Anna Maria Mannarino of Mannarino Designs, Inc., an acclaimed interior, event and product designer and past president of the New Jersey Chapter of ASID, was recognized twice with two esteemed Design Excellence Awards. This annual competition is sponsored by the New Jersey Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). Seventeen chapter interior designers won a total of 32 prizes among them. This year there were two new categories, Student and Industry Partner. Mannarino won in the Residential Show House Space category and in the Industry Partner category for her “Dripping Jewelry” chandelier for ABC Lighting.
“I am honored and grateful to receive this important recognition of my work on the both the interiors and product design sides,” said Anna Maria Mannarino, Allied ASID and also past President of the New Jersey Chapter.
Judges were comprised of a diverse group of award-winning ASID members from around the country and the judging was blind and based on strict criteria with a points system. The criteria, which varied somewhat from category to category, had one constant, however. In keeping with the organization’s mission, entrants in all the categories were judged on “Positive impact on life and the human experience,” including the Industry Partner product awards.
Show House Smarts: Clean, Modern, European Aesthetic
Mannarino won in the Residential Show House Space category for her unique design at Aspire House: The Heritage at Claremont, a new construction show house in a Bernardsville, N.J. condominium. She was responsible for all aspects of the design, inclusive of cabinetry, plumbing fixtures, tile and solid surfaces, fireplace, flooring, doors, molding and lighting. The project included the kitchen, powder room, living, dining room and terrace. Mannarino opted for a minimalist canvas of white walls and added emphasis with special molding and a gilded fireplace surround. Gold accents are used not only there but throughout the space and the furniture and fixtures exude as much art, beauty and boldness as the carefully curated artwork. The result? A home evoking a clean, modern, European aesthetic. She worked with ABC Lighting on the light fixtures, which included the debut of the award-winning “Dripping Jewelry” chandelier, and the pillows were from her collection for Creative Touch.
Industry Partner Gold Award
Martin Grodman, national sales manager of hospitality and design for of ABC Lighting, won in the Industry Partner Category for the “Dripping Jewelry’ chandelier with Mannarino as the Collaborating Designer. This is the first piece of Mannarino’s collection for ABC lighting, and, as noted, it was displayed at the Aspire Heritage Showhouse. The chandelier has as its base a classic brass frame with glass arms, to which several different styles of crystal strands, along with lengths of brass chain are crisscrossed and layered in varying lengths, essentially “dripping” off the frame. In addition, various cuts of single crystals dangle throughout the piece like earrings.
”Anna Maria Mannarino transformed a classic design into a modern creation – an American-manufactured piece with Italian cast brass, glass arms, 30 percent more leaded Egyptian crystal and brass chains,” said Grodman. “We are so proud to be working with her.”
