KBF Design Gallery wins Silver in national remodel awards

KBF Design Gallery won Silver in Qualified Remodeler’s 2026 Master Design Awards for a Winter Park whole-home renovation that reworked a childhood home into a more functional family space. The project stood out for its design, construction quality and behind-the-walls upgrades, including new sewer lines and HVAC.

Why it matters: - The award puts the Maitland-based KBF Design Gallery among national winners in residential remodeling. - The recognition highlights a project that balanced emotional preservation with major functional upgrades in a Winter Park home. - The honor also underscores how much of a remodel’s value comes from structural work that is not visible in photos.

What happened: - KBF Design Gallery won Silver in the 48th annual Qualified Remodeler Master Design Awards. - The winning project was “A Childhood Home, Reimagined,” a Winter Park whole-home renovation entered in the Whole House $500,000-$1,000,000 category. - Qualified Remodeler magazine sponsors the national contest, which covers 22 categories in residential remodeling. - The awards were announced in September 2026.

The details: - Judges scored the KBF project a perfect 10 for aesthetic appeal and a perfect 10 for construction and installation. - The judges described the renovation as “a beautiful project, well built” and a “stunning redesign, light and bright.” - The homeowner returned to the childhood home as an adult with two goals: preserve the home’s family meaning and improve how it works for the next stage of life. - KBF opened the original entry, dining room, living room and kitchen into a single light-filled great room centered on a long white oak island. - A spare bedroom became a spa-like primary bathroom with a private entry from the primary bedroom. - The original primary bathroom became a spacious walk-in closet, creating a true en-suite for the first time. - KBF added a covered and screened lanai to extend living space outdoors. - New windows, doors and a garage door refreshed the exterior. - KBF’s in-house interior design team furnished the completed home. - Behind the walls, the project replaced corroded cast iron sewer lines beneath the slab. - KBF also installed a complete new HVAC system with all-new ductwork. - The hidden infrastructure work aligned with the award’s focus on handling unusual situations. - Ashley Sheaffer, KBF Design Gallery co-principal, said the award was especially meaningful because of what the house meant to the family. - Adam Vellequette, KBF Design Gallery co-principal, said the judges’ construction scores reflected the importance of the work behind the finishes.

Between the lines: - The project’s biggest challenge was emotional as much as technical: modernizing a deeply personal home without erasing its history. - The perfect scores on design and construction suggest the judges valued both the visible renovation and the less glamorous structural work. - The win reinforces KBF’s positioning as a design-to-build firm that handles both aesthetics and complex home systems.

What’s next: - The 2026 Master Design Award winners are featured in the September issue of Qualified Remodeler and on qualifiedremodeler.com. - Before-and-after photos of the project are available on the KBF Design Gallery blog at KBF Design Gallery blog. - KBF continues offering design-to-build services for kitchens, bathrooms, whole-home remodels and home additions from its Maitland showroom.

The bottom line: - KBF’s Silver win signals national recognition for a remodel that paired sentimental preservation with a full-scale functional overhaul.