TEAM
REBEKAH ZAVELOFF
Co-Founder, Creative Director
Rebekah spent the last 20 years building the interior design firm KitchenLab before expanding the business to include Imparfait Design Studio. The two most influential aspects of her background are her fine arts education and her hospitality experience working in restaurants.
Rebekah studied various art making, including painting, printmaking, photography and film. She has always been process-oriented, and her collage work suited her penchant for layering and allowing artwork to develop. Her subsequent work in set design for film and television reinforced this approach, where layering the smallest details culminated in real-looking, lived-in environments.
Working in hospitality has impacted Rebekah both professionally and personally. In the restaurant business, she looked to the subtleties that make an experience memorable, like lighting, music, or the way a door opens to greet guests. She found a kindred spirit when she met fellow hospitality professional Nick Nichols.
They married and started plans to launch their first company, KitchenLab Interiors, that same year.
Today, Rebekah and Nick own and manage KitchenLab and its sister company, Imparfait Design Studio, which offers interior architecture and design. She still refers to the fine art principles of scale, texture, pattern, composition and contrast while creating environments where people want to stay and linger, just like a great restaurant. Her design work can be seen in numerous publications, including Elle Décor, House Beautiful, Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine, Forbes and Domino.
Additional Credentials:
University of California, Los Angeles; School of the Art Institute, Chicago; Harrington Institute of Design, Chicago; Certified Kitchen Designer; Past contributor to Houzz.com; 2018 Top 50 Kitchen Bath Design News Innovators; National Kitchen & Bath Association Insider/Thought Leader, Business of Design; Artist
Co-Founder, Chief Financial and Organization Officer
JOHN “NICK” NICHOLS
If one could earn a degree in world exploration, Nick Nichols would have a Ph.D. Born to parents with wanderlust, he spent his childhood traveling the world with his family. Given his youthful adventures, it was natural that Nick developed a love of culture and food, which he applied to his early career in hospitality.
After working in the bar business, Nick soon dreamed of owning a restaurant. He joined a partnership and opened Okno in 1997 in Chicago’s Wicker Park. Collaborating on the Okno property acquisition and its development opened Nick’s eyes to the transformative power of design and adaptive reuse. And it was during the process that fate intervened, and he met his wife and business partner, Rebekah Zaveloff.
Nick and Rebekah set about updating a historic three-flat in Wicker Park, which introduced Rebekah to space planning
the creative opportunities within renovations. Their mutual love of food, travel and hospitality, combined with their innate talents for interior design, renovation and project management, led to their first interior design business, KitchenLab, and more recently, Imparfait Design Studio.
In addition to running their businesses and raising their tween daughter, Hannah, Nick and Rebekah have a love affair with a Michigan farmhouse and are immersed in its multi-year renovation. Nick misses the restaurant business, but not the hours, and takes solace as a passionate home cook, host, foodie, oenophile and Minister of Magical Objects.
Additional Credentials:
BA English Composition, Beloit College
LISA MCMANUS
Senior Kitchen and Bath Designer
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Lisa McManus contributes more than 20 years of interior design experience to her position as kitchen design lead. She has been an industry entrepreneur, academic, volunteer, and leader.
After earning a journalism degree, Lisa began her career as a reporter interviewing prominent policymakers for a Chicago-area newspaper group. Though exciting, reporting was not as interesting to her as art and architecture, and she eventually earned a second degree in interior design.
Lisa ran her own interior design business for 13 years, offering full-service residential interior design services at all process stages. She advocates for the profession and is President for the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Illinois chapter, where she will lead the organization in advancing interior design. Because mentorship and sharing knowledge are important to her, Lisa was also an adjunct professor at two colleges in Chicago.
For relaxation, you can find Lisa heading to the water, be that a lake or ocean, on a boat or at a beach, or simply hanging out with her husband, two children and their dog Jewel.
Additional Credentials:
BFA Interior Design, Harrington College of Design; BS, Mass Communications/Journalism, Illinois State University; President American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Illinois Chapter; International Interior Design Association (IIDA); Adjunct Professor, College of DuPage Adjunct Professor, Academy of Design and Technology; NCIDQ Certification
BONNIE HOPP
Senior Interior Designer
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Bonnie Hopp brings a wealth of interior design experience, a love of hospitality and a design perspective gleaned from exploring cultures around the world to the studio’s projects.
Before joining the team, Bonnie worked at two very different but much-lauded design firms. At Pierre-Yves Rochon, the distinguished French studio interior architecture and design firm, she gained a deep appreciation of classical design and the French approach to color. Bonnie worked on leading hotels such as the Waldorf-Astoria Beverly Hills, a major casino project in Macao and a luxury high-rise in South Florida. Bonnie’s career then took her to Kara Mann Design, where she focused on hospitality and multi-family projects and broadened her understanding of a more minimal aesthetic.
Initially drawn to the experiential element of hospitality design, where guests step into a different world from their everyday life, Bonnie now integrates the comfort and luxury she values in that industry into her interior designs.
Additional Credentials:
MA Interior Design, Harrington Institute of Chicago; BS Psychology from the University of Illinois; AA Interior Design, Harrington Institute in Chicago; NCIDQ Certification; Travel to 40+ countries
AMANDA HEYLAND
Project Manager / Designer
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As a designer, Amanda Heyland combines a love of space planning, art and design with technological know-how. Her father is an engineer and draftsperson, and she inherited his talent for translating ideas into technical drawings. Amanda is also passionate about green technology and its applications to homebuilding and renovation.
Though she once aspired to study criminology and become a police officer, art and design were never far from her mind, and she switched to major in interior architecture while in college. She has worked in different aspects of interior design for more than ten years, including design/build, renovation and remodeling. Based on her experience, Amanda can consider a project from many different angles and optimize often hidden opportunities.
Amanda’s interest in art extends to her creativity as an oil painter. She balances her busy career as the proud parent of two parrots, a rabbit and, most importantly, two stepsons.
Additional Credentials:
BFA Interior Architecture, Columbia College; Council for Interior Design Accreditation; Accomplished draftsperson; Artist and oil painter
NOELLE LYNCH
Junior Designer
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Noelle joined the team in 2012, already a fan of the studio’s effortless aesthetic and functional style. A career in fashion, working with world-renowned brands such as Michael Kors, Diane Von Furstenberg and Tory Burch, set the groundwork for Noelle's transition to interior design. She feels both require creativity, technicality, attention to detail and ingenuity to bring a vision to life. Her editorial, catalog, commercial and television work also provided an insider's view of how creative teams collaborate to reach their goals.
Noelle honed her organizational skills as the coordinator for Northwestern University's Master of Science in Communications program. Coordinating the MS program, from marketing plans to financial reports, prepared her for the fast-moving and multi-faceted rhythm of a busy interior design studio.
Outside the design studio, Noelle enjoys selling real estate, playing golf and spending time with her two young children.
Additional Credentials:
BA Psychology and Spanish, Western Michigan University; Certificate, Strategic Marketing, Northwestern University; 10+ years of fashion experience
LINDSAY DEVOS
Studio Coordinator/Procurement
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To Lindsay Devos, the recent pandemic taught us the importance of interior design in creating a home environment that brings joy, regardless of outside circumstances. She joined the team in 2022, following her first foray into the industry working with interior designer Sasha Adler.
Lindsay worked for more than five years in the ever-changing world of social media before entering interior design. She developed comprehensive social media strategies based on data analytics and ran celebrity, professional athlete, and influencer campaigns. Change and multi-tasking were constants, and Lindsay’s skills seamlessly transferred to leading all procurement for the studio. She is an expert at Studio Designer, Imparfait’s project management software.
For inspiration, Lindsay looks to the films of Nancy Myers, which feature “collected, lived-in, beautiful homes.” To offset the hectic pace at work, she loves visiting her home state of Michigan and traveling up north to visit with family and friends.
Additional Credentials:
BA Communications and Media Studies, Michigan State University
SELENA LYNCH
Design and Marketing Assistant
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Selena Lynch was appointed design assistant after an internship with the studio. Before college, she had studied arts vigorously in high school, and her new position reignited her passion for creativity.
As a Design and Marketing Assistant, Selena's passion for art and her degree in environmental science merge. Her background includes working on Earth Day and Climate Week initiatives, where she learned organization skills, social media and marketing. She is always looking for sustainable solutions to interior design as she supports the Imparfait design team in creating clients' dream homes.
Selena was exposed to various cultures growing up, including Japanese, Indigenous and Black, and loves to travel to learn about histories and traditions that celebrate those diversities. On weekends, you can find her in and around Chicago, exploring new areas, coffee shops and restaurants with her Nikon camera in hand to capture special moments.
Additional Credentials:
BS Environmental Science, Loyola University Chicago; Photographer
JOIN THE TEAM
We are always seeking talented new staff and interns to join our team. Please contact us if you are interested, and we will provide details on our current openings.