Daltile, in conjunction with the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Foundation, announced Sarah Garcia as the winner of the inaugural Daltile interior design scholarship, presented by the ASID Foundation. As the grand-prize winner of the competition, Garcia was presented with a $10,000 scholarship at Surfaces 2012 to continue her education in the field of interior design. Sarah’s winning design was on display at Surfaces 2012, where she was presented as Daltile’s guest of honor.

“On behalf of Dal-Tile Corporation and the ASID Foundation, we congratulate Sarah Garcia on winning the Daltile interior design competition,” said Lori Kirk-Rolley, senior marketing director of Daltile. “Choosing the winning entries was a daunting challenge, but we feel confident that miss Garcia, the runners up and merit winners, are the best of what the next generation of interior designers has to offer.”

Winners of the Daltile interior design scholarship presented by the ASID Foundation were selected by a panel of industry experts, including Kirk-Rolley, Donna Vining, FASID, RID, CAPS, Lori Carroll, a professional Member of the ASID and member of the International Interior Design Association and Robert Nieminen, Editor of Interiors and Sources. In addition to the grand-prize winner, $5,000 scholarships were awarded to the first, second and third place winners.

All 14 winning entries were on display at Daltile’s booth at Surfaces. “Through the competition, we challenged students to design a space using Daltile products, inspired by an artistic movement or a specific work of art,” said Kirk-Rolley. “The response was tremendous, drawing over 300 entries from across the United States, with artistic inspiration as varied as the designs themselves.”

Garcia, a senior at Sacramento State University, was inspired by postmodern design in her entry, a concept for a Nike Retail space. It used Greek architecture to play off the heritage of the Nike brand, and create a sense of movement and fluidity in the space. Garcia cleverly used a variety of Daltile products, including one of Daltile’s newest products, SlimLiteTM Panels in Oyster and Smoke and Ebony. Additional selections, including IdentityTM and FabriqueTM, two ColorBodyTM Porcelains, as well as a variety of natural stone products, were chosen to showcase the Nike brand and create visibility for the space within a high-traffic retail environment. These products allowed Garcia to achieve an aesthetically pleasing, yet functional space that incorporated a number of design elements, including color, texture, dimensions and innovative use of materials.

“Sarah Garcia’s winning entry expressed a cohesive design statement in the concept and execution, featuring a variety of colors and textures that were well-coordinated and helped achieve a contemporary effect using an impressive number of Daltile products,” said Nieminen. “Her design also expressed a clear connection to the postmodern genre that she selected as the inspiration for her design.”