A background in architecture influences award-winning designs
Industry recognition and awards in abundance have been bestowed upon Laurie Haefele, associate member AIA, and member of NKBA, ASID and ICAA. Armed with degrees in architectural design and its history and theory, she has been using her training to create upscale kitchen, boutique wardrobe and luxury bath designs since 1997.
Haefele launched her own firm – Santa Monica, CA-based Haefele Design Inc. – in 2002, and accolades began mounting soon after. She was tapped as one of the world’s top designers by Robb Report Luxury Home Magazine in 2007 and has been garnering design awards ever since.
Among the accolades she has received are honors from Sub-Zero/Wolf in the 2009 and 2017 competitions, the NKBA Small Bath and People’s Choice Awards and a KBDA Best Specialty Project designation from KBDN in 2016. Most recently she was awarded first place honors for best Large Kitchen and best Wet Bar by NKBA Southern California, 2018.
A regular speaker at events such as the SoCal NKBA and Dwell on Design, Haefele regularly speaks at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, where she was previously a professor. Her work has appeared in over 50 magazine articles, as well as on episodes of HGTV’s “Kitchen Trends.”
Haefele creates custom products for her clients, often working with innovative materials. One such product, which she co-invented, is a new cabinet material created by layering silkscreen between acrylic sheets.
