Discover The Unique Way This Chicago Studio Celebrated 20 Years

Photo: Michael Alan Kaskel

Some people celebrate anniversaries with cake. Rebekah Zaveloff and Nick Nichols, founders of KitchenLab Interiors, commemorated 20 years in business by launching a new firm. Long known for designing kitchens and adjacent spaces, Zaveloff, creative director, has expanded her repertoire over the years. “Since nearly the beginning, we designed more than just kitchens, but people couldn’t get past the name,” she says. Thus, Imparfait Design Studio was born. Here, Zaveloff shares more.

Why launch Imparfait Design Studio now? Two years ago, we completed our first whole-house, new-construction project and realized we were struggling to tell our story. When doing bigger jobs, we were trying to be different things to too many people. It was getting confusing. We took a hard look at our company and decided to commit to rebranding. Because KitchenLab Interiors is very successful and we love the name, we did not want to get rid of it. So, we spun off a new company.

How is the new firm different? The projects are bigger—with Imparfait we’re looking at the entire home. We think about how all the rooms need to flow together as if they were in a magazine spread. It’s a different model, a different pace and a different cadence to the work.

Share the inspiration behind the name. In French grammar, “imparfait” is the imperfect tense of a verb. It denotes an incomplete or ongoing action or state of being. Homes are always in an evolving state, just like the people who live in them.