NKBA, Renovation Angel Present Luxury Kitchen Recycling Awards at KBIS
By Dianne M. Pogoda
LAS VEGAS — Sustainability and recycling were among the key areas of focus at KBIS 2020, with manufacturers, designers and installers looking for ways to shrink the environmental footprint of building and remodeling. The National Kitchen & Bath Association/Renovation Angel Luxury Kitchen Recycling Awards honored individuals for efforts in recycling high-end kitchens.
“Recycling kitchens is a win, win, win — for the homeowner, the designer, and the planet,” said Steve Feldman, CEO/Founder of Renovation Angel, a 501c(3) non-profit and the nation’s largest kitchen, bath and furniture recycler. “Every year over 100,000 luxury kitchens end up in landfills. That’s 125,000 tons of waste. By donating your project to Renovation Angel, you’re not only helping to save the planet, but you’re also helping homeowners save tens of thousands of dollars in tax benefits and removal costs.”
Since its founding in 2005, Renovation Angel has recycled 7,000 kitchens, donated $2.3 million to charities, created $24 million in recycling jobs and kept 40 million pounds of trash out of landfills.
Homeowners who recycle and donate their kitchens through Renovation Angel get a tax deduction, as well as save on demolition costs because the RA team carefully disassembles and takes the kitchen away with what Feldman calls “white-glove removal.”
“We are delighted to partner with Steve and his team at Renovation Angel in this important endeavor,” said Suzie Williford, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for NKBA. “It’s so important to take care of our planet by thinking about sustainability in materials and sourcing, and recycling wherever possible to reduce the amount of product that ends up in our landfills. Until a few years ago, I didn’t even realize you could recycle a kitchen. But if you think about it, why not? It’s just like buying a used luxury car.”
Last year at KBIS, Renovation Angel recognized the “early adopters” for their accomplishments in reducing, reusing and recycling, and for making luxury kitchen recycling a best practice within their own businesses.
“We know there are many others, including designers, remodelers and brands, who continue to emphasize this sustainable culture within the kitchen and bath industry,” Williford added. “This is our opportunity to salute them, to draw attention to this significant effort to cut down on waste, and to encourage others across the industry to be more mindful of the ways in which they dispose of products — and hopefully, to turn trash into treasure.”
Feldman introduced George Oliphant of NBC’s Emmy award-winning show, George to the Rescue, to help present the awards. The two have worked together for eight years, with Oliphant using a number of recycled kitchens in his restoration projects.
“When you see all the kitchens and the lists of high end kitchen brands, it’s staggering,” Oliphant said. “Getting new lives for these kitchens is really great.”
Oliphant served as the head judge for the awards, along with several other top industry professionals, including kitchen designers Kimball Derrick and Nancy Young, CKBD; Nina Elliott Green, a member of NKBA’s inaugural Thirty Under 30 Class of 2013, and Michael Foti, Regional Sales Manager of Miele USA.
The categories and winners are:
Most Valuable Kitchen Donated: Denise Caron-Quinn, Founder and Director of In Order to Succeed, Southport, Conn.
Best Ultra Luxury Kitchen:
First Place: “Central Park Modern,” Josh Wiener, Silver Lining Inc., New York.
Second Place: “Central Park West,” William Leeds, William Leeds Architect PC, New York.
Third Place: “West Village Penthouse,” Cara Morgan, Wettling Architects, New York.
Most Kitchens Recycled from a Single Firm — 40 in the last three years: Peter Deane, Principal/Designer, Deane Inc., Stamford, Conn.
Achievement in Repurposed Kitchen Design:
Small: First Place: “Beach Cottage Renovation,” Jonathan Trudo, Kennebunkport, Maine (home of Nancy Evans, the executive assistant to Glenn Close).
Second Place: “Bergstrom Kitchen,” Jonne Vandehey, Yamhill, Ore.
Third Place: “Ranch to Roll Around,” Doug Walter, Denver, Colo.
Medium: First Place: “Baker’s Dream,” Lori Gascoyne, Short Hills, N.J.
Second Place: “Zaslavsky Residence,” Mina Greiss, Nutley, N.J.
Third Place: “Poggenpohl Azulik,” David Berens, San Diego, Calif.
Large: First Place: “Mattevi,” Danny Garabedian, Livingston, N.J.
Second Place: “Horizon Mills Midcentury,” David Berens, San Diego, Calif.
Third Place: “Radley,” Steve Radley, Bethesda, Md.
Feldman also presented several Angel Discretionary Awards, for “going above and beyond” in recycling and promotional efforts. They included Peter Deane; an Angel Celebrity Award to Oliphant; an Angel Public Relations Award to Katie Ward of the White Good marketing and communications agency in Lancaster, Pa., and an Angel Appreciation award to the NKBA.
Renovation Angel was the KBIS charity in 2006, 2007 and 2008, and took displays — three tractor-trailer loads — off the expo floor. These are full displays of kitchen cabinets that otherwise would have ended up as trash in landfills.
“We started out as an NKBA baby,” he said, “and now we’re grown up and proud to be a full partner in these awards.”
The submission period for next year’s NKBA/Renovation Angel Luxury Kitchen Recycling Awards will open in the fall, and winners will be revealed at KBIS 2021 in Orlando, Feb. 9 to 11.
