Interior Designer Wins Prestigious 2021 Industry Awards
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NAPERVILLE, Ill. - illiNews -- Joan Kaufman, FASID, LEED AP, Design Director of Interior Planning & Design, Inc., of Naperville, has been named as the winner of the 2021 ASID Celebration of Design and Design Excellence Award for Universal Design and for Millwork Design and Detail. Kaufman was selected from a variety of entries in the category. This year, the American Society of Interior Designers – Illinois Chapter (ASID-IL) celebrated their awards program the Mart River Park and Marshall's Landing in Chicago. Over 150 designers and design enthusiasts joined together to congratulate the winners.

The Design Excellence Awards recognizes design professionals that are either members of ASID or IIDA Illinois Chapters or registered interior designers in Illinois. Designers submitted their entries in over 50 categories including residential, contract, and product design.

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A panel of distinguished interior design professionals from eight other ASID Chapters across the country reviewed the entries and selected category winners based on lighting, scale and proportion, color and composition, design creativity, function, and solutions appropriate to the design criteria. All entrants included an IMPACT statement – a detailed explanation of how the project positively affected the users' lives or livelihoods.

Kaufman stated, "We are exceptionally pleased to have received the two ASID awards.  The First Place - Universal Design award was for a Streamwood (Illinois) accessible bathroom my team and I designed that was initially a challenge, but the end result was beautiful, functional, and provided design features that significantly improved the clients' everyday lives in their home."

Kaufman's second award was First Place in the Millwork Design and Detail category for a custom wood booth and live edge island countertop in a Wheaton, Illinois home. The countertop, which separates the kitchen and family room, was created from an oak tree that was removed from the client's yard when the home was built. Wanting to recycle the tree, a section of the trunk was cut, milled, and finished into a natural wood countertop with a "live" edge treatment.

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Event sponsors included Presenting Sponsor, Monogram; Event sponsors: Design Center at the Merchandise Mart; Artist Frame Service; Cambria; Crystal Head Vodka; Artistic Tile; Oscar Isberian Rugs, and Modern Luxury Interiors Chicago served as the event's exclusive luxury media partner.

The American Society of Interior Designers–Illinois Chapter (ASID-IL) is a professional association representing the interests of over 1100 interior designers, students, and design industry partner members in Illinois. The office is located at 1647 Merchandise Mart, Chicago IL.

Interior Planning & Design, Inc. is based in Naperville, Illinois. The full-service design firm specializes in residential and commercial interior design and is celebrating its 30^th business anniversary this year. For information, visit: www.interiorplanning.com