Sensational spaces: Design awards.

Welcome to our first annual interior design competition. We asked Mississippi's designers to send us their best work, and we were overwhelmed by the response! Photographs teeming with daring color combinations, creative uses of space, and innovative stylistic choices flooded into the office, convincing us that the judges would never narrow it down to just nine winners. However, after poring over entry after entry, scrutinizing photographs, and jotting down comments, our judges were finally able to make their decision. Each judge commented on how difficult it was to choose just one room in each category, but after much deliberating, the best kitchen, dining room, entryway, living room, breakfast area, master bedroom, child's room, and bathroom emerged the winners. Every entry we received that did not fit into one of those categories was considered for the Judge's Choice award, and our judges enthusiastically decided on a guest bedroom with handpainted furniture as the winner in this category. Mississippi is e ndowed with so many talented designers who are hard at work all over the state creating inviting interiors with the perfect balance of sophistication and comfort, elegance and charm. We are delighted to present the winners of Mississippi Magazine's first annual Sensational Spaces Design Awards.

RELATED ARTICLE: Best KITCHEN

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GREG CAMPBELL 

Vibrant color and a wonderful blend of textures work with the layout of this kitchen to create a space that is charming and functional at the same time. Lisa Paris, interior designer and owner of this home, and Mellany C. Kitchens CKD of Kitchens Unique in Jackson combined all the elements of design to pull off a look of casual elegance in this 1800s English style kitchen. According to Kitchens, the focal point of the space is the large preparation island, which houses a trash pullout, fully concealed dishwasher, and an abundant amount of storage. The evergreen china hutches store china and linens, while balancing the large, open room and framing the adjacent breakfast area. Mixing natural materials, such as limestone countertops and knotty cypress island and floors, creates the perfect contrast to the cheerful yellow walls and green china hutches. This kitchen fantastically utilizes a large, open space by blending color, texture, and utility to create an inviting atmosphere of warmth and comfort.

Mellany C. Kitchens

Lisa Paris

Best FOYER

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID WIGGINS

Beth Miller, ASID, interior design instructor at Mississippi State University, effectively combined bold color and sophisticated accessories to create a majestic first impression in the foyer of this Louisville home. Miller, whose parents owned this house before the present owners, would have been extremely familiar with the architectural elements of her childhood home, and she used them to set the tone of European-style formal elegance that the new owners desired. The graceful lines created by the staircase are enhanced by the effect of light and shadows on the deep coral colored walls. A faux marbling technique by Bill Moss was used on the risers of the stairs, adding a formal decorative accent and serving as a nice contrast to the small blocks of the teak wood parquet floors. A large mirror, which used to hang in the Cherokee in Natchez, adds depth and dimension, flanked on either side by Chippendale wall shelves. French Louis XV antiques and reproductions continue the formal design scheme, providing a gr and impression that is carried Out to the rest of the house.

Best Miller

Best DINING ROOM

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID WIGGINS

Becky Stubbs of Reflections in Meridian used rich hues and a mixture of styles to create a romantic ambiance in the dining room of her home. Employing elements from various periods and cultures, Stubbs chose a pomegranate crackled wallpaper as the background for her combination of furniture and accessories. Faux finished chairs with an Old World tapestry fabric in paprika and gold surround vintage Florentine columns topped with glass cut in proportion to the rug to achieve spatial balance. The faux-finished iron chandelier, trumeau mirror, and painted wall panel add a traditional French touch, enhancing the romantic feel. Gold and green fringed fabric in a geometric print frames the windows and continues the color scheme. The end result is a space infused with rich color and strong, sophisticated design that is perfect for an elegant dinner party or a romantic dinner for two.

Becky Stubbs

Best BREAKFAST ROOM

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL BARRETT

The simplicity and masterful blending of textures and colors in this breakfast area by Celia Barrett, ASID, reflects the essence of comfortable dining. A warm neutral wall color is an excellent background for this space, as it allows a broad mixture of colors and textures to stand out against it. A mid-nineteenth century farmhouse table is a well-chosen centerpiece, complemented by kitchen chairs repainted with a stylish white aged finish. This contrast is balanced by the simple floral pattern on the chair cushions. An old pine chest serves as a buffet, holding a successful grouping of candlesticks and copper serving pieces, set off by the muted colors of the framed artwork above it. Wrought iron sconces flank the chest, utilizing wall space to provide interest and symmetry. The rug of reds, blues, and neutrals defines this casual dining area with a bold splash of color and pattern that adds appeal without fighting with the rest of the space. This breakfast area delightfully combines understated elegance and style with the comfort that invites guests to relax with a cup of coffee in their robe and slippers.

Celia Barrett

Best LIVING ROOM

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID JOHNSTON

Utilizing every inch of space in this cozy living room, Cheryl Lunn of ML Interiors in Jackson has created a warm environment by creatively combining color and texture to make the best use of the space. A fireplace awkwardly angled in one corner, low ceilings, and few architectural details made this room a definite challenge. Exchanging an old board mantel for an antique door header transformed the once uninteresting fireplace into a worthy focal point for the room. Blending antique reproductions with old family treasures collected through the years connected the room with its owners, while producing an excellent balance of mass and design elements. Using the walls to create drama, Lunn painted them with a faux technique simulating the look of rich brown leather, punctuated by gold leaf trim, molding, and baseboards. She then magically raised the intrusive ceiling by painting a wide band around the outer edge of the molding, accenting it with a band of gold leaf. The once distracting angles of the room now cr eated an interesting play of patterns on the ceiling. The resulting total look is warm, inviting, and cozy, all of the things a living room should be.

Best MASTER BEDROOM

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GREG CAMPBELL

This space exemplifies all of the "characteristics a master bedroom should have. Designed by Cynthia Thomas this room exudes privacy and drama, inviting peaceful relaxation from its dwellers. The dark walls stand in lavish contrast to the natural stained maple floors and white linens, striking a dramatic balance that continues with the use of symmetry throughout the room. A custom-built mahogany armoire complements the mahogany bed, while keeping in scale with the room's high ceilings. The crowning mood-setter for this room, however, is in the butternut silk draperies accented with tomato red silk banding and wooden beaded trim, designed to hang on curved rods so that the panels of fabric can be closed to meet in the corners of the room, creating the ultimate relaxing retreat of privacy and darkness. The contrast of darks and lights, dramatic framing of the space with the drapes, and use of symmetry and balance results in a master bedroom steeped with a sense of luxurious comfort.

Cynthia Thomas

MISSISSIPPI 61

Best BATHROOM

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GREG CAMPBELL

Anne Cook, ASID, of Anne Cook Interior Design and Dale Wallace, ASID, of Wallace Interior Design teamed up to take on the challenge of making a big splash in a small space for this powder room. Only four feet in width, this space required a bold, fresh approach to make a lasting impression. Cook worked with faux finish artist Amanda Ray to produce the diamond-patterned wall design in cobalt and pewter burnished with metallic silver, a striking and innovative background that is further complemented by the choice of accessories, fixtures, and surfaces. A flowing Blue Pearl granite countertop, designed by Wallace, curves to encompass the vessel-style cobalt blue ceramic basin, and a brushed stainless steel laminate surround encloses the pipes below, producing a sleek, contemporary look. Two halogen pendant fixtures with beaded cobalt blue shades provide brilliant light above the pewter-metallic framed mirror. All of these elements work together to innovatively maximize a small space with an impressive effect.

Anne Cook

Dale Wallace

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID WIGGINS

Best CHILD'S ROOM

Sue Ellen Akers of Kidscapes Interiors in Pearl knows how to make a child's dream come to life. Airplanes are everywhere in this bedroom created for a three year old little boy named Logan, from the finials on the curtain rod to the black and white photographs on the wall. The swatch of Antique Airshow fabric provided the inspiration for the room's decor, along with the fact that Logan's dad also loves airplanes. Akers chose the wall color to flow with the rest of the home's color scheme and added a faux finish to give it depth and texture. The nightstand and dresser are painted with khaki and cream stripes, blue pulls, and red tops, while the chest at the end of the bed is reminiscent of an old shipping crate, emblazoned with an American flag and the words "U.S. Air Cargo." The room is full of creative touches that carry on the airplane motif, but the muted colors and subtle patterns prevent it from appearing overdone or cheesy. The overall design is fun and imaginative, but it also meets the challenge of g rowing with the child-this room is one he can enjoy for many years to come.

JUDGES' CHOICE

Sue Ellen Akers

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID WIGGINS

This guest bedroom in Meridian, designed by Bob Hampton, AIFD, of Memphis, is a successful blend of delicate femininity and bold color, centered around handpainted furniture by Scott Gavin. The use of color and symmetry by Hampton works with the furniture to create a French, feminine feel. The twin beds, found at different times and places, possessed a dark, drab finish. The light green and gold leaf combination shows up wonderfully against the reddish salmon walls, and the detail on the headboard and footboard gives the space an artistic flair. Linens were chosen to add texture but not take away from the beds themselves; the white matelasse spreads are accented by splashes of corals and blues in the pillow fabric. The demi lune between the beds was designed specifically for this space by Gavin, and it unites the two sides of the room. Nearly identical panels above each bed add to the symmetry of the room, giving it a sense of formal balance, while whimsical touches, like the porcelain parrots resting on the demi lune, make guests feel comfortable. Gavin's touches on the furniture paired with the overall design by Bob Hampton are definitely a winning combination.

Bob Hampton

Scott Gavin