By Ariana Beaudry

Originally acquiring her Bachelors in Accounting and MBA in Marketing in India, Payal has chosen to pursue Interior Design as her passion. Echoed in her design style are biophilic elements and sustainability, with the goal of creating spaces that invoke emotion and memories.

By Adrean Stephenson

January’s KBIS event marked another success on the books. This year, in addition to manning our booth and hosting the annual User Breakfast, our team was delighted to contribute to one of the favorite KBIS announcements: the 2018 NKBA Design Awards! See the full spread of winners and project information in the January/February issue of NKBA Innovation + Inspiration.

We used Chief Architect’s 3D Modeling, Rendering, and Video Walkthrough Recording tools to replicate the winning designs, then recorded animations that virtually explore the spaces.

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By Kendra Dorosh

Jennifer Allen won 3rd place for her kitchen design at the 2017 NKBA Student Design Competition. Jennifer studied Computer Aided Drafting and Design at Front Range Community College and used the Chief Architect Student License to complete her design.

Jennifer was born and raised in the town of Boulder, the heart of Colorado’s Front Range. For much of the 2000’s, she lived in Arizona where she raised three amazing stepchildren and had a daughter of her own. After moving back to Colorado in 2012 she decided to go back to school while continuing to raise her children. She graduated in December 2017 with an Associates of Applied Science in Computer Aided Drafting & Design, a Certificate in Kitchen and Bath Design, a Certificate in Fundamentals of Interior Design, and a 3.8 GPA.  She also took several architecture classes and was able to participate in a design and build class constructing a tiny house which was auctioned off with proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity.

The National Kitchen and Bath Association recently awarded her 3^rd place kitchen for the 2017 Student Design Competition awarded at the 2018 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show in Orlando, Florida. Her winning design is showcased below.

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By Adrean Stephenson

I love the friendly, bright, airiness of the winning Small Kitchen for the 2017 NKBA Design Competition. Davida Rodriguez, of Davida’s Kitchen and Tiles, worked some magic on this remodel space.

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By Adrean Stephenson

When you have been designing Kitchens and Baths for 32 years and teaching the process to others for 14 more, it is next to impossible to not know your stuff. Robin Rigby Fisher is no exception, and it shows in the Large Bath she submitted for 2017’s NKBA Design Competition.

“I teach part-time at Portland Community College, an NKBA Accredited College. One of the reasons I continue to teach is to make sure that I stay at the top of my game. I want my drawings to be as meticulous as possible because I expect that from my students.  I think they are synonyms. I’m at the top of my game because my students are at the top of theirs. They are highly desirable, highly regarded. They are easy to hire. That’s what I like about teaching.

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By Adrean Stephenson

It felt a little like cheating when I opened up Danielle Burger’s winning Small Bath plan and began transitioning it for our NKBA Study Guide project.

Danielle has been using Chief Architect since 2015 and made beautiful work of her bath design using the software. I simply asked to start from the plan file and then made some edits that matched her drawings to the drafting style of the other designs in our project.

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By Adrean Stephenson

The little room that won 1st place for the Powder Room category in 2017’s NKBA Design Competition is big on character! Lori Carroll’s take leverages a vaulted ceiling and the use of light and texture to make this Powder Room a space to remember.

“For this client, luxury is a state of mind; something that goes beyond the ordinary amenities and accommodations.  Wanting their guests to experience something special, the design concept for this powder room didn’t have to be extravagant or opulent; just beautifully simple.  When visualizing aesthetics for this project, a softer, more natural look conveyed the feel the client hoped for. The combination of stone, metal and wood creates a unified design in this powder room.”

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By Adrean Stephenson

Elma Gardner has only ever drafted her designs by hand, and they are beautiful. A fading art in our digital age, the small details are the most impressive in her style. My personal favorites are the tiny circles that don’t quite encompass the numbers for her Floor Plan Specification labels, eluding to the efficient confidence in speed her hands must take on as they traverse the page.

“I just happen to be one of those strange people that actually enjoys hand-drafting and have made a deliberate decision to stick with it. I like the process.”

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By Adrean Stephenson

Over the years I’ve had a number of opportunities to leverage Chief Architect’s tools for projects with our friends in the industry. Not only is it exciting to mix up my regular routine, but I always get the extra benefit of coming away with newfound understanding of needs and details in these specialty areas; this latest project was no exception.

The Goal: Create examples of Kitchen and Bath projects that can be used as references for those studying for the CKBD examination.

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