Tag

open concept

Winning Designs – August’s Remodel/Addition Design Contest


Two- story residential home with white siding and brown accents.

Bringing European Design and Craftsmanship to America


For us, there is nothing quite like a beautiful kitchen adorned with big windows and a walk-in pantry.

Cindy Baker: Inspired by Relationships


Master Bathroom with hardwood flooring and grey marble counter tops

Headshot of Ariana Beaudry By Ariana Beaudry

Second Place Kitchen/Bath & Interior Design Contest winner Cindy Baker has put relationships at the center of her nearly 30 years in the design field.

Cindy Baker has always forged her own path, taking guidance and inspiration from her relationships along the way. Growing up, her father’s home improvement projects fascinated her. In school, a well-known designer personally encouraged her to make design her career. And after earning a degree in Interior Design at Oklahoma State University, she sold her car and moved to London where she, “opened up a phone book and started making calls.” She recalls, “I was blessed to find a prominent designer who took me under her wing and into her world.”

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Jim Shallman Wins 3rd Place with His Story and a Half Log Home


By Emily Black

Jim places third in the Chief Architect Residential Design Contest. His log home design maximizes space with a light and spacious feel.

“This is the home my wife and I built in Crosslake, Minnesota, which is the second home I have designed for our family. We have lived in Crosslake for most of late spring, summer, and fall. We also have a townhome in Maple Grove, Minnesota that we stay in for most of the winter.

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Alexis McDaniel Places 2nd with her Contemporary Kitchen


Interior rendering of a contemporary kitchen with a waterfall island and white cabinetry.

Author's Portrait By Kendra Dorosh

Alexis places 2nd in the Chief Architect Kitchen, Bath, and Interior Design Contest! She is a Chief Architect Certified Apprentice who has found her passion in interior design.

Alexis McDaniel, Chief Architect Certified Apprentice

Alexis McDaniel, Chief Architect Certified Apprentice

“I’m a senior at Klein Collins High School in Spring Texas, who at a young age fell in love with interior design. My high school has a class where we can design living and commercial spaces using Chief Architect software. It has truly ignited the flame in me to design. I gain so much joy and pleasure from what I do. I have been using Chief Architect for around 3 years, and plan to continue using it. I prefer Chief Architect over other software products because it’s easy to use, and the renderings make a design really come to life.

“I, along with my fellow classmates Mary and Krystina, became a Chief Architect Certified Apprentice last year, which is a huge accomplishment to me. I would also like to mention my teacher Mrs. Mock, who has pushed us to be our best in what we do and has helped in my realization that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.” (more…)

Sarah Rickard Places 1st with Her Dream Home


One story home design with walkout basement, covered deck, pool and pool house.

By Emily Black

Sarah placed 1st in the Chief Architect Residential Design Contest! She is a home design hobbyist, but you can see her eye for design shine through in her winning home design.

 

Sarah Rickard & Her Husband

Sarah was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, and now calls the Dayton, Ohio area home with her husband.

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Chace Groves Places 2nd and 3rd with his Residential and Interior Designs


This residential home design offers an oversized upstairs patio area, outside storage to the right of the parking spaces, two beds, three baths, and a separate utility room. The downstairs area is an open-concept layout with a generously sized living room, kitchen and full bath.

Author's PortraitBy Kendra Dorosh

Chace Groves placed 2nd in the Chief Architect Residential Design Contest in April and 3rd in the Kitchen/Bath & Interior Design Contest in May. Chace’s passion for 3D home design and modeling is clearly portrayed in his winning designs.

“I always had an eye for design. Since I was a kid, I always loved testing ideas and reworking current concepts. I started young, sketching plans and inventing various models and machines. I always loved testing my creativity and problem-solving skills, despite being a brain tumor survivor. My fairly poor motor skills and major loss of hearing, due to the radiation removal, were challenged in grade school and throughout life. Anything that involved my motor skills was easily not my shining talent. I’ve always hated coloring, cutting, pasting, and other handcrafting skills. In grade school, I worked my way through various home designing software and used them for much more than just home designs. I made dog houses, forts, playsets, greenhouse, and even a roping cow. (more…)

Leila Laskujarvi places 3rd with her basement remodel design


This Airbnb is located in a basement that used to be very small and dark in a residential home that had previously been a rooming house (5 kitchens, anyone). The home is located in a trendy part of Toronto, close to several large film studios, upscale restaurants and boutiques. I had to plan a layout for an awkward space since there was a support pillar in the middle of the main area, as well as one in the bathroom and several levels of bulkheads. The homeowners wanted this to be a relatively affordable renovation since they plan to renovate the entire house a few years down the road. I had to make space for a welcoming entry area with storage, revamp the kitchenette (to which I added a 2 seater bar), create a dining area that was separate from the main living area and create a space for a double bed that wasn't the first thing you saw when you entered the space. The bathroom was revamped a little as well, with a new shower, flooring, toilet and vanity.

Author's PortraitBy Kendra Dorosh

Leila Laskujarvi places 3rd in the Chief Architect Remodel/Addition Design Contest. Her creative and caring personality translated directly into her beautiful and authentic design for her clients.

“I’m Leila Laskujarvi, a designer, artist, amateur photographer and all around crafty girl! I currently live in Toronto, Canada with my husband Mike. I first moved here to go to art school at the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD University), where I studied commercial design (advertising/graphic design). I then freelanced at some ad agencies in Toronto and got a job as a junior art director in Helsinki, Finland. Eventually, I came back to Canada and started working in graphic design, working for The Financial Post newspaper and Rogers Publishing (at Canadian Business, MoneySense and PROFIT magazines), both in the Creative Services department. I really enjoyed the creativity and teamwork and I actually met a lot of my friends at work.

“When it first came on television, I got totally hooked on watching HGTV shows about interior design. Then the idea struck me, I could learn to do it myself. We had recently bought a house, that needed work (the bathroom was totally scary) and I was feeling like I needed a change in my career, so I decided to go back to school for 4 (very long) years. I didn’t quite know what I was getting into, but I have no regrets. I got my Bachelor of Interior Design degree from Ryerson University, a top-rated school here in Canada. I’ve been working independently for several years doing mainly residential design and occasionally collaborating on projects with an architect friend of mine. I’m thinking of branching out into hospitality design since I’d love to design a restaurant! But, first, I’ll have to take a crack at the building code books. (more…)

Winning Spaces from the 2018 NKBA Design Awards


This large kitchen is airy and open, galley style with a long island, warm wood ceiling, and impressive industrial hood.

Author's portrait 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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Featured Student – Jennifer Allen


2017 NKBA Student Competition. Jennifer Allen Elevation for her 3rd Place design.

Author's PortraitBy 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 3rd 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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