It was a year overdue and had to be done virtually, but the much-delayed annual celebration of National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) 2019 awards has finally crowned Ottawa’s best in design.
Stunning kitchens, luxurious bathrooms, creative uses of space on a budget and other rooms in which cabinetry is key were named winners in a video premier of the 10th annual NKBA Design Excellence Awards, with trophies given out in 18 categories.
“So excited! This has been the longest wait ever,” noted designer Natalia Pierce during the April 30 premier.
The gala was supposed to be held in May 2020, celebrating projects completed in 2019, but had to be cancelled when the pandemic hit. As everyone shifted to a new way of living and working, the gala committee did not have time to regroup, said Ottawa chapter president Sandra Gibbons.
“The timing was horrible.”
The committee toyed with the idea of combining 2019 and 2020 projects in this year’s celebration, but delays in completing projects last year meant that many wouldn’t be ready in time. Instead, 2020 projects will be grouped with 2021 projects at next year’s gala and “we went ahead with judging what we already had… we just continued with the 2019 (awards),” said Gibbons. “It seems out of date, but that’s what we’ve had to do.”
Photo gallery: Classic/traditional kitchen winners
Seven judges from the kitchen and bath industry across North American evaluated 105 entries in a blind judging process to determine first- and second-place winners.
New this year was a category for show spaces and other rooms in which cabinetry was a key feature. Entries included a home office, games room and a show room for a cabinetry company.
“I liked the fact that I saw a lot of function-first designs,” said judge Jennifer Cross of Ottawa’s Flux Lighting. “I was really impressed by the level of entries.”
Good design, said fellow judge Jackie Schagen of Jackie Schagen Design in Oshawa, is “achieving the delicate balance between form and function, making sure that function is addressed first and then making sure that it is a beautiful space afterwards, and in that order.”
Photo gallery: Modern/contemporary kitchen winners
Schagen liked the range of design choices in the projects, particularly since she says Ottawa has a reputation for more traditional design.
“There were some designers that were really taking design risks and that takes some guts to do,” she said. “It’s easy to just go in and fill the room with boxes, but to leave some negative space and to be almost restrained in the design shows some skill.”
Open-concept kitchen and living spaces continue to dominate, she said, and even though these projects were pre-pandemic, before everyone was at home vying for space to work and relax, she doesn’t see that changing.
“People still do not want the kitchen to be its own separate area. It is part of our whole living space… I don’t see that going away anytime soon, even with the pandemic.”
While the kitchen entries still featured a lot of white, when it came to bathrooms designers were more likely to take chances, with moodier designs creating an inviting space. But there were still projects with calm, soft tones that encourage relaxation, and all spoke to comfort and pampering at home.
Photo gallery: Bathroom winners
“There was a lot of detail put in, really interesting detail, like barnboard walls and brick walls and shower rooms with the tub right in that glass enclosure,” said Cross.
The wet zone — combining a standalone tub and the shower in a delineated area of the bathroom — popped up several times.
“It’s a really good use of space,” said Cross, who particularly liked the project by Lisa Poirier of Westyle Interior Design for the brick wall and window that were featured in the wet zone.
But Schagen isn’t a fan of the wet zone and thinks the trend will be short-lived. “It’s going to be a lot of maintenance. Every time I shower, I don’t want to have to wipe down my tub, too.”
Cross was also surprised by the number of entries that used bar stools as the throw pillow of the kitchen, adding pops of colour in an otherwise neutral space.
“This bar stool game is big,” she laughed. “(In) 95 per cent of the projects, the bar stool was standout; colourful bar stools — teal, turquoise, pink, salmon.”
Photo gallery: Other category winners
As a lighting specialist, Cross couldn’t help but notice the lighting in projects, which she is finding to be more formal — “gold chandeliers and big oversized glass pendants over the island that were very elegant and classy.”
Judge Mark Smith of hardware supplier Berenson also picked up on the use of gold, which remains a big trend, along with brushed nickel, and he liked the mixing of styles he spotted in several projects. “(It’s) a mish-mash of different things that all kind of go together and a blending of different styles to make one overall design impact.”
Industry veteran Lorin Russell was awarded the Doris Lacroix Award, which is named after Ottawa kitchen design pioneer Doris Lacroix and awarded to someone in the association who makes an extra effort to give back to the kitchen and bath industry.
“He is not only a talented, award-winning kitchen and bath designer, he’s always willing to share his passion and expertise with the decorating and design community as well as mentor the new kitchen and bath designers in the industry,” said NKBA gala committee member Peter Hibbert.
The awards video, showing all the nominees and winners, is available to view on YouTube.
2019 NKBA awards: The winners
Here’s a list of all the winners. Categories are typically divided into classic/traditional or modern/contemporary, as well as by price. Prices are for materials only and do not include labour. In most cases, there is a first- and second-place winner.
Best new designer
Shanna Malo, Distinctive Bathrooms & Kitchens
Best creative concept, kitchen/bathroom
Tim Rutherford, DesignTRUTH Kitchen & Bath
Best kitchen, classic/traditional ($20,000-$39,999)
1st place: Emma Doucet, Grassroots Design and Build
2nd place: Vanessa Horwat, Deslaurier Custom Cabinets, with co-designer West of Main
Best kitchen, classic/traditional ($40,000-$59,999)
1st place: Julia Enriquez, Astro Design Centre
2nd place: Myra Flipsen, Deslaurier Custom Cabinets, with co-designer Melissa Leclair, Leclair Decor
Best kitchen, classic/traditional ($60,000-$79,999)
1st place: Julia Enriquez, Astro Design Centre, with co-designer The Decorators Choice Paint Store
2nd place: Wael Bakr, Laurysen Kitchens
Best kitchen, classic/traditional & contemporary/modern ($80,000+)
1st place: Nathan Kyle, Astro Design Centre
2nd place: Lisa Poirier, Westyle Interior Design
Best kitchen, contemporary/modern ($20,000-$39,999)
1st place: Julia Enriquez, Astro Design Centre, with co-designer The Decorators Choice Paint Store
2nd place: Darien Wilson, Deslaurier Custom Cabinets
Best kitchen, contemporary/modern ($40,000-$59,999)
1st place: Nicole Hubert, Design First Interiors, with co-designer Jennifer Sarumi, Ethos Infill & Developments
2nd place: Heather Tardioli, Laurysen Kitchens
Best kitchen, contemporary/modern ($60,000-$79,999)
1st place: Julie Bariault-Morin, Muskoka Cabinet Company
2nd place: Catherine Pulcine, CPI Interiors
Best bathroom, classic/traditional ($10,000-$24,999)
1st place: Vida Kiani, Distinctive Bathrooms & Kitchens
2nd place: Karley Scrivens, Laurysen Kitchens
Best bathroom, classic/traditional ($25,000+)
1st place: Lisa Poirier, Westyle Interior Design
2nd place: Becky Powell, Bex Interiors
Best bathroom, contemporary/modern ($10,000-$24,999)
1st place: Emma Doucet, Grassroots Design and Build
2nd place: Lauren Bowen, Tego Corp.
Best bathroom, contemporary/modern ($25,000-$39,999)
1st place: Jenny Neilson, ARTium Design Build
2nd place: Amandine Dénéréaz, Distinctive Bathrooms & Kitchens
Best powder room, any style
1st place: Nathan Kyle, Astro Design Centre
2nd place: Vida Kiani, Distinctive Bathrooms & Kitchens
The look for less, kitchen or bathroom
1st place: Shannon A. Callaghan
2nd place: Renee Marcil, Distinctive Bathrooms & Kitchens
Best transformation, kitchen or bathroom
1st place: Kelly Ouellette, Distinctive Bathrooms & Kitchens
2nd place: Natasha Nash, The Cabinet Connection
Best show spaces & other rooms
1st place: Becky Powell, Bex Interiors
2nd place: Mallory McCarthy, ARTium Design Build
Doris Lacroix Award
Lorin Russell
