By Donna Heiderstadt
As KBIS 2023 got off to a celebratory start in Las Vegas with NKBA’s highly anticipated Design + Industry Awards, which recognizes outstanding professional design projects in the kitchen and bath categories, the industry’s emerging talent was also honored as this year’s Student Design Competition — and the winners were announced for the Best Kitchen category.
NKBA, which kicked off its 60th-anniversary celebration at the glitzy awards gala, received approximately 200 kitchen submissions for this year’s contest, which asked students to design dream spaces for fictional families based on the theme “New Look for New Englanders.” The competition was sponsored by Fisher & Paykel.
Winners received a complimentary ticket to KBIS 2023 in Las Vegas, admission to the Kitchen & Bath Design + Industry Awards, hotel and airfare, as well as a scholarship.
Kitchen Design Winners
First place was awarded to Beatriz Hernandez, a student at Bow Valley College in Calgary, Alberta. Her design featuring a coastal palette of sky blue and natural tones, rustic oak vinyl flooring to resist sandy feet and pet wear and tear, and a bar area that opens onto a terrace via an oversized folding door earned her a $5,000 scholarship.
In second place was Brea Holt, who attends Lakeland College in Alberta, Canada. She received a $2,500 scholarship for her kitchen design, which sets a tranquil mood with an airy monochromatic palette of white oak cabinets, concrete flooring, and other natural elements reflecting the color of sand, seashells, driftwood, and clouds.
Third place was awarded to Sarah Woosley, who studies at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Her kitchen design, which centered on a multifaceted lifestyle (from working at home to aging in place), featured pull-down shelves, easy-open cabinets and appliances, a touchless faucet, and biophilic-inspired hues of soft green and light wood tones, earned her a $1,000 scholarship.
Student Competition Judges
The judges for the 2023 NKBA Student Design Competition were:
- Danielle Burger, CMKBD, from Kitchen Vitality Design
- Mac Dodge Junker, CKBD, from The Kitchen Specialist
- Mark Haddad, CMKBD, from Interiology Design Company
- Paula Smith, AKBD, representing our Student Design Competition sponsor, Fisher & Paykel
Open Call for Student Designers
Submissions are now open for the 2024 Student Design Competition through June 5. If you would like to enter, please click here.
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