By Kendra Dorosh

Brian Bone wins 1st place in the Chief Architect Kitchen/Bath & Interior Design Contest. Brian’s passion for 3D home design has driven him from a young age. He now creates beautiful renderings for his clients, such as this winning bathroom design.

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By 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…)

By Kendra Dorosh

Joni Anderson places 3rd in the Chief Architect Residential Design Contest. Creating 3D models of home designs is one of Joni’s greatest passions and stress releases. You can see her love for design in the details of her dream retirement home.

“I became interested in computerized home design back in the year 2000 when it became available for the consumer market. As the technology changed, I continuously upgraded to stay compatible. Eventually, with each subsequent home computer, I was led to Better Homes and Gardens software developed by Chief Architect. I then graduated to their aptly named Home Designer Suite.  Of all the different home designing software programs I’ve tried, I’ve found Chief Architect products to be the most computer friendly, affordable for budget-conscious consumers, and versatile. I’ve basically stuck with them since 2005.  And the visuals are absolutely stunning, almost life-like. (more…)

By Kendra Dorosh

Architect Robin McCarthy and Junior Designer Heather Brewer placed 2nd in the Chief Architect Residential Design Contest. See how their projects have come to life with Robin’s passion for design and Heather’s skill with 3D Modeling.

Robin McCarthy (Left) and Heather Brewer (Right)

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By Kendra Dorosh

Angela Barnes wins 1st place in the Chief Architect Residential Design Contest. She and her husband Chris have been building custom homes together for over 20 years.

“I use Chief Architect every day and am always learning something new that improves my designs!!!” -Angela Barnes

“I am originally from Raleigh, NC but have lived In Hampstead, NC for 22 years with my husband and three sons. I graduated in 1992 from Meredith College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Interior Design. My husband and I have been building custom homes for over 20 years and just recently added the design element to our business, CLB Custom Homes, Inc., thanks to Chief Architect. (more…)

By Kendra Dorosh

Joslyn Brungardt and Caci Pommerehn win 1st place in the Chief Architect Remodel/Addition Design Contest. Their individual talents complement each other in creating unique spaces, such as this beautiful remodel.

“Chief Architect has given us the ability to give our clients confidence in their project before construction has even begun.”- Caci Pommerehn (Left) and Joslyn Brungardt (Right)

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By Kendra Dorosh

Alexandra DuBois places 2nd in the Chief Architect Remodel/Addition Design Contest. Her experience with color, tile patterns, and materials is evident in her custom design.

“I am originally from Des Moines, Iowa and moved to San Diego to attend design school ten years ago. I have been around design and remodeling my whole life with my family, my dad always being one to complete all of his own remodeling projects and having my sister and I help all along the way. I graduated from the Art Institute of California – San Diego with a Bachelor’s of Science in Interior Design.  My first few jobs in the industry were a color specialist at a paint store, furniture sales, and tile design before I settled at Lars Remodeling and Design. (more…)

By Kendra Dorosh

Vianney Baltazar wins 1st place in the Chief Architect Kitchen/Bath & Interior Design Contest. She has a skill for bringing her clients’ visions to life, as seen in this bachelor’s kitchen remodel.

“Personal touches make our design process incredibly moving for clients and create excitement for the next steps in their home remodel” – Vianney Baltazar

“A career in home design has been an obvious choice for me from my childhood. My parents immigrated from Mexico to the United States, and I grew up in the small border town of Calexico, California. Growing up, my father worked full-time while my mother and I planned our dream home. We would watch design shows together, completely fascinated by all the details contributing to the showcased design. Eventually, my parents purchased our own home, where all my sketches, boards, and space planning was put into use! As time passed, I realized first-hand how much I enjoyed the design process and the effect an interior space can have on a homeowner.

“I then moved to the closest city near me and graduated from the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) accredited Interior Design program at the Design Institute of San Diego. I have been working in the interior design industry for almost five years now, and as technology progressed, so did my yearning for knowledge of the best way to communicate a design. I’ve previously worked with other 3D building modeling programs, but by far, Chief Architect is the most user-friendly I have come across. Chief Architect has all the tools to help you succeed in creating the most personalized design. The program has challenged me to get as creative as possible when bringing a client’s vision to life. Chief Architect has been the perfect fit for what our company stands for. (more…)

By 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…)

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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