BlueStar has officially announced the winners of its highly anticipated annual Kitchen Design Contest, celebrating the ingenuity, exceptional vision, and inspiring creativity of architects and designers who seamlessly integrate professional-grade BlueStar appliances into residential spaces. This year’s competition highlighted a remarkable standard of craftsmanship, culminating in the selection of six talented professionals: one grand prize winner and five regional honorees who stood out among a competitive pool of nationwide entries.
The rigorous selection process was overseen by a curated panel of industry experts, featuring notable designers and previous Kitchen Design Contest winners Garry and Suzanne Shumaker—who are also renowned for selecting the upcoming 2026 Color of the Year—alongside Jenn Feldman of Jenn Feldman Design and Lindsay Woolf of Woolf Architecture. Together, the judges reviewed a diverse portfolio of entries that showcased innovative color usage, highly functional spatial layouts, and sophisticated material palettes.
The ultimate top honor for this year’s competition was awarded to Mark Schwebel, a talented designer and builder at Big Art Building Corp based in San Jose, New Mexico. Schwebel captured the judges’ attention with his stunning work on Calle Largo Ranch, a project that brilliantly demonstrated the meticulous attention to detail required to elevate minimal, organic design into something truly exceptional.
At the heart of Schwebel’s winning kitchen is a custom Fawn Brown BlueStar 48-inch Dual Fuel Range, which acts as the commanding visual and functional anchor of the space. The range is framed exquisitely by natural white oak cabinetry and matching white oak floors, establishing a warm, cohesive foundation. To complement this earthy palette, Schwebel incorporated floor-to-ceiling silver travertine imported directly from just east of Rome, Italy, alongside Taj Mahal quartzite countertops finished with a subtle whitewash treatment designed to prevent yellowing over time.
The project’s material narrative extends even further through thoughtful, sustainable sourcing. The striking ceiling beams were meticulously milled from white fir that Schwebel personally sourced from dead timber 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 shipped out to New Mexico.
In terms of layout, Schwebel made the deliberate decision to omit traditional upper cabinetry, a choice that kept the intentionally compact kitchen feeling open, airy, and uncluttered. By removing upper cabinets, he was able to install a prominent window that floods the space with natural light while diverting extra storage needs into a well-appointed butler’s pantry.
The panel of judges offered high praise for Schwebel’s thoughtful execution. According to Garry and Suzanne Shumaker of Shumaker Design Associates, the space immediately stands out for its honest design approach and its calm, inviting atmosphere. They noted that the BlueStar range is integrated into the layout with exceptional care, creating a striking yet harmonious contrast against the minimalist materials surrounding it. Every single detail, they emphasized, was executed with a level of precision that proves clean lines demand the absolute highest standard of craftsmanship.
Following the announcement of the grand prize winner, BlueStar also revealed the names of its five regional winners, further spotlighting the geographic diversity and high caliber of residential kitchen design happening across the country.
Ann Muth, vice president of marketing at BlueStar, reflected on the broader impact of the annual competition and the remarkable work submitted by the design community. Each year, Muth noted, the company is deeply honored by the imaginative ways designers and architects incorporate BlueStar products into their architectural visions. These submitted projects provide a fascinating window into the dynamic methods professionals use to experiment with bold color choices, engineer practical everyday layouts, and ultimately enrich their clients’ daily lives at home. Muth also highlighted the immense value of collaborating with past contest winners as judges, explaining that the partnership helps the BlueStar team stay attuned to evolving industry trends while discovering fresh ways to support and celebrate the design community.
The annual Kitchen Design Contest has steadily grown into a coveted and prestigious honor within the interior architecture and design industries. It serves as a premier platform celebrating extraordinary kitchen projects that prominently feature BlueStar’s signature professional-style appliances, including high-performance ranges, wall ovens, custom ventilation hoods, and premium residential refrigeration systems.
As recognition for their outstanding achievement, the grand prize winner is awarded a package of BlueStar appliances carrying a retail value of up to $20,000. Additionally, the five regional winners are awarded premium cookware sets with retail values ranging between $400 and $600, cementing BlueStar’s ongoing commitment to supporting the culinary and design professionals who bring their products to life.
