coastal kitchen is warmed up with hundred-year-old barnwood beams, shelves, and hood details, inset cabinetry, and polished dolomite throughout Bianca Fathauer’s design. A vaulted ceiling features white tongue-in-groove boards that provided space for electrical access, while the existing hardwood plank floors ground the space with a rustic element. She installed panel-ready appliances, with hidden angled outlets under the upper cabinets ensure an uninterrupted marble tile backsplash. To accommodate two load-bearing columns in the middle of the open- concept plan, Fathauer incorporated them by adding trim to create bookends for the oversized island.
Specialty Kitchen, First Place: “A Happy Home”
Designer: Kristen Giacomini, Flow Designs, Reno, NV. Co-Designer: Alison Johnson
Photography: Matt Nelson, Mousepad Media
Kristen Giacomini crafted a sophisticated kitchen that caters to a busy family and mom who requires abundant cooking/prep space and easy access to pantry essentials. The generous design features a built-in dining banquette and an elegant butler’s pantry, which Giacomini added by transforming an under-used dining room. The pantry features visible, accessible and specialized storage for supplies, staples, and small appliances, a coffee/tea bar near a sink, all with an understated look that integrates with surrounding areas. Luxurious light slabs with gray veining and white cabinets through the kitchen space are set off by dark spruce walls that carry into the pantry for drama and flair.
Specialty Kitchen, Second Place: “Outdoor Oasis”
Designer: Wendy Yelland, Wendy Glaister Interiors, Modesto, CA
Photography: Mark Verschelden, Mark Verschelden Photography
In “Outdoor Oasis,” designer Wendy Yelland aimed to design a high-end outdoor living space with a strong emphasis on entertaining. Highlights include a chef’s kitchen, four-seasons use, and multiple activity areas for hosting as well as everyday engagement. She expanded the existing space by 1,000 square feet, and she needed it to accommodate the showstopper: two spectacular 12-foot waterfall-edge islands. They feature an Italian pizza oven, gas grill and griddle, chilled condiment storage, refrigerator, ice machine, generously sized sink, and beverage chiller. She also incorporated sealed storage and waste disposal into the cabinetry, and its position next to the living area creates a cohesive space for gathering, prep, eating, and enjoying the outdoor TVs and audio system.
Specialty Kitchen, Third Place: “Parkway Butler’s Pantry”
Designer: Kate Roos, Kate Roos Designs, Minneapolis, MN.
Photography: Andrea Rugg, Andrea Rugg Photography
Taking a space that was primarily used to store barware, china and to grab a quick coffee, designer Kate Roos overhauled the pantry with customized cabinetry that provides modern finishes, better access, improved storage with cabinet inserts, and “unseen” details like full-extension drawer glides. A new icemaker, prep sink and beverage fridge also improved function for daily use as well as entertaining. Roos maintained a dining nook with a new banquette, and soft blue wallpaper, pale neutral cabinetry, new lighting, and a large mirror make the space bright, cheerful, and comfortable.
BATHS
Best Overall Bath
Powder Room, First Place: “Knotty Potty”
Designer: Gina D’Amore Bauerle, D’Amore Interiors, Denver, CO
Photography: Eric Lucero, Eric Lucero Photography
The owners of this Colorado home love to collect burled wood and gemstones, so designer Gina Bauerle incorporated their treasures into her daring powder room design. Using authentic, natural materials, she created a feature wall comprising a mirror peeking out from behind slabs, used accent backlighting to create drama, and petrified wood floors cut from a solid slab to provide a continuous pattern. The one-of-a-kind quartz onyx sink is an additional focal point, supported by an industrial steel pedestal for a funky vibe. The moody palette mimics gemstones, like a custom amethyst soap dispenser and teal glass bead wallpaper.
Powder Room, Second Place: “Tranquillo Sanctuario Powder Bathroom”
Designer: Rachel Hills, The Hills Group, Granite Bay, CA
Photography: Kat Alves, Kat Alves Photography
Rachel Hills was challenged to combine clean, contemporary design with organic, playful elements — and the color blue — to satisfy the owners of this striking powder room. She used a sleek, floating vanity in white quartz with black veining, blue porcelain tile walls, intricate stone mosaic tile flooring for a playful touch, and created hidden storage behind warm teak panels for an uncluttered look with high function. Hills chose a custom mirror with LED backlighting that appears to float off the wall, and aged brass pendants for a warm metallic element.
Powder Room, Third Place: “Paradise Found”
Designer: Kelly Trotz, UDCP, Lifestyle Design, Geneva, IL
Photography: Ryan Ocasio, Ryan Ocasio Photography
A dramatic gray mural wallcovering with an oversized light gold floral pattern makes a bold statement in designer Kelly Trotz’s powder room. The mural wraps the room in a blend of opulence and escapism, and a custom-designed vanity with hand-painted gold accents and custom backsplash add a timeless element. Trotz considered every corner of the room for a special detail, from a window treatment allowing filtered natural light, to an abstract floral line drawing in the sink basin, to gold and black lighting fixtures complementing the gold framed mirror.
Secondary Bath, First Place: “Midsummer Night”
Designer: Bethany Reilly, Bethany Reilly Interior Design, Indianola, WA
Photography: Sumaira Amber, Sumaira Amber Photo
Bethany Reilly converted a small, dark, windowless space and created a warm, inviting sanctuary for this guest bathroom. She used a textured wallcovering with a large-scale print and created architectural cove lighting to visually expand the space, and added a walk-in shower with low-threshold entry and a large niche tucked between framing and ducting. The warm umber palette is punctuated with metallic trim on the mirror, and layered lighting works with the floating vanity and elegant faucet for a welcoming ambience.
Secondary Bath, Second Place: “Cenote Bathroom”
Designer: Anu Kurup, Persimmon Design, Seattle, WA
Photography: Alexis Grosclaude, Alexis Grosclaude Photography
Anu Kurup was charged with creating a soothing oasis out of a niche in a home office. The result is a serene, luxurious bath that belies its compact footprint. Kurup used a floating vanity to maintain a sense of spaciousness, expansive textured porcelain tiles that mimic rock formations, and a moon-like backlit mirror to blanket the space in a soft glow. A key feature is a combination of massaging body jets and a rain-shower head, elevating the space to a spa-level experience, while an invisible infinity drain maintains an uncluttered appearance.
Secondary Bath, Third Place: “Sharing is Caring”
Designer: Tricia Knight and Nicole Varga, Knight Varga Interiors, Vancouver, BC
Photography: Janis Nicolay, Janis Nicolay Photography
Design team Tricia Knight and Nicole Varga created this double-duty bathroom to be shared by a teenage brother and sister to be functional when both were getting ready for school. They incorporated private shower stalls, a toilet room, a large vanity with two sinks, a separate hair and makeup station, and tons of storage. The white space with black trim also serves as the pool bathroom, so the team created two-sided towel storage with access from the hall and the bathroom. They also added a litter box storage niche for the family cat. A black-and-white striped hex floor carries into the hallway, and a sliding barn door closes off the space in style.
Primary Bath, First Place: “Tranquillo Sanctuario Primary Bathroom”
Designer: Rachel Hills, The Hills Group, Granite Bay, CA
Photography: Kat Alves, Kat Alves Photography
In this home where she took on multiple design projects, Rachel Hills merged the owners’ distinct styles to create a carefully curated retreat in the primary bath. Symmetry, abundant natural light, and bold modernism melds seamlessly with organic, natural elements and a warm, spa-like intimacy. A mix of honed marble and fabric-effect ceramic tiles are naturally warm and elegant, and meticulously sized vanities appear symmetrical while allowing for required variations, Hills integrated ample storage, a hidden refrigerator drawer custom controlled lighting, a separate toilet room, and satin brass hardware and fixtures in a space that blends modern sophistication with laid-back luxury.
Primary Bath, Second Place: “TNAH 23”
Designer: Elma Gardner, CMKBD, CID; By Design Studio, Davis, CA
Photography: Kenny Tjay, IFP Media
Everything about Elma Gardner’s stunning contemporary space says luxury. Gardner created a sense of intimacy in an expansive space with an integrated custom closet with laundry and stylers; a glass-walled, cedar-clad sauna; a luxurious marble-lined wet room with universal design considerations, a whole-body immersion tub, and Kohler digital shower system; heated floors, and two WCs. Each compartment features comfort-height intelligent toilets with music, lighting, heated seat and personalized cleansing options. The home is LEED Certified, suing lob-VOC paint and KCMA-certified cabinetry. Other special features include dual floating vanities, white quartz counters and warm wood tones, recessed motorized solar window coverings, and titanium faucets, shower controls, and accessories.
Primary Bath, Third Place: “Scandi Retreat”
Designer: Bianca Fathauer, Splendid Home Design, Stuart, FL
Photography: Jaci Pena, The J Projects
Modern and organic elements set the mood in Bianca Fathauer’s Scandinavian-style primary bath. A blend of large-format concrete-look tile and warm white oak transformed the space to a Zen retreat. The homeowners, inspired by their luxurious Icelandic honeymoon, wanted minimalist yet functional design, plenty of storage, and special spa-like features. Fathauer separated the main area from the smart toilet by installing a large custom linen closet with white oak slats and hidden full-length mirror, she incorporated a glass panel in the shower area, and illuminated shower and tub niches with LED lighting. A floating white oak vanity goes wall-to-wall, while floor-to-ceiling tile maximizes the high ceilings.
