This summer, AZFoothills.com launched the first-ever Designer of the Year contest. After two months and nearly 350,000 votes, Est Est, Inc. was named the overwhelming winner, taking home six of the seven categories. Read on to learn more about this longtime Scottsdale firm.

Photographed by Cassandra Tomei

"I have a firm belief in taking things out of context, so inspiration can come from the most bizarre things that you would never guess,” says Tony Sutton, president and owner of Est Est, Inc. Sutton’s belief becomes apparent upon further investigation of the company’s unique name: Est Est.

Loosely translated, Est Est means “it is the best,” and the number of design awards the company reels in each year can attest to that. “Back in the day when monks would travel, they would send runners in advance looking for inns for them to stay,” Sutton says. “If a village had good food, wine and accommodations, they’d mark ‘Est’ on the outside walls of the village. If it was very good, they’d mark ‘Est Est.’ As the monks would come channeling through, they’d decide if they wanted to stay there for the evening or walk a few miles to the next village.”

A walk through one of Est Est’s design projects confirms to potential clients that they needn’t look any further. The firm, which was established in 1959 by Bill Benner and Pat Maas, is the oldest design firm in Scottsdale and is teeming with some of the industry’s most accomplished designers. Sutton came to work for the company in 1979 and enjoyed it so much that he bought the operation from the founders in 1984.

Many of the Est Est projects are a result of a collaborative team effort, where designers of different backgrounds and expertise can meld ideas for a particular design. The company also strives to excel in anticipatory service and does so through its high degree of experience in the field. “We really try to troubleshoot a lot of potential road bumps on paper so that they don’t occur on site,” says Kacie Lilley, designer for Est Est. “We are high up there as far as our technical skills.

We are known for the specification books that we put together, [and] our drawings are very detailed and organized.”

Sutton and members of his design team agree that inspiration for some of their designs can come from unassuming places. “For a ceiling design, I might go through an old design book and see a panel design on a cabinet that will become the inspiration for the ceiling design,” Sutton says. “For inspiration, it is important to understand history to know what has been done and to also come up with unexpected solutions. One of the things we strive for is unexpected solutions, not just doing pretty things but doing things that have meaning.”