Closets & Organized Storage magazine announced judges for its 2025 Top Shelf Design Awards: Lauren Schwartz, president of Meridian Closets; Natasha Shtapauk, managing director/brand ambassador, BauTeam; Eric Marshall, The Closet Training Institute; and Matt Buell, MBuell Studio.

Top Shelf Design Awards, sponsored by Rev-A-Shelf, honors designers for their creative closet and home organizational designs. The contest deadline was extended to April 11, and winners will be announced at a reception sponsored by Rev-A-Shelf on June 12 during the Closets Conference & Expo at the Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.

2025 Top Shelf Design Awards judges 

Schwartz is the president of Meridian Closets, a company established in 2014. Specializing in the design, manufacturing, and installation of closets, storage systems, and Murphy beds, Meridian is part of The Bedder Way Co.—one of the largest manufacturers of real wood Murphy beds in the United States. Both companies operate from shared manufacturing facilities in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Schwartz has been previously featured in Closets & Organized Storage Magazine and the Woodworking Network, and she currently serves on the board of the Closet Institute of America’s Closet Summit Conference.

Shtapauk is based in Los Angeles, is an award-winning designer and product developer, and is the founder of BT45 Tailored bespoke kitchens from Germany. She was born in Southern Russia, where, as a child, she discovered her love for colors and forms. At 18, she got a job as a junior interior designer at BauTeam GMBH Branch German Interior Design company in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, while continuing her studies. That’s why most design concepts combine the two design worlds, which seem opposite: cold, straightforward, and technological German combined with cozy and warm Southern hints. After finishing her studies, Shtapauk moved to Germany to work in the head office of BauTeam in the design and product development department.

A few years later, due to her unconventional design approach and hard work, she was transferred to a new BauTeam head office in Los Angeles to help settle and develop the BauTeam brands in the USA. After only 8 years of work, the company is proud of its 70 performing locations in the US & Canada. The significant and fast growth is partly due to the company's social responsibility, producing most of the furniture components from recycled materials to prevent global pollution. Awards: Best Innovative Kitchen Products by ASID, Reddot Award for Luxury Kitchen accessories, Best of the show at KBIS, Best of the show at Dwell on Design Los Angeles, IDS Toronto Kitchen Innovations and Expressive Woodwork, Best Kitchen Design from Archiproducts, and multiple Best Kitchen and Best Furniture Designs from Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design.

Buell has offered high-quality furniture and wood accessories for residential and commercial properties since 2011. Buell's unique designs feature sensible, fluid lines that flow naturally, creating a warm and organic aesthetic. Although eclectic, many of his works have been characterized as mid-century modern with a subtly traditional undercurrent. The studio's in-house services include design, building, and finishing everything from chairs, desks, conference/dining tables, beds, and large sculptural installations to various smaller items like bowls. Clients proudly display his works in homes, businesses, and municipal buildings such as the Fayetteville, Arkansas City Council Chambers. Large import companies have also commissioned Buell as a freelance furniture designer, some of which you have probably seen in well-known larger chain stores.

Since Buell founded the studio, he has become a widely respected contributor to the woodworking community. In addition to fabricating furniture, he has been a guest panelist and featured speaker at some of the largest woodworking conventions in North America, taught seminars on template routing, hosted national woodworking competitions, and received the 'Top 40 under the age of 40' award in 2016.

Buell lives in Goshen, Arkansas, with his wife Criss and daughter Phoenix. His work studio is located on the 90-acre thoroughbred farm he grew up on in the beautiful Ozarks. When he’s not working or spending time with his family, Buell enjoys his love of books, guitars, time with animals, and his favorite pastime of coffee and headphones.

 Marshall was the first employee of California Closets founder Neil Blater, a pioneer in the storage and organization industry. For the past twenty years, he has run his custom cabinet and closet business in Scottsdale, Arizona. He co-founded The Closet Training Institute and is a past president of the Association of Closet and Storage Professionals (ACSP). Marshall, who shares his expertise in woodworking, storage, and closet organization in seminars and at trade events worldwide, is also an NKBA Global Connect Advisor. NKBA Global Connect is designed to help manufacturers understand business practices in the North American kitchen and bath sector, reduce risk, and prepare for successful market entry. 

The Best of Show winner (project receiving the highest score from the judges) will receive a $500 prize, category winners will receive a $50 prize, and all recognized projects will receive an award plaque and/or a certificate and may be featured in Closets & Organized Storage magazine and its social media channels. 

Each Top Shelf Design Award entry is judged based on the following criteria: 50 percent appearance/design (emphasizing design creativity) and 50 percent functionality and quality of construction/materials. 

The contest deadline was extended to April 11.

The entry fee is $45.

For more information, visit woodworkingnetwork.com/top-shelf.