TEAM

Rebekah Zaveloff seated in a comfortable and beautiful sofa at Imparfait Design Studio

kitchen with white tiled walls and white cabinets with gold handles, windows above sink with dark wood, sink with gold faucet and wooden slab along edge of sink, Elmwood by Kitchenlab Interiors

CO-FOUNDER, CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Rebekah Zaveloff

Rebekah spent the last 20 years building the interior design firm KitchenLab Interiors. 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. Process-oriented, collage work, in particular, suited Rebekah’s penchant for layering and allowing projects to develop, similar to her design work today.

Working in hospitality has impacted Rebekah both professionally and personally. In the restaurant business, she looked to the subtleties that make an experience memorable. She found a kindred spirit when she met fellow hospitality professional Nick Nichols. They married and launched their KitchenLab Interiors the following year.

Today, Rebekah and Nick own and manage KitchenLab and its sister company, Imparfait Design Studio, which offers complete home interior architecture and design. Her design work can be seen in numerous publications, including Elle Décor, House Beautiful, Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine and Forbes.

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; Top 50 Kitchen Bath Design News Innovators; National Kitchen & Bath Association Insider/Thought Leader, Business of Design; Artist

Nick Nichols in teal shirt leaning against couch with framed work on back wall

light gray tile kitchen wall with white cabinets and pointy gold sconce with white shade, Byron by KitchenLab Interiors

CO-FOUNDER, CHIEF FINANCIAL AND ORGANIZATION OFFICER

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 internationally 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.

Nick dreamed of owning a restaurant and in 1997 he joined a partnership and opened Okno in Chicago’s Wicker Park. Collaborating on the Okno property acquisition and development opened Nick’s eyes to the transformative power of design and adaptive reuse. It was during this time 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 and 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 launching KitchenLab Interiors and, more recently, Imparfait Design Studio.

In addition to running their businesses and raising their tween daughter, 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

John “Nick” Nichols

SENIOR KITCHEN AND BATH DESIGNER

Lisa McManus

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

Iproject manager / DESIGNER

Amanda Heyland

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

Junior Designer

Noelle Lynch

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

studio coordinator / procurement

Lindsay Devos

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

Marketing / Social Media Coordinator

Gabby Muraski

Gabby joined KitchenLab in 2025, bringing a multidisciplinary background in creative advertising, social media, and storytelling across a variety of media, from photography and film to music and fine art. A graduate of Michigan State University with a BA in Creative Advertising and a minor in Entrepreneurship, she approaches design communication as both an art form and a narrative.

Her passion for sustainability and love for all things vintage inspired her to launch a small business reselling collected pieces while in college, a venture that deepened her appreciation for design with history and intention. Having worked in hospitality, fashion, and marketing, Gabby brings a unique understanding of how people connect to spaces, experiences, and one another.

Deeply inspired by nature and human connection, she believes the best stories come from lived experience. Whether she’s hiking the Upper Peninsula, behind a camera, or uncovering a new creative pursuit, Gabby is always observing, finding meaning in the details that make something feel real, layered, and entirely one of a kind.

Additional Credentials:

BA in Creative Advertising, Michigan State University