On April 20, the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center and Veranda presented the 2023 Southeast Designers and Architect of the Year Awards. Celebrating individuals and firms from across the area for creative excellence in architecture, contract design and residential design, this year’s awards acknowledged both long-established talents and exciting new entrants to the field.

Charlotte, North Carolina–based designer Bronwyn Ford of Pursley Dixon Ford Interior Design won the Residential Design category, while John and Vivian Bencich of Square Feet Studio in Atlanta took home the award for Contract Design. Chris Reebals of Christopher Architecture & Interiors from Birmingham, Alabama, was crowned for Architecture.

The awards were judged by an esteemed panel of industry professionals: Veranda editor in chief Steele Marcoux, Jean Liu of Jean Liu Design and John Ike of Ike Baker Velten.

“Our 2023 winners represent extraordinary design across the entire Southeast, and for the second time in the history of the awards, they each hail from a different major city in our region,” said Katie Miner, ADAC general manager. “It’s exciting to see how all have
continued to refine their craft over the years. Both Pursley Dixon Ford Interior Design and Christopher Architecture & Interiors have consistently been finalists in their respective categories and are first-time winners this year, while Square Feet Studio takes home their second win, with one prior in 2014. It’s wonderful to see how these firms consistently transcend expectations, ultimately raising the bar for future candidates.”