Top designs recognized

The Las Vegas Design Center presented its inaugural Design of the Year awards last week, recognizing excellence in design by Southern Nevada interior designers and design students.

Kelley Cozzolino of Bigelow Interiors received the top Design of the Year honor for her remodel of a cottage in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Calif.

For the project, she found a 50-year-old cottage without a single window facing west. Creating an ocean view was her first goal. Then, she added a fireplace, recycled glass countertops and other green features to make the home energy efficient. She worked to incorporate elements of traditional East Coast design to help the clients feel at home, as the husband was from New York and the wife was from Boston.

Cozzolino said she strived to create a cottage for the owners that was comfortable and beautiful, as well as low maintenance. She said many of her ideas were modeled after the movie "As Good As It Gets," which "I watched over and over.

"My goal was for them to walk into the cottage and be happy there. I wanted a place where they could kick off their shoes and not want to leave. I call it whipped cream; it's just yummy."

Cozzolino credits Chereskin Architecture, her partner in the project, for helping make all the elements come together, along with the Robert Allen/Beacon Hill showroom at the design center.

"Kelley and her team did an exceptional job of ensuring there was strong continuity throughout the home. She kept the original cottage structure yet transformed the interior to ensure it was up-to-date and comfortable," said Randy Wells, vice president of the design center and one of the judges.

Wells said the entries were judged for their design concept, context, innovation in use of materials and overall execution. A team of design center showroom managers and owners along with World Market Center Las Vegas senior management judged the awards.

The second-place winner was Alice Roussos of Interior Motives for her project Meyers' residence, while third-place was awarded to Heather Soto and Michelle Dimauro of Inhabit Design for their project Lock residence addition.

Divina-Grace Balazo was named winner of the student division. Enrolled at University of Nevada, Las Vegas' School of Interior Design and Architecture, she created a conceptual design for an Aveda store in Cape Town, South Africa.

Balazo, in her second year of studies at UNLV, said she was thrilled to be recognized. She created the store design as a final project last semester. She said each student was assigned a store and country and asked to create a design that reflected the brand and nation's culture.

She said she really enjoyed incorporating the Dutch and British Colonial influences found in South Africa along with the native design elements. One of her favorite elements was a light fixture that resembled a sun with rays guiding customers to the different products offered by Aveda.

The awards were presented during a luncheon hosted by the design center. Each winner was given an engraved award from Tiffany & Co.; Cozzolino also was given a weekend for two at the luxurious Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.