Dream & Design: A Design School Challenge

With Dream & Design: A Design School Challenge, New York magazine is partnering with Delta® Faucet to give the next great designer a blank canvas to showcase their creative vision to the world. With a goal of finding the next great interior designer, Dream & Design is offering a grand prize of a $10,000 scholarship, and a potential feature in a Delta Faucet creative campaign.

In addition to a $10,000 scholarship, the winner of the Dream & Design Challenge, Yaneli Rozon, is now able to see her contest vision brought to life. Delta® Faucet completed the construction of a real-life version of Yaneli’s industrial-inspired bathroom in February 2018. The model lives at the company’s Indianapolis showroom as an example of forward-thinking design materialized. See images of the buildout below, along with more about Rozon and the contest further down.

To align with our Dream & Design Challenge, we asked a few of today’s leading interior-design experts how they design with the future in mind. Tapping four designers who embody the Delta® Faucet values of innovative, visionary, genuine, and sophisticated, we discovered how each incorporates forward-thinking solutions, style, and functionality into their unique design approach. Select one of the options below to watch.

The Pros

Noa Santos, cofounder & CEO of Homepolish

Anishka Clarke & Niya Bascom, Ishka Designs

Sabrina Soto, TV host & interior designer

Genevieve Gorder, TV entertainer & designer

At our contest-finale dinner (see below), we revealed that Yaneli Rozon was the winner of our Dream & Design Challenge – and a $10,000 scholarship. Afterwards, we went deeper with the rising talent to find out what drives her work. Check out Rozon’s winning renderings and read our personal profile on her for more on how her Dominican Republic upbringing influences her inspiring urban design style.

On November 14, we hosted an elegant dinner party to toast the finalists in our Dream & Design contest and announce the winner of a $10,000 scholarship. On hand to celebrate were some of the design world’s most esteemed and stylish names. See all the details here. Then learn more about our talented winner above.

Through mid-October, design students created original mood boards representing their best kitchen and bath concepts, submitting them to our panel of industry-expert judges. In accompanying written statements, candidates described the innovative features they’d work into their spaces. Below, meet each of the five final contestants, see their mood boards, and discover the thoughtful stories behind them.

The genesis behind Dream & Design is the desire to give aspiring designers the opportunity to shine, to help build their portfolios, and to put their ambition, ingenuity, and style to the test.

Challenge one: Come up with a concept for the kitchen or bath of your dreams. Dream it up, think it through, and turn fantasy into a real-life possibility. Create a mood board, along with a written statement, showing and describing how you would innovate within your imagined space in order to elevate it beyond the ordinary.

From all entries, a panel of major industry players – curated by New York’s design editor, Wendy Goodman – will select five finalists whose work will be featured on The Cut. Finalists will then compete for the winning spot by building out their designs a step further. Following a special mentoring session with with Delia Kenza Brennan, a featured Homepolish interior designer, the remaining students will bring their full-room idea to life via a sophisticated sketch or CAD rendering.

The Judges
Wendy Goodman, editor of New York magazine’s Design Hunting
Noa Santos, co-founder and CEO, Homepolish
Sabrina Soto, leading interior designer and HGTV host
Seth Fritz, senior industrial designer, Delta Faucet Company
TJ Eads, industrial designer, Delta Faucet Company

The Rules
See full rules here.

Dear students,

At New York Magazine, we use the phrase “to dream & to do.” This is not just the tagline for our design coverage – as designers, this is your job description.

Each day I am fortunate to explore the world’s most fascinating homes and I’m constantly amazed by the creativity and resourcefulness of interior designers. I have learned that “to dream & to do” is not just your job description. It is your credo. Your mandate.

I often find that by checking in with a new generation of young designers, I have a front-row seat to the future. It is you, the fearless design students who most inspire me – there is truly a world of possibilities in front of you. One of the best parts of my job is discovering talented new designers and bringing their work to a wider audience, which is why I am excited about Dream & Design: A Design School Challenge.

Each time I engage with a young designer, I am amazed to see the gizmos, gadgets, tables, chairs, and floor plans you are creating. As different as each person’s work is, there’s always a sense of optimism about the transformative potential of design. It was this belief that inspired Dream & Design.

The goal of Dream & Design is simple: to provide you, the next great designer, with an unlimited canvas to showcase your creative genius. Through both Delta^® Faucet and New York Magazine’s promotional channels, we’ll be able to showcase your designs for the masses, and the grand prize winner’s space will be constructed and used by Delta Faucet in future branding and marketing efforts.

As an aspiring designer, you understand style. Whether you’re playing a voyeur or planning a renovation, inspiration is all around you. This contest is designed to give you the opportunity to shine, to help build your portfolio, and to put your ambition and ingenuity to the test.

So, good luck. Dream. Do.

–Wendy Goodman, design editor of New York Magazine