Announcing Designhounds KBIS 2020

We are proud to announce our 8th year of Designhounds at KBIS and are thrilled to be able to bring such a powerful group to KBIS 2020 to cover the show and our sponsors. But wait – there’s more! For 2020, we will not only share kitchen & bath innovations and trends, we will also host two major events:

The Designhounds KBIS Kickoff Mixer

Designhounds has grown into an influencer network with over 500 members and we know that, in addition to this year’s official group, many of our members will be at KBIS on their own. We’re bringing them all together for cocktails on January 20. If you are already part of the Designhounds network please contact us for an invitation and if you’d like to apply to become one of our influencers, you can do that here.

The Designhounds of the Year Awards

Please join our inaugural Designhounds of the Year Awards at the KBIS Next Stage on January 23 from 3-5 PM. You’re welcome to attend as guest, or, if you think you have what it takes, you still have time to enter the awards yourself. NOMINATE YOURSELF OR YOUR FAVORITE INFLUENCERS! Nominations run through November 18, 2019 and daily public voting begins November 25, 2019 – December 15, 2019.

Meet the team: Designhounds KBIS 2020

Alyce Lopez owns and operates The True House, a full-service interior design firm that specializes in residential design for busy, young families. Alyce began her career in interior design after purchasing a fixer upper with her husband. The two navigated through renovations on a 1950’s rambler maximizing their creativity and pocket change. The True House came about organically after documenting their home renovations on social media.Alyce Lopez grew up in southern California in Aliso Viejo, CA.  Growing up near some of the most beautiful beaches, Alyce was always inspired by natural textures and elements.  She graduated with a degree in education.  In 2006, she married her husband who teaches kindergarten locally in Chula Vista.  Today, Alyce is mother to two young children (ages 6 & 8) and her pug, Mochi. TTH focuses on bringing a transitional aesthetic to the common builder grade home in south San Diego.  Alyce prides herself in making each home more functional and livable for young families while respecting her clients’ budgets.  She believes your home should be a reflection of your personal style and provide customized features that make life more enjoyable.  The True House recognizes that your home is your largest financial investment and it should be treated with the proper care and attention. The True House is the top reviewed interior designer in south San Diego. Alyce has been featured as a style spotter for industry shows and is a brand ambassador for Revolution Performance fabrics.  You can find her work published by Home Living Design, SD Voyager, My Hometown and Furniture Today.

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Emily Clark is the Co-owner, Principal Designer, and Creative Director of Clark & Co. Homes, a design/build firm located in Boise. A mother of five, Emily creates homes that are as functional as they are beautiful, with an emphasis on clean lines, natural light and classic proportions. Her award-winning custom homes have been recognized locally and nationally, including the Best in American Living Platinum Award and Thermador’s 100th Anniversary Kitchen Design Challenge Regional and Designer’s Choice Awards. Her work has been featured in Professional Builder Magazine, American Farmhouse Style Magazine, The Scout Guide, and through trade partnerships with Caesarstone and Emtek.

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Laura Muller is the Principal Interior Designer and Owner of FOUR POINT DESIGN BUILD INC., an award winning multi-disciplinary full service commercial and residential interior design and build firm based in Los Angeles, serving clients nationwide. By customizing, cultivating and building strong talented multi-disciplinary project teams that understand the demands of deadlines and collaboration, Laura and her husband Cliff can successfully control and deliver one-of-a-kind  timeless and classic projects that exceeds expectation; in their unmistakable signature Clean Fresh Modern^TM. style. 

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Nicole White is the CEO and Principal Designer of Nicole White Designs Interiors, a full-service boutique interior design firm based in Sunrise, Florida.Known for her renovation prowess, Nicole has been featured in various local, national and international publications including – HGTV, Better Homes and Gardens magazines; Ocean Drive, Huffington Post and Domino online magazines, as well The Miami Herald and Jamaica Observer. She’s twice been noted as an emerging designer to watch by the Black Interior Designers Network and was a recipient of the Z-Gallerie Design Award Fall/Winter 2013. Nicole is also a brand ambassador/influencer for The Home Depot, Zephyr, Purple Drywall and City Furniture.Before launching her successful design firm, Nicole was an award-winning journalist whose stories appeared in The Miami Herald and Village Voice newspapers. Her combined love of design and writing, spawned the creation of her blog:  www.livelaughdecorate.com where she showcases the behind the scenes details of design projects, shares tips on affordable design ideas, and dishes about design trends.Her blog was nominated for Best Renovation Blog by Domino Magazine in 2018. A Jamaican native, Nicole is deeply inspired by the colors and textures of the Caribbean and constantly fuses those elements in her designs. An avid foodie and wine lover, Nicole is always busy plotting a travel escape. Her greatest design however is her 7-year-old son, Xavier – artist, bowling champion and dinosaur aficionado. For more info and project details visit: www.nwdinteriors.com

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Amanda Carlson is a seasoned interior designer from Nashville, TN, and is as passionate as they come. She embraces each project with curiosity and takes the time to dive into the who and why of each client and space so she can create a functional, yet beautiful, area for each one. Amanda believes that a person’s surroundings can easily guide their family rhythm, so her goal with her company Anthem Collective is to find out the desired “anthem” for each client and their home. She has a love and a knack for blending the beloved old with the fresh new, while adding a dash of natural elements in order to make any space feel treasured and relatable to it’s roots. The majority of Amanda’s projects have been completed in the Greater Nashville area, but she has also worked in Chattanooga, TN, and Scottsdale, AZ, where she started her career as an intern and showroom designer shortly after college. She has been practicing interior design since 2001 and has her Bachelor’s of Interior Design from the University of TN, Chattanooga. #AnthemOfHome #AnthemCollective

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When Jennifer was 6 years old she built a dollhouse with her great grandfather. Then she became an interior designer.Hyman Interiors is a Chicago based interior design firm located in the Logan Square neighborhood. In 2011, Jennifer mused there had to be a way to connect her experiences as an arts events planner, gallery curator and manager, event designer and stylist with her love of residential and commercial interior design. Hyman Interiors has grown as a full service interior design studio offering design consultation, internet design services, and furniture refabbing. She merges context, functionality, and sustainability using Merchandise Mart treasures and thrift store scores to create unexpected, edgy and eclectic interiors on all budget levels.

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Laurence Carr is widely recognized as a pioneering voice in the movement toward sustainable and wellness-centered interior design. Laurence’s award-winning blog, Beyond Aesthetics, was created in early 2018 with the mission of further educating clients and design professionals on the significance of sustainable, holistic interior design to our own wellbeing and that of our planet. Beyond Aesthetics marries Laurence’s global citizenship, well-trained eye for luxury and passion for raising awareness of the importance of eco-friendly design practices, providing a unique voice that is vital to the future of the interior design industry. Through her value driven New York based design firm,Laurence Carr Design, she is widely recognized for her application of well being principles and ancient techniques in high end residential and hospitality projects.

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Niki McNeill is a Raleigh, NC native interior designer and blogger. Her love for the details of kitchen and bath design has driven her to projects all along the southeast region. When described she is often called the “fun sized” designer because she packs as much enjoyment as possible into her small frame. Learn more about Niki on her blog SingleBubblePop.

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Amanda M. Amato is the CEO and Principal Designer behind AMA Designs & Interiors, a design firm based in Northern New Jersey, serving residential and commercial clients both locally and virtually. As a certified Design Psychology Specialist, she creates intentional interiors that influence positivity and support people entering new chapters of life or business. With a decade of industry experience, Amanda transforms clients’ spaces while making their lives beautiful one room at a time. Her design technique combines intentionality, functionality, and the Client’s personality to create an environment that elevates their living space and headspace.

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Christine Kohut of Christine Kohut Interiors was dubbed the Design Ninja a few years ago by a client and the nickname stuck. She honed her ninja skills while creating stylishly comfortable spaces for her clients, believing that there is an art to making a house your home. She has the ability to inject her clients’ personalities into their surroundings, focusing on the way their homes feel in addition to how good it looks, while featuring items and materials that are beautiful yet practical, luxurious yet realistic, tasteful but not too serious. She has had her work featured in various trade magazines as well as HGTV and was on The Nate Show. As an avid learner of the latest technology and trends in design, she enjoys being able to share her finds through her blog and social media. A dedicated wife and mother of three daughters, she is currently relocating to the Bay Area of California after 22 years in NJ.

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Jennifer Tampasis is Owner and Principal Designer of Jennifer Lynn Interiors, a full-service interior design firm based in Kingston, New York and serving clients near and far. Over a four year span, Jennifer Lynn Interiors has been featured in Designers Today, Hudson Valley Style Magazine and Hudson Valley Magazine.Since founding JLI in 2015, Jennifer has built her business by creating one-of-a-kind spaces that reflect the unique people living in them. Her design aesthetic runs the spectrum of trend and tradition, balancing comfort and functionality with a dash of modern panache.Jennifer attributes her keen eye for color and texture to her time spent traveling the world and living abroad in Spain. Unexpected textures, light-filled rooms, punches of color, and a sense of wanderlust are the hallmarks of a Jennifer Lynn designed home.But what really differentiates Jennifer is her knack for creative collaboration. Drawing from her former career as a teacher, Jennifer is dedicated to guiding you through the design process and making it a learning experience for both parties. As your design partner, she invests in understanding your vision and translating your ideas into a timeless, livable space that’s tailored to your style, needs and budget.

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Lynn Byrne is a nationally televised expert in decorative arts and design history. She has written extensively about art, travel, and interior design. Lynn has covered design events around the world, including events such as the London Design Fair, the West Edge Design Show in Los Angeles, Ambiente in Frankfurt, Germany and High Point Market in High Point, NC.Lynn has developed and written digital content for a number of companies and design industry professionals. Her own, award-winning blog has been a staple in the art, architecture and interior design fields since 2009. Lynn also microblogs on Instagram to an engaged international audience of over 13 thousand followers.

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Margot Austin is a Toronto-based interiors stylist, decorator and communications professional with more than 15 years of experience at Canada’s top media brands, including Canadian Living, Style at Home and House & Home. Margot is founder and editor of the blog The Design Edit, and co-founder of AustinSmyth Communications, a boutique agency specializing in representing designers and interior design brands.

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Toma is The Antiques Diva, owner of Europe and Asia’s largest antiques touring and sourcing company. After speaking at ADAC their marketing director Melissa Wilson was quoted as saying, “She shouldn’t be called The Antiques Diva but rather The Antiques Maven!” A favorite part of her job is sharing her knowledge whether by taking clients on an antiques buying tour or teaching readers and listeners through her articles for leading publications and speaking engagements across the USA and Europe.Working with some of the top names in antiques and design, Clark Haines is in the unique position of being able to forecast trends in design based upon noting the plethora of requests for certain pieces and periods.An authority on how to buy antiques in Europe and Asia and ship them to the buyer’s home country, Clark Haines recently added a fine art and antiques shipping service to her company. Clark Haines is an in-demand speaker at international conferences, trade shows and events for interior and architectural designers, design bloggers, and antique resellers. Her intimate knowledge of the European antiques market makes Clark Haines a sought-after speaker and “cool hunter” to forecast interior design trends. She speaks often on the subject of mixing antiques with modern furnishings, the history of European furniture and the business of antiques; as well as entrepreneurism and women in business.

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Allison Mattison is located in Hingham, MA and runs the Trellis Home Design Studio & Showroom, which was featured in Boston Globe Magazine as “Best of the New, 2016”, voted “Best of Boston Home” in 2017, as well as being featured in New England Home and Traditional Home magazine.  Allison offers full service residential design and home styling in the South Shore, Cape and Islands, and the greater Boston area, and will travel out of state for design projects upon request. Allison is an intuitive Interior Decorator with a passion for classic design and color.  Through consultations, listening to client needs, effective budgeting and creative sourcing, Allison works together with her clients to create happy, comfortable spaces that are classic with a modern spin.  She loves mixing “new” with “old” and creating vibrant spaces that reflect clients’ unique personalities. Her clients include busy families and executives who want their homes to be both beautiful AND livable, something she relates to, being the mother of two children under the age of 10.Allison graduated from University of Colorado, Boulder with a BA in Art History and a minor in Studio Art, and after 3 years working in an Art Gallery and teaching skiing in Aspen, CO, moved to San Francisco where she began her career in Fashion:  first working for Banana Republic (Gap Inc.) and attending post graduate school for Fashion Design at the Academy of Art College, and eventually moving to New York City, where she worked as the Collection Buyer for Michael Kors’ Madison Ave. & Rodeo Drive boutiques, as well as helping to launch the first of his “Michael by Michel Kors” boutiques and Outlet stores.  She then moved to Philadelphia and was Sr. Director of Women’s Merchandising at Lilly Pulitzer, before returning back to New York as the Jewelry Buyer for the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Her fashion career and love of color in both design and textiles paved the way for her career and true calling in Interior Design.

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