2000 Design Winners Blend Comfort, Style

2000 Design Winners Blend Comfort, Style

Time spent preparing meals now doubles as quality time spent with family and friends. While entertaining at home is on the rise, formal dinner parties in the dining room are being replaced by more casual gatherings in the kitchen. Guests now interact with hosts during meal preparation, so current designs offer areas for high traffic and comfortable seating. Extra counterspace, easy-to-clean surfaces, and multiple appliances are also figured into the designs to accommodate more than one cook.

In addition, other hot trends noted by the NKBA in this year's designs include:

• Stainless steel appliances for easy cleaning.
• Products from nature, including wood cabinets and flooring and granite countertops.
• Display cabinets for collectibles and fine glassware.

Bathrooms offer another area of escape from the busy world, and interest in luxury items remains high. Glamorous designs that feature glass block walls for dramatic effect were prominent. These rooms were worked to be highly functional, and often included dual sink, vanity and storage areas for individual personalized spaces.

This year's designs offer a balance of casual sophistication and comfort, mixing high-tech convenience, functionality and style.

Categories for this year's contest included: a complete residential kitchen of 150 sq. ft. or less in a new construction or remodeling project (Category A); a complete residential kitchen of 150 sq. ft. to 250 sq. ft. in a new construction or remodeling project (Category B); a complete residential kitchen of 250 sq. ft. or more in a remodeling project (Category C); a complete residential kitchen of 250 sq. ft. or more in a new construction project (Category D); a complete residential bathroom of 65 sq. ft. or more in a new construction or remodeling project (Category E); a complete residential bathroom of 65 sq. ft. or more in a remodeling project (Category F); any complete residential bathrooms of 65 sq. ft. or more in a new construction project (Category G); an individual kitchen/bathroom/ other room display in a retail showroom environment (Category H); an individual kitchen/bathroom/other room display, photography set, model home, exhibition booth or other marketing endeavor actually built, but not created for a retail showroom (Category I); utilization of cabinetry in other rooms, excluding commercial or institutional applications (Category J), and kitchen conceptual design solutions created by students of an NKBA-endorsed college curriculum (Category L). 

Judging criteria
Entries for the 2000 Design Competition were judged by a panel of 12 industry experts, all of whom are practicing professionals who have achieved the Certified Kitchen Designer and/or Certified Bath Designer designation.
Winning projects are graded based on "the NKBA's guidelines for kitchen and bathroom planning, as well as design continuity, balance and emphasis," notes the NKBA. "The designer's ability to solve stated problems and the application of materials and products are also evaluated."

All entries must first pass a preliminary scoring procedure; those that met or exceeded the preliminary scoring grade moved on to the final judging phase, where the judges assessed several criteria, including the professional presentation of the plans and drawings; the written design statement; how the use of space solved the design problem/was it the best use of available space; how the designer's creativity enhanced the solution; overall aesthetic value; the creativity/ functionality of the lighting system; and how the design solution followed the principles of design.

Judges for this year's Design Competition included Anthony Stuart Binns, CKD, CBD; Judith R. Bracht, CKD, CBD; Alice M. Hayes, CKD, CBD; Sharon L. Hopkins, CKD, CBD; Tess E. Giuliani, CKD; Daniel J. Lenner, CKD, CBD; Stephanie M. Martin, CKD; Lynn David Monson, CKD, CBD; Greg Richard Rawson, CKD, CBD; Karen Richmond, CKD, CBD; Donna L.A. Riddell, CKD, CBD, and Erica S. Westeroth, CKD.