BlueStar has officially announced the winners of its highly anticipated annual Kitchen Design Contest, an event that celebrates the creativity, vision, and architectural excellence of designers who incorporate the brand’s professional-style appliances into their residential projects. This year’s competition highlighted a diverse array of talent, showcasing how modern architects and interior designers balance high-performance culinary machinery with organic materials, striking color palettes, and thoughtful spatial layouts.
From a vast pool of submissions, a curated panel of industry experts selected six outstanding professionals for top honors: one grand prize winner and five regional winners. The distinguished judging panel featured notable figures in the design world, including Garry and Suzanne Shumaker of Shumaker Design Associates—who also selected the upcoming 2026 Color of the Year—alongside Jenn Feldman of Jenn Feldman Design and Lindsay Woolf of Woolf Architecture. Together, the judges evaluated entries based on innovation, craftsmanship, aesthetic harmony, and the seamless integration of BlueStar products, which include high-end ranges, wall ovens, ventilation hoods, and premium refrigeration units.
The coveted grand prize for this year’s competition was awarded to Mark Schwebel, a designer and builder at Big Art Building Corp based in San Jose, New Mexico. Schwebel earned the top honor for his exceptional work on a project known as Calle Largo Ranch. The striking kitchen immediately captivated the judging panel with its rigorous attention to detail and its demonstration of how minimal, organic design can achieve an extraordinary level of sophistication.
At the heart of the Calle Largo Ranch kitchen sits a custom Fawn Brown BlueStar 48-inch Dual Fuel Range, serving as both a high-performance culinary anchor and a stunning visual focal point. The range is framed by natural white oak cabinetry and matching white oak flooring, establishing a warm, cohesive foundation for the room. Elevating the material palette further, the space features floor-to-ceiling silver travertine that was imported directly from just east of Rome, Italy, paired with luxurious Taj Mahal quartzite countertops. To preserve the pristine look of the stone and prevent unwanted yellowing over time, the quartzite was finished with a subtle whitewash technique.
Schwebel’s commitment to authentic craftsmanship extended to the structural elements of the room. Overhead, rustic ceiling beams were meticulously milled from white fir timber that Schwebel personally sourced from dead trees left in the wake of the devastating 2021 Caldor Fire near Lake Tahoe. Meanwhile, the white oak utilized throughout the kitchen was cut by a friend in New York’s Hudson Valley before being carefully shipped across the country to New Mexico.
Rather than incorporating traditional upper cabinetry that might have weighed down or crowded the intentionally compact kitchen layout, Schwebel chose to eliminate them entirely. This deliberate choice allowed for the installation of an expansive window that floods the space with natural light, while all extra storage requirements were cleverly routed into an adjacent butler’s pantry, maximizing both utility and aesthetic clean lines.
The design drew high praise from the judging panel. According to Garry and Suzanne Shumaker, the space stands out for its honest design and its calm, inviting atmosphere. They noted that the BlueStar range is thoughtfully integrated into the overall layout, establishing a gorgeous visual contrast against the minimalist materials surrounding it. Every single detail, the judges observed, was executed with absolute precision, proving that achieving the cleanest architectural lines requires the highest tier of craftsmanship.
Following the announcement of the grand prize, BlueStar also revealed the five regional winners of the competition, recognizing exceptional projects from diverse geographic markets and design philosophies. While the regional winning projects featured distinct regional influences and personal touches, they all shared a common thread of elevating residential kitchen architecture through innovative layouts and the artful use of professional-grade appliances.
Ann Muth, vice president of marketing at BlueStar, reflected on the significance of the annual competition and the inspiring work submitted by the professional design community. Each year, she noted, the brand is honored by the incredible projects that designers create with BlueStar in mind. Muth explained that these competition entries provide the company with a valuable look into the dynamic, evolving ways that architects and designers utilize custom color, engineer practical and efficient layouts, and ultimately enrich their clients’ everyday home lives. Furthermore, collaborating with esteemed past winners to serve as competition judges allows the internal BlueStar team to closely explore emerging industry trends while discovering new avenues to support, celebrate, and recognize the broader design community.
The annual Kitchen Design Contest has steadily grown into a prestigious and coveted accolade within the architecture and interior design sectors. It serves as a platform to celebrate extraordinary kitchen projects that prominently feature BlueStar’s signature professional-style cooking and refrigeration systems. As recognition for their achievements, the grand prize winner is awarded a selection of BlueStar appliances carrying a retail value of up to $20,000. Additionally, the honored regional winners receive premium professional cookware sets, with retail values ranging between $400 and $600, further cementing the brand’s ongoing partnership with top-tier culinary and design professionals.
