← Back to KBIS Page

By Donna Heiderstadt

The three finalists have been revealed for the Secondary Bath category of NKBA’s Kitchen & Bath Design + Industry Awards 2024. We won’t reveal which project will receive $5,000 for a first-place finish, $3,000 for second and $2,000 for third at the February 26 gala awards event in Las Vegas at KBIS 2024, but we’re previewing all three innovative designs here.

Read on for a look at the top three Secondary Bath projects for NKBA’s 2024 Professional Design Awards.

Heather Radliff, Christopher’s Kitchen & Bath, Englewood, CO: “Sea-ing Silver”

While main-floor powder rooms are typically designed to wow guests and secondary baths tend to fall into the more practical realm, this bath needed to do both. As the only bath on the home’s main floor, it was adjacent to entertaining spaces, a home office and a pool. “Accessibility and ease of use were paramount, as the bath would be used by almost every guest of the home,” says Heather Radliff, a Designer at Christopher’s Kitchen & Bath in Englewood, CO. The solution was to eliminate the bath in favor of an almost zero-entry shower as guests of all ages would be using the space to rinse off after swimming. A bench was also added with future accessibility in mind as was backing in the appropriate locations for potential grab bars. The wow? For that, Radliff used floor-to-ceiling large-format mirror tile on the vanity wall to brighten and enlarge the space and “replicate the gentle undulations of calm water” — hence the project’s name, “Sea-ing Silver.” Pops of gold on the fixtures and lighting, paired with the natural textures of the walnut vanity and floor tile, add to the space’s warmth. 

For more details and to attend NKBA’s Kitchen & Bath Design + Industry Awards, go here.

Jaque Bethke, Jaque Bethke Design, LLC, Scottsdale, AZ: “Small But Mighty”

When clients requested a design for a home in the foothills of the Southwest that was entirely different from their other home in the Chicago suburbs — and insisted that each needed to be a “masterpiece” — Jaque Bethke, Founder and Principal Designer of Scottsdale, AZ-based Jaque Bethke Design, LLC, and her team got to work gathering information from the couple to put together a floor plan for the remodel. One request in particular was that the home needed to allow them to host large dinner parties for their family and friends. Another was that the design not be too serious. When it came to the secondary bath, a major request was a tub, which the old space lacked. So, Bethke relocated a closet to construct a wet room in its place. She then used a show-stopping tile pattern to create a focal point, complete with niches for everyday bath products or candles to accompany a soothing soak. Other details: Grab bars double as towel holders, a single basin provides ample counter space, an artistic suspended light fixture creates a sense of arrival and the entire vanity area is covered in a textured one-by-one glass tile. “Part of the magic is done with texture,” Bethke says, explaining that she topped off the design with a vinyl wallcovering that also gives this “Small But Mighty” space additional durability. 

Jennifer Hale, Interiors for Modern Living, Palo Alto, CA: “Color Me Red”

Sometimes, the formula for making a client happy requires a designer to think outside the box. In this case, Jennifer Hale, Founder and Director of Interior Design at Palo Alto-based Interiors for Modern Living, had a new-construction homeowner who wanted a space that offered “an immersive and joyful experience” while serving as both a main-floor powder room and a guest bath for relatives during extended stays from overseas. The top requirement, however, was to seamlessly and imaginatively integrate the client’s favorite hue — hence the project’s name, “Color Me Red.” Additionally, Hale needed to reconfigure the proposed floor plan while adhering to the existing footprint, ensuring a discreet location for the toilet that would not disrupt the visual harmony. To align with the home’s modern architecture, she opted to place bold red glass tiles in a flowing pattern, creating a visual journey that leads the eye from the shower bench to the vanity wall. “It’s a dramatic focal point that draws occupants into the heart of the bath,” Hale says. She also added a coordinated bold red stack of drawers for guest storage, while a wall-mounted faucet provides a modern aesthetic, a lighted mirror offers ambient light and a curbless shower with a bench and handheld showerhead makes bathing easy for all ages.