What do you call it when you have NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw, Shark Tank host Daymond John and Hall of Fame rock band Chicago all in the same place? Besides one memorable party, some will remember it as the 2018 International Builders Show (IBS) in Orlando.
For Kimberly Timmons-Beutner and her Denver-based design firm, it was a wonderful way to celebrate the dawn of a new decade. Indeed, 20 years after Timmons-Beutner started her namesake company, the nationally acclaimed interior design firm won six more national awards for various design excellence and came home inspired by an energetic expo.
After peaking at some 100,000-plus attendees 10 years ago, making it one of America’s biggest conventions, this year’s National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) 74th annual convention and expo roared back in a big way when 85,000-plus energized registrants recently attended the IBS at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center.
With a resurgent economy as a tailwind, an air of optimism and buoyant sales talk echoed throughout the 583,000 square feet of exhibit space at last month’s event, comprising more than 1,500 exhibitors, 140 education sessions and two prestigious awards shows: The Nationals, hosted by NAHB National Sales and Marketing Council, and the Best in American Living Awards or “BALAs,” presented by NAHB’s Design Committee and Professional Builder magazine.
Meanwhile, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (KBIS) and 600-plus leading kitchen and bath brands participated in the International Builders Show for the fifth consecutive year, creating what NAHB and KBIS collectively coins, “Design & Construction Week.” Read our blog with some of our top finds from the show here.
The IBS exhibit space increased 14,000 square feet compared with last year’s gathering in Orlando. And the number of attendees also grew compared to 2017, attracting home building professionals from as far away as China.
For Kimberly Timmons Interiors, the annual event is three-fold: have fun connecting and reconnecting with fellow real estate industry peers and friends; be inspired by the latest products, materials and design trends; and hopefully be recognized by the real estate industry as one of the country’s top design firms.
In addition to KTI’s two Nationals that emerged from a field of more than 1,300 entries, the company also celebrated alongside its immensely talented Rocky Mountain peers as the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver’s Sales & Marketing Council won yet another National for top-performing region.
KTI earned Gold honors at Nationals for the firm’s work at the Waters Edge Waterford home in Utah, winning the category of “Best Interior Merchandising of a Model Priced from $300,000-$500,000.” The Silver Award was for the “Best Sales/Leasing Center” for the upscale Cherry Creek, Colo., high-rise project, The Laurel.
At the BALA affair, builders, architects and design professionals from all sectors of the residential housing industry shared one overriding principle that “all great homes start with great design, no matter cost or size,” according to NAHB’s design committee. And KTI delivered on that promise by winning a Gold BALA Community Award for the Sandia Amenity Center at Mirehaven in Albuquerque (Category 38: Community Facility) and another Gold BALA Remodeling Award for the Dining Room at this year’s Denver Designer Showhouse (Category 33: Remodeling Specialty Project).
The firm took home two Silver BALA Remodeling Awards for its stunning kitchen work at the Genuario residence in Lone Tree, Colo., (Category 30: Kitchen Remodel $75,001 & over) and the marvelous master bathroom remodel for the Smith home in Englewood, Colo (Category31: Bath Remodel up to $35,000).
To be sure, consistently being named as one of the industry’s design leaders is nothing new for Kimberly Timmons Interiors. But rest assured the growing list of awards never gets old.
“Each one is special and represents all the hard work and talent that went into it and we are always grateful when we are recognized,” Timmons-Beutner says.
Blog Written by Scott Kauffman