Can you tell, it’s the design and remodel award season, and we are loving it! Not only are we able to share with you our fabulous designs, but we get to see what amazing jobs our peers are doing in the industry. Last Thursday, November 12, our local National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) North Texas Chapter met to recognize winners for their 2021 Contractor of the Year (CotY) Awards. What we really want to share today are the three Kitchen Design Concepts wins from this year. Are you ready to see some spectacular remodels? Let’s get started!

Residential Kitchen $30,000 to $60,000

This was a team entry with our local Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove showroom. We have recently highlighted this small condo kitchen, but it deserves all of the love. It even received another award this year from our local NKBA chapter! The kitchen was remodeled for a hobby chef and food blogger so it needed to function well and look immaculate. The tuxedo cabinetry design with a neutral background and brass accents lent to a real “pop” of color in the tiny space. A floating countertop maximized downtown Dallas views. The before and after is truly a sight to behold.

This kitchen isn’t just good looking though – there are a few things that went on behind the scenes. First, to comply with electrical code requirements, we had to run a suspended cavity below the floating counter to get electrical to the peninsula cabinet end. The outlet itself was aesthetically placed at the back, facing the window. This allowed us to avoid being obtrusive, or visible from the waterfall edge. Plumbing in the condominium also gave us some struggles. With an active fire suppression system in the unit, we had to be extra careful cutting and drilling. And the water was only turned off at specific times for the entire building, so our entire schedule had to revolve around our plumbers’ work!

Want to know more about the products used in this space? Read more about this space on our Friday Feature and check out this project on Houzz.

Residential Interior $100,001 to $250,000

This was a team entry with Ivey Lumber, who provided all of the materials we could have possibly needed – including some very important beams! Remodeling the kitchen, dining room, entry, and family room created the perfect entertaining space for this Preston Hollow home. Updates to the wet bar and laundry room increased the functionality and style of the main rooms that guests see during bunko nights. The biggest construction element was taking down walls and support posts separating the front rooms and eliminating three different ceiling heights and styles. New 17-foot and 26-foot microlam beams now hold up a single ceiling height.

Outside of the major part of the remodel, the laundry room boasts the most interesting design element. The multi-purpose space is used for laundry, cleaning storage, and as a supplementary bar for large gatherings. Seeing that guests walked through this space frequently, we needed to create a clever solution to hide the washer and dryer units while making them easily accessible while in use. The customized pocket door system was a game-changer and the vent grooves ensure proper ventilation for the dryer. And, to our surprise (although not really, because the competition was stiff) this design was actually tied for the win! We get to share this special award this year with our friends at Alair Homes Plano who put together an equally fabulous interior space.

Want to know more about the products used in this space? Read more about this space on our Friday Feature and check out this project on Houzz.

Landscape Design / Outdoor Living under $100,000 (Team Member)

So, this award was won by our friends at Alair Homes Dallas, who was the main contractor on the project. We were so excited to be involved in this project in the historical Swiss Ave area, and it is perfect! Alair Homes had us specify the cabinetry and decorative hardware for this stunning outdoor kitchen. We had the perfect outdoor cabinet line for this space: NatureKast Weatherproof Cabinetry. We specified the Cypress Resin, Slab Door, in Fossil Grey finish for cabinets. Hardware is a combination of the Ashmore Pull and Tapered Square knob, in stainless steel from Top Knobs. But what about the other fun things Alair Homes incorporated? A Perlick beverage fridge, Memphis Grill, and Kohler sink sit perfectly inside of our cabinetry. Seeing how they brought this entire outdoor living area together is just magical.

All of the projects were just fabulous! You can see all of the winning spaces from the NARI North Texas 2021 CotY Awards here. We cannot wait to see what spaces go on to win regional and national awards!

NARI 2021 Evening of Excellence

This is honestly one of our favorite events of the year and we were so afraid that COVID-19 wouldn’t let the show go on. However, our local NARI Events Committee worked wonders and made magic happen. Shout out to that entire team, and to our own Roshel Holland who sits on that committee. You all helped put on such a great evening. And just because we love how these pictures turned out, take a look at your Kitchen Design Concepts team attending the event this year. Don’t worry! We were wearing masks while interacting with others when these pictures weren’t being snapped and used lots of hand sanitizer!

Mary Kathryn and Roshel arriving in style, ready to take on the night!

Celebrating our team entry award with Alair Homes Dallas!

Your favorite Kitchen Design Concepts family (minutes a few members) celebrating a fabulous evening!