Meet the 2014 CA Home + Design Awards Guest Judges!
Author:Lindsey ShookEvery year we invite CA-based design pros to submit their most innovative and exciting recent projects for consideration in our awards competition. Usually our editorial team judges the projects we receive in-house, but this year we’re doing things a little differently.
Along with featuring the winning projects in a dedicated issue of CA Home + Design magazine and honoring them at an awards gala, we invited three Guest Judges to get in on the fun! We’re very excited to announce that LA-based designers Martyn Lawrence Bullard and Mary McDonald, and San Francisco blogger and stylist Caitlin Flemming will be helping us pick our design winners. Along with being respected and beloved in their fields, these three professionals have a keen eye and deep understanding of California design and what it takes to stand out in our community. So take a minute to get to know our Guest Judges, and then submit your projects to the CA Home+Design Awards! (Deadling for entry is Friday, November 15th!)
Martyn Lawrence Bullard
1. As a Guest Judge, what kind of design innovations are you hoping to see from the CH+D Awards submissions? Any particular color palettes, architecture, or overall design aesthetic that you want to see represented?
I love and am always excited to see what young talent will expose us to during these judging rounds. Color is so strong in design currently so I’m hoping to see some strong colors used like orange, sienna, emerald, and, of course, black and white. New shapes in furnishings, new technology embraced and respect for the past, a true modernist interior at its best!
2. Which of the 11 categories are you most excited to judge and why?
I like all the categories for their individuality and expression in the fields of design. Personality shines in this competition and each category has its own wonderful moments and things to look forward to.
3. What makes our state’s design community so vibrant to you and what’s great about designing in California?
California is an amazing place to design in. Our casual design style and living aesthetic is always inspirational. How Californians understand comfort is the first key to good design, not expected elsewhere, yet in California modern luxury is explained as comfort. I love this, and because of this vibe, California and its designers are leading the field in the world for inventive design and a love for relaxed living. California designers are shining currently like never before. We are a force to be reckoned with!
Mary McDonald
1. As a Guest Judge, what kind of design innovations are you hoping to see from the CH+D Awards submissions? Any particular color palettes, architecture, or overall design aesthetic that you want to see represented?
I really look forward to seeing outside the box, thinking in terms of materials and their usage in both the interior furnishings side as well as creative architecture. There is such a exploding amount of raw innovative talent out there breaking new boundaries. I find the design with nods to futuristic aesthetics one of the most exciting since there is so much room for iconic design. Personally, my style is really rooted in classicism which is why I find the most modern approach the most eye opening, causing me to think in new ways myself.
2. Which of the 11 categories are you most excited to judge and why?
My top four are for the following reasons:
– Emerging Designers & Emerging Tastemakers:
I am always excited to see someone’s work that is just starting that has a specific point of view, talent, and intangible sense of aesthetics. It is one of those things that you can’t really teach someone as it comes from an innate talent which has been honed through training. You can always see it and say, “Hey, this person has the intangible IT.” This is true for the Emerging Tastemaker category as well. This might have been someone that has been catching your eye here and there because they have been making aesthetic choices from a space of inherent knowledge of balance in whatever form that takes.
– Landscape:
I love gardens and interior design and enjoy so, so many different types of homes and gardens all over the world that it inspires me to see yet another aspect of talent out there making the world more beautiful.
– Kitchen and Bath Design:
I’m excited about kitchens and baths because their purpose has changed in the home so drastically over the past 25 years that they are one of the most innovative spaces to design. Baths can include sitting rooms and kitchens are practically living rooms; they simultaneously serve a multitude of needs. I love to see how these innovations are addressed. Besides, sometimes I need new ideas myself… wink, wink.
3. What makes our state’s design community so vibrant to you and what’s great about designing in California?
We are not afraid to do something that has never been done before. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but when it does, it tends to break a lot of barriers.
Caitlin Flemming
1. As a Guest Judge, what kind of design innovations are you hoping to see from the CH+D Awards submissions? Any particular color palettes, architecture, or overall design aesthetic that you want to see represented?
This CH+D awards year, I feel designers are pushing the envelope on design with office spaces, mixing old and new, and even here in the Bay Area, designers are having to add a lot of detailed elements into very modern buildings. I also think technology is going to play a key role as well with young designers.
2. Which of the 11 categories are you most excited to judge and why?
Now that I’m on the other side of the awards it’s going to be such a pleasure to see what new, innovated designs get submitted. This year I’m excited to see the new designer category – I’m in awe of what young designers are doing by taking risks.
3. What makes our state’s design community so vibrant to you and what’s great about designing in California?
What I love about California design is the casual elegance that is embodied by designers. California designers have the ability to make a home or room have a luxurious feel, but there is also the feeling that you can kick back and enjoy the simple things in life. One thing that makes California designers stand out right now is making homes have a worldly feeling – we’re all traveling and bringing home inspiration and discoveries back into our clients’ homes. There are tons of designers in California that are incredibly talented and I can’t wait to see how they grow and evolve.
Don’t delay! Submit your projects to the CA Home+Design Awards by Friday, November 15th. Good luck!
