The Bold and the Beautiful

The 2007 ASID Arizona North Chapter Design Excellence Awards

BY DEBORAH PADDISON

"Bold " was the byword at the 2007 ASID Arizona North Chapter Design Excellence Awards, presented this fall at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort at Gainey Ranch. Representing the best of the best in Arizona interior design, this year's projects married beautiful design with hot and spicy accents: bold, saturated colors such as green, orange, gold and red; strong geometric patterns; and earthy materials and textures, from stone to iron to bamboo.

The competition drew a record number of entries (88), with honors bestowed in residential, commercial and product design categories. Members of ASID Colorado Chapter served as judges, and Roland Arnold of Tempe-based Arizona Tile Corporation won First Place in the category of Industry Partner Product Design.

On with the show! Here are the First Place winners in this year's competition.

Best of Show, Residential

First Place, Residence Over 6,000 Square Feet

Janet Brooks, ASID, and Angelica Henry, ASID

Brooks-Henry, Scottsdale

In the Best of Show–winning residence, a sophisticated neutral backdrop puts the emphasis on dramatic desert views and a collection of colorful art glass.

Highest honors in the Residential category went to this contemporary desert home designed for a high-powered business executive and his family. The client wanted a neutral backdrop to put the emphasis on a colorful art collection as well as the site's spectacular views. Far from bland, the overall scheme is warm and inviting, with striking materials used subtly to keep them from overwhelming the design. Arizona's indoor/outdoor lifestyle is achieved through massive glass walls in the great room that can be stacked to the side. The designers also provided fireplace and custom furniture design (garnering First Place in the Product Design-Furniture category), as well as a custom logo that is abstracted throughout as door hardware.

A custom fireplace and varied textures create elegant simplicity in the master bedroom. Photography by Mark Boisclair.

Residential—Singular Space

Anita Lang Mueller, Allied Member ASID, and Jennifer Carlson

Interior Motives, Inc., Fountain Hills

For a single parent with two sons, the redesign of their home was meant to be a journey of healing after recent stressful events. Since the family's fondest memories were of a vacation in Hawaii, the designers incorporated textures and palettes that evoke a tropical setting. Custom-designed furniture pieces, including a sofa, chaises, and a mahogany and onyx dining table, feature simple lines. Natural materials include woven palm-frond mats in the ceiling and wooden shutters with woven-grass inserts. In one seating area, a built-in aquarium serves as a focal point while providing a tranquil, soothing effect. To create drama, they balanced the neutral palette with contrasting accents such as dark brown millwork and a large red charger in the dining room.

First Place in Residential, Singular Space, went to Interior Motives for this tropical-inspired design. Photograph by Dino Tonn.

Residential—Residence Under 3,500 Square Feet

Linda Kolesar, ASID

Vintage House Interiors, Inc., Chandler

A leather-upholstered bed is one of many pieces custom-designed by Linda Kolesar for this Phoenix condo, which earned kudos in Residence Under 3,500 Square Feet.

He said "contemporary," she said "traditional" — but happily this Phoenix couple found a style compromise, and now both of them say "wow" to their condo in a downtown high-rise. The contemporary design draws on traditional influences: there are wing-back chairs, but sleeker; pillows on the furniture, but no tassels or other frou-frou; and an area rug, but it's Art Moderne. Space constraints in the living and dining room posed a challenge; the designer re-divided the space and recessed a wall to fit both a baby-grand piano and a china cabinet without disrupting traffic. Custom-designed furnishings throughout include an impressive leather-upholstered bed and headboard in the master bedroom. In the entry, a curved glass wall screens off the kitchen and serves as a focal point for visitors.

The condo's contemporary look draws on traditional style, notably in the sleek wingback chairs, tailored accent pillows and Art Moderne area rug. Photography by Jamie Peachey.

Residential—Total Remodel

Sandra K. Harrigan, Allied Member ASID

Studio H, Inc., Phoenix

See "Residential Walk-Through" in this issue.

Residential—Bathroom

Janet Friedman, ASID, Traci Shields, ASID, and Julie Heiland, Allied Member ASID

Friedman & Shields, Scottsdale

It's what we all dream of: the ultimate master bath, luxurious, sensuous and with every possible amenity. Dreams came true for this client, whose bathroom features the largest indoor round tub available, with its spout in the ceiling for dramatic effect. The spacious shower features therapeutic fixtures, two drains and access to an outdoor shower. The spectacular glass waterfall is a fully functioning urinal (and a First Place winner in the Product Design-Fixtures category). Onyx-slab sinks lit from underneath give off a nighttime glow, while expansive corner windows bring in dramatic desert views. There are even hot and cold water dispensers so the homeowners can enjoy a beverage while they bathe.

The winning Bathroom project by Friedman & Shields features a dramatic tub with ceiling spout, fully integrated onyx-slab sinks and a generous, indoor/outdoor shower. Photograph by Mark Boisclair.

Best of Show, Commercial

First Place, Retail

Anita Lang Mueller, Allied Member ASID

Interior Motives, Inc., Fountain Hills

Make-and-take gourmet dinner establishments are sweeping the country, and here a dramatic, vibrant design helps brand this client's business and set it apart from competitors. The designer freshened the corporate-specified Tuscan color palette to orange-tomato red, earthy gold and a twist of lime green. The long, narrow space was divided into three sections—the entry and "to-go" area, the central meal-preparation area (with movable furniture to create space for special events), and the employees-only kitchen. A large-scale painted scroll motif on the wall breaks up the length of the space, while dark ceilings camouflage exposed mechanical elements. The iron entry table, traditional chandelier and framed artwork anchor the corporate Tuscan motif within the hip and contemporary space.

Anita Lang Mueller of Interior Motives freshened a corporate-dictated Tuscan design scheme and won Best of Show, Commercial and First Place, Retail awards for this vibrant take-home gourmet meal store. Photograph by Dino Tonn.

Commercial—Office Under 5,000 Square Feet

Roberta R. Thomas, ASID

Evolution Design, Inc., Tempe

Evolution Design served up delicious new corporate offices for Fox Restaurant Concepts, located in the Scottsdale Waterfront. In addition to staff offices, the space houses a test kitchen for training chefs and developing menus for the firm's current and new restaurant concepts. Materials on the design menu included concrete, wood flooring, MDF screen walls and glass. For flexible space utilization, a conference room abuts the kitchen, with the spaces separated by panelized glass sliding doors. The custom butcher-block table sits on industrial castors and can roll apart, allowing the space to function for large training gatherings or small focus groups. The resulting fun, energetic office is just what the client ordered.

First Place honors in Office Under 5,000 Square Feet were served up to Evolution Design for Fox Restaurant Concepts' new corporate offices in Scottsdale. Photograph by Mark Boisclair.

Commercial—Hospitality

Larry Lake, ASID

Inter Plan Design Group, Inc., Scottsdale

Art Deco meets Zen in the clubhouse for The Quarter at Westgate City Center, an urban-lifestyle townhouse community in a new mixed-use development centered around the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. Charged with creating an attractive, interactive clubhouse out of a small, plain box, the designer chose a brown and green color palette and added interior architecture to define separate functional areas. The focal point is the gathering bar, a concrete counter on framed bamboo squares; Zen paper lanterns float down from the soffit above. Exotic granite tops a beverage bar cabinet holding wine coolers and refrigerators. Anchoring a seating area, a media wall in warm wood features four plasma TVs, while an aluminum-wrapped indoor/outdoor fireplace connects the indoor space to the outdoor lounge, which sports custom modern tables and an inlaid grass rug.

Zen meets desert Art Deco in Inter Plan Design Group's winning Hospitality design for the clubhouse at The Quarter at Westgate. Photograph by Pam Singleton/Image Photography.

Commercial—Adaptive Use

Marcene Kandra, ASID, and Jose Martinez

Form Design Studio, Phoenix

Punchy color, playful lighting and planar shapes figure prominently in this winning design for Babbo Italian Eatery, a casual, family-friendly restaurant. For this project, the designers combined two adjacent retail spaces into one restaurant. The color palette incorporates light and dark hues for contrast and spark, while layered low walls define different seating areas. The centrally located bar features a light-toned composite granite. For durable wall surfaces at high-impact areas, as well as to add texture and interest, the designers specified mosaic glass tile, maple-wood chair rail and butter-colored vinyl wallcovering. A collection of different light fixtures with white lenses adds rhythm and sparkle to the contemporary space.

First Place in Commercial, Adaptive Use went to Form Design Studio for a playful Italian restaurant. Photograph by Form Design Studio.

Product Design—Furniture

Angelica Henry, ASID

Brooks-Henry, Scottsdale

As seen in the Best of Show-winning residential project, this custom-designed curved seating piece in the great room is backed with a striking Macassar ebony console. Centered around the fireplace, it serves several functions: it provides comfortable seating for formal entertaining or family gatherings, it creates a dramatic (but not overpowering) separation between the living and dining areas, and it draws visitors' attention from the foyer to focus on the client's glass sculpture, for which it provides an elegantly lit display pedestal.

Product Design winners included Brooks-Henry for a curved seating and art display piece (photograph by Mark Boisclair).

Product Design—Fixtures (tie)

Janet Friedman, ASID, Traci Shields, ASID, and Julie Heiland, Allied Member ASID

Friedman & Shields, Scottsdale

"A urinal with a view" describes this one-of-a-kind glass piece in the First Place-winning bathroom, created by Friedman & Shields along with Beams Design of Silver City, New Mexico. The natural-looking, "waterfall" urinal in front of a view window is etched to maintain privacy while preserving the view. The piece descends from a trough in the ceiling and disappears into a trough in the floor, which is filled with chunks of mined glass for an organic feel. An eye sensor triggers water flow for flushing. Lit from above and below, the piece has a continuous glow, and when not in use it makes a lovely water feature.

Friedman & Shields' artistic "urinal with a view" (photograph by Mark Boisclair).

Product Design—Fixtures (tie)

Debra May Himes, ASID, IIDA

Debra May Himes Interior Design & Associates, LLC , Chandler

What was originally going to be a new finial became a whole new concept in drapery hardware. Jewels™ by Debra May Himes, for Helser Brothers, Inc., is a new finial line that provides a designer or drapery showroom endless creative possibilities. Starting with metallic-finished rods in ebony, platinum, ormolu or copper, simply add any combination of colored crystal and decorative iron bands, collars and end caps to create different finial compositions to complement any design.

Debra May Himes Interior Design & Associates won a Product Design award for a new line of drapery hardware.