As one of six winners of the annual NKBA | KBIS Student Design Competition, Montgomery College student Kateryna Ponomarova was awarded a scholarship for her outstanding work, earning Third Place in the Kitchen Category for 2025. Notably, Ponomarova also earned Third Place in the Bath Category, making her a two-time winner of the prestigious competition.
NKBA | KBIS recognizes the industry’s most promising emerging designers through its annual Design + Industry Awards, which include honors for the six Student Design Competition winners. The competition is generously sponsored by Fisher & Paykel, with scholarships awarded as follows: $5,000 for First Place, $2,500 for Second Place, and $1,000 for Third Place. Winners will be celebrated on Monday, February 16, from 6:30 PM to 11:00 PM at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando during KBIS 2026.
Ponomarova’s Third Place Kitchen project, Cranberry Bloom, stood out for its sophisticated balance of accessibility, historic preservation, and highly personal living-in-place design. Inspired by the enduring spirit of American craftsmanship, the project reimagines the kitchen of an 1895 Craftsman bungalow in Colorado Springs, Colorado, owned by retired anthropology professor Lydia Bachman.
Designed as a holistic renovation, Cranberry Bloom unifies the existing kitchen, pantry, and former office into a cohesive, open environment—while preserving Lydia’s beloved built-in hutch as an anchor of memory and identity.
Design Objectives
At the heart of the project is a commitment to living in place. The design prioritizes openness, accessibility, and adaptability to support Lydia’s lifestyle today and in the future.
Key objectives included:
- Developing an open, accessible layout that supports aging in place while maintaining the home’s historic character.
- Achieving a refined Craftsman aesthetic through the thoughtful integration of contemporary fixtures and appliances.
- Incorporating seating for four, wine storage, and entertaining zones to reflect Lydia’s love of hosting.
- Designing a dedicated dog-feeding area for Lydia’s two golden retrievers, who are integral to daily life.
- Including a herb garden to support Lydia’s passion for gardening and cooking with fresh ingredients.
Design Challenges
Ponomarova addressed several architectural and ergonomic challenges inherent to the historic bungalow:
- Managing varying ceiling heights resulting from the original gable roof construction.
- Ensuring smooth, accessible transitions between spaces for Lydia and her guests, including those with mobility challenges.
- Designing for Lydia’s reach distances, accounting for her height (5’1”) and age, to maintain comfort and usability.
Design Solutions
Rather than minimizing constraints, the design leverages them as opportunities.
- Ceiling height variation establishes spatial hierarchy: taller ceilings in the kitchen and dining areas create openness and visual flow, while lower ceilings in adjacent rooms foster intimacy and calm.
- A galley kitchen layout with more than 60 inches of clearance between activity zones ensures accessible circulation. Continuous flooring supports mobility aids, while dual counter heights accommodate multiple tasks.
- Soft-close, pull-out cabinetry minimizes physical strain, reinforcing a user-centered approach.
- The kitchen is designed to adapt over time, with the option to expand the east-side unit to accommodate a larger refrigerator or additional workspace.
- Entertaining is supported through custom banquette seating for four in the Bordeaux Lounge, designed to maximize space while remaining wheelchair accessible. For daily use, island seating offers casual dining for two.
Special Features & Materiality
Cranberry Bloom blends performance and personality through a series of bespoke details:
- Premium Fisher & Paykel appliances, selected for performance, longevity, and design integrity.
- A custom dog-feeding station with a wall-mounted pot filler for daily convenience.
- A coffered ceiling with an artistic stained-glass light fixture, reinforcing the home’s Craftsman heritage.
- Handcrafted walnut room dividers with stained-glass insets, subtly defining spaces while maintaining openness.
- A smart, hydroponic herb garden integrated into a wall cabinet, providing fresh produce year-round with minimal effort.
The kitchen’s palette—rich cranberry tones, Rosso Levanto marble, warm ivory cabinetry, and natural textures—adds depth and warmth. A bold cranberry-hued range and pyramid chimney hood by Fisher & Paykel form the visual heart of the space.
Spatially, movement is guided along a central axis: from the dining area toward a curated alcove displaying Lydia’s treasured objects, framed by columns and arches that define public and private zones. The former office becomes the Bordeaux Lounge, a welcoming destination for wine and coffee tastings, while the former pantry evolves into a kitchen extension with island seating and concealed dog-feeding storage.
The result is a kitchen that supports Lydia’s vibrant lifestyle—hosting guests, caring for her dogs, gardening, and cooking—while honoring the home’s historic soul.
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
- 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 500–1000-word design statement.
- Projects must be submitted through Award Force, where students can upload, edit, and finalize materials.
Submission Deadline:
June 5, 2026, at 5:00 PM ET
Incomplete entries will be disqualified.
Awards:
- First Place — $5,000
- Second Place — $2,500
- Third Place — $1,000
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.
