Kimball International showroom wins top design award in Chicago

Kimball International picked up two design honors in Chicago, a win that strengthens the Dubois County company’s profile in a market where showroom presentation and product development can shape future sales. The company said its Fulton Market showroom won the 2026 IIDA Showroom and Booth Design Competition for Fulton Market, and its Zing table was named an Interior Design Magazine HiP Award Honoree.

The recognition centered on a more than 13,000-square-foot showroom in Chicago’s Fulton Market District, where Kimball built its Design Days presence around the theme Work That Feels Good. The concept was inspired by research into human experience and was designed to show how furniture affects more than productivity, shaping how people think, feel and perform in everyday work settings.

Kimball said the showroom was built to support different moments across the day, including connection, collaboration, focus and rest. The company used the space to show how material choices and product solutions can help create more human, intuitive work environments, a message that goes beyond display and speaks directly to how Kimball wants its products positioned in a crowded commercial furniture market.

Jessica Gubbins, Kimball International’s marketing vice president, said the recognition reflected the company’s focus on creativity, storytelling and meaningful experiences for the design community. That kind of industry validation matters for a Jasper-based company because national attention can help with recruitment, customer relationships and brand visibility, especially as buyers weigh design, function and workplace wellness in office projects.

The International Interior Design Association said its annual Showroom and Booth Design Competition has been in place since 2004 and evaluates entries on originality, visual impact and effective use of materials. Judges also consider space, color, texture, lighting and graphics. For 2026, the winners were juried on-site June 6 and 7 at The Mart and in the Fulton Market District, putting Kimball’s showroom in front of the design professionals who shape the annual market.

Interior Design Magazine listed Zing as a 2026 HiP Awards honoree in the Education/Government/Institutional: Furniture + Seating category and credited Seth Tempel as the designer associated with the product. Together, the showroom win and the product honor gave Kimball two separate recognitions from different juries during Chicago’s design week, an outcome that underscores the company’s competitive position well beyond Dubois County.