Local firms dominate awards for kitchen, bathroom designs

Look at any kitchen or bathroom created just for a homeowner, without regard to resale, and you learn a lot about that person.

More than any other room in the house, these places are windows into the homeowner's soul. They reveal their lifestyles, personal tastes and daily activities.

So even though the economy has taken a hit over the past few years, top kitchen and bath designers say affluent homeowners are still customizing their kitchens and baths. They're deciding to invest lots of money in these rooms because even the wealthy are hunkering down and spending more time at home these days.

For the past nine years, the Chicago Midwest chapter of the National Kitchen and Bath Association has held an annual design competition to acknowledge the work of its top designers. This year's winners were announced in late September and two local firms ran away with the lion's share of the awards.

Those firms are Drury Design in Glen Ellyn and Insignia Kitchen and Bath of Barrington. Out of the 20 awards distributed, these two firms combined earned 11 of them.

"Blind judging of the competition entries is done by nonparticipating certified kitchen and/or bath professionals, media representatives and architects," said Bryan Zolfo of the Chicago Midwest chapter. "The designs are scored both on their aesthetic appeal, as well as their adherence to the current NKBA design guidelines."

Gail Drury, president of Drury Design, took first place in the large kitchen category for a kitchen she designed in a Hinsdale home. She also earned an honorable mention in that same category for a Burr Ridge kitchen. Two other designers at her firm, Therese Kenney and Tina Muller, earned awards for medium-sized kitchens and for both small and large baths.

Angie Keyes, senior kitchen designer with Insignia Kitchen and Bath, a subsidiary of Professional Plumbing in Barrington, took first place awards in both medium kitchens and large baths for homes in Palatine and Kildeer, respectively. Two other designers at her firm, Linda Larish and Connie Schey, earned honorable mentions in large kitchens and small baths.

Today's kitchens and baths are trending away from fussy, ornate moldings and details that were so popular just a few years ago, Drury and Keyes agreed.

"With the change in economic times, we are seeing a movement to a more understated design trend," Drury recently wrote on her Web site. "We are seeing more kitchens with clean crisp lines filled to the brim with functional elements in efficiently designed smaller spaces. These designs are anything but ordinary, using exciting new materials that give each kitchen the homeowner's own special signature. These new design trends are bordering on contemporary with a classical flair. Heavily carved moldings are being replaced with simpler trim details."

"People are more conscious of their spending," Drury admitted. "Less is now more.

"They are scaling back and giving us smaller budgets than they once were," Keyes agreed. "A couple of years ago, I would have laughed at someone wanting us to design a kitchen for less than $75,000. Now I am doing them, but the average kitchen we design is still in the $120,000 to $150,000 range."

Keyes calls today's style "modern classic" while Drury calls it a "Beaux Arts" style. But whatever you call it, eclectic mixes are "in." Contemporary cabinets, mixed with traditional furniture-style pieces, are the rage.

In addition, dark woods, specifically an almost-black "espresso" color, is the popular color for cabinets. Drury said it is reminiscent of a contemporary Asian style.

"It is cleaner and more refined look than what we had been seeing and wood grains are now 'out.' I believe that is a by-product of the green movement. With these styles you can use veneers that don't involve cutting down so many trees," she explained.

And while stainless steel appliances with the new pewter finish are popular, most people are choosing to hide their appliances as much as possible behind panels that match their cabinets. In fact, microwaves are being hidden in drawers, Keyes said. Almost every manufacturer now offers the popular drawer-style microwaves, she explained.

Copper is also becoming very prevalent in cutting-edge kitchens.

"I currently have three projects in which the client wants copper sinks, hoods, mirrors, lighting and fixtures as accent pieces," Keyes said. Copper is often mixed with wrought iron and pewter pieces, she added.

As for faucets, polished nickel which, according to Drury, has a "cool sparkle to it," is becoming popular in both the kitchens and baths of those with discriminating tastes.

On the walls, wallpaper and faux finishes are out. Everything is simpler, Drury said, so people are going to "crisper, adventuresome shades of blues, greens and reds that we haven't seen before.

"Now that the cabinets are simpler, people can go for some wilder colors on the walls," she said.

Both Drury and Keyes assess their client's needs through lifestyle questionnaires and personal observations of the way they live before designing a kitchen or bath.

After the initial contact, Drury says she and her team design four rough plans for each client. One is based on exactly what the client tells her they envision. Two others involve slight variations on the owner's vision. The fourth plan is a totally "out of the box," maybe even including a small addition or moving a wall.

"As designers, we look at the situation with a fresh pair of eyes and we don't want homeowners to regret later that they didn't consider doing that small addition or whatever," Drury said.

Out of those four plans, they usually cut and paste various elements from each and come up with the plan the homeowners consider perfect for them.

Keyes said many times homeowners don't know exactly what is "wrong" with their current kitchen, but they know something is.

The doorways may be too narrow. The room may not be well lit. The allowances between cabinets may not be wide enough. The list goes on and on.

And each client's needs are different, Keyes said.

Her winning kitchen in Palatine, for instance, was designed for an Italian cook who uses every inch of counter space when she cooks and considers her kitchen her "stage" when she entertains.

"People's lifestyles are changing," Drury said. "Today they are more interested in quality than quantity. They want the convenience of easy cleaning and even if they want a two-cook kitchen, they don't want one where they need roller blades to get around."

Drury has been designing kitchens and baths since 1976 and started her own firm in 1985.

Keyes has been with Insignia for four years, winning six NKBA awards in the past three years. She has been designing kitchens and baths for 17 years.

For more information on Drury Design, call (630) 469-4980 or visit drurykitchendesign.com. For more information on Insignia Kitchens and Baths, call (847) 381-7950 or visit insigniakitchenandbath.com.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=343203">Other area designers also take home awards <span class="date">[12/12/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>