HPU's Annie Beuker wins IFDA's Raymond Waites Design Competition

Finalists' entries to be on display at High Point Market

Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, April 11, 2012

Annie Beuker

HIGH POINT — Annie Beuker, a student at High Point University, has won this year's Raymond Waites Design Competition, co-sponsored by the International Furnishings and Design Assn.'s Educational Foundation.

Top entries in the second annual competition for interior design students will be on display in Suites at Market Square here during the High Point Market. The winning entry and those of 10 finalists will be featured in space I-846 on the building's top floor.

Designer Raymond Waites will host a reception April 20 to unveil the display.

In this year's national competition, students were challenged to create their vision of a traditional/eclectic master bedroom suite.

Beuker is a senior at HPU with a major in interior design and a minor in Spanish. She is a Celia Moh scholar, is on the dean's list, and is a Carolinas Chapter, IFDA Design Luminary.

"I am surprised, honored and thrilled to be the winner of this unique design competition," she said.

"It was difficult to choose a winner from so many wonderful, imaginative entries but Annie Beuker's was the best of the best," said Waites. "Her beautiful solutions to the challenge of creating a master bedroom with closet layout and bath were outstanding!"

He added, "Since most school curriculums emphasize contemporary design, the criteria requirement of creating a traditional/eclectic interior becomes a learning experience. It exposes students to the traditional-mix design projects they will encounter in the home furnishings industry and with consumer clients."

The 10 finalists whose work also will be on display in High Point are Jamee Beutler, LDS College, Salt Lake City; Carley Denner, Howard Fugitt and Julianna Sneath, LaRoche College, Pittsburgh; Irina Kazantseva, Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Lindsey Kendrick and Elizabeth Sterling, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas; Melanie Morales, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.; Sara Rosamond, Art Institutes International Minnesota, Minneapolis; and Sherine Sebastian, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas.

Karen Olson, vice president of marketing, International Market Centers, which operates Suites at Market Square and other showroom buildings, said the company was "pleased to support this national competition by providing a showcase for exceptional entries from young designers who will soon be entering the home furnishings industry."

The IFDA Educational Foundation, which supports a variety of learning opportunities to students and professionals, says it provides more scholarships and grants than any other professional association.