Welcome to the West's best rooms: 19 winners of our first Interior Design Awards

Sunset, Oct, 1992 by Daniel P. Gregory

John teaches high school, and Karen is at home with their 3-year-old. She described an all-too-familiar situation: "It's a challenge to have a home we can be proud of and the family life that makes it a home, in an age when real estate is so expensive and the recession is a constant threat to our dreams."

They wanted to brighten and update the kitchen of their 1958 tract house for no more than $10,000. Karen kept on budget by spray-painting cabinets and purchasing new appliances the same size as the originals.

Westerners are resourceful. Krista and Nick Desatoff of La Habra, California, hit upon an inventive approach to their kitchen remodel: "The maple wood cabinetry and pantry are freestanding to create a furniture look. This not only allows us to rearrange our kitchen but also allows us to mix in various furniture pieces."

Westerners can do it themselves. While seven months pregnant, Kelly Marshall of Novato, California, decided to spruce up the baby's bedroom with a carousel mural, though she had no previous painting experience. She made transparencies from a book illustration, used a projector to transfer the image to the wall, and traced it in pencil. She completed the scene with fumeless acrylic paint.

San Diego designer Charles Ramsey recalled this about his 1950s-era tract house: "An ugly gas heater was the first thing you saw when you entered the front door." So he covered the heater with lengths of 1-inch-diameter galvanized electrical conduit joined with threaded rods to create a decorative radiator that is also a contemporary sculptural screen.

Westerners respond to the region. Pamela and Donald Thornlow of Ketchikan, Alaska, took their area's annual 15-foot rainfall and harsh 100-mph winds into account when adding their new master bedroom suite. They wanted a sense of light and space along with a cozy feeling. Vinyl-clad windows and a triple-latching door to the deck provide daylight as well as defense against the elements; a cathedral ceiling lends spaciousness.

Geography influenced other Thornlow decisions. "It was a long process to create this room," Pamela wrote. "Living on an island in a community of 14,000, with no access except by boat or plane, one can't run down to the store for everything." She became a pro at catalog shopping to find just what she wanted.

Westerners appreciate history. Woodinville, Washington, homeowner Camille Keefe wanted to display jewel-toned family treasures, including an antique Oriental rug and both grandmothers' sets of fine china. She wrote, "My mother, a former department store window decorator, helped me select neutral colors and subtle patterns as noncompeting backdrops."

Jean and William Heizer wanted their passive solar house near Baker City, Oregon, to reflect the area's rural history. To adorn one interior wall, they collected dozens of old farming tools, including a scythe, a crosscut saw, a corn seeder, and a fly duster.

Folk art takes over the cocina

"Welcome to Cocina Ay! Ay! Chihuahua," wrote Joe Lino Beserra. The jury responded with bravos. Richardson observed that Beserra's spirited design--combining broken-tile mosaics, rich colors, and a wild variety of collected objects--"is one of those wacko projects that people should look at more often to make them less serious about their houses."