A farmhouse-themed home is among the multiple Ottawa winners at the 2018 national housing awards in Victoria, B.C.
Modern Farmhouse by Gordon Weima Design Builder with Ardington + Associates Design won the trophy for custom detached home, 2,500-3,500 square feet, at the National Housing Awards for Excellence, which are organized by the Canadian Home Builders’ Association. It was one of two trophies won by Weima, the other being in a renovation category.
Already a triple winner at the local 2017 Housing Design Awards, Modern Farmhouse was among the nine award winners by Ottawa finalists, more than double last year’s four wins. There were 41 award categories this year.
“It’s still sort of surreal,” said Weima, who was unable to attend the 2018 national housing awards because of a previous commitment. It was the first time he had competed in these awards and he learned of the wins through tweets and emails from people who were there.
Built as an infill in Westboro, his Modern Farmhouse shows strong rural influences, including natural stone, a welcoming porch, and board-and-batten siding on the exterior, and an interior that’s flooded with natural light thanks to the home’s H-shaped design.
“When I’m designing a house (like this), it’s as a place to raise a healthy family,” he said. “I want the home to be an interesting place where kids and parents interact, where the family wants to come together.”
He added that because Canada is a culturally and architecturally diverse nation, “… to know you’re not only meeting local but also national (design) environments, to know that the home would fit anywhere in the country, that is huge.”
Weima also took the CHBA trophy for whole house renovation, $250,000-$350,000, for a project featuring spectacular glazing across the rear of the home. The same project won a renovation prize at the 2017 design awards in Ottawa last year, where Weima walked off with a total of seven top honours.
Basement & bathroom winners also headline awards
Ottawa’s Just Basements captured the basement reno prize at the 2018 national housing awards. Its entry was a stylish design with dramatic lighting and multiple entertainment areas.
As with Weima’s projects, this renovation was a winner at the local design awards, where Just Basements is a regular trophy winner.
The national win “reinforces who we’re striving to be … (and) that our goal is stunning work for our customers,” said company president Norm Lecuyer.
The company also fared well at last year’s CHBA awards, winning the any room category.
Just Basements’ sister company, ARTium Design Build, took home this year’s CHBA bathroom renovation prize.
Both of the winning projects show “… a level of sophistication and style that’s emerging in the reno market,” said Lecuyer. “At these awards, we’re seeing more style- and design-oriented projects every year. They show how you can take an existing home to a whole new level.”
More renovations, new homes and more at 2018 national housing awards
Amsted Design-Build and Revelstoke Developments Corp., both veterans on the Ottawa housing scene, won the renovation awards for under $150,000 and $150,000-$250,000 respectively.
Minto took a new home prize in the detached/production category. It won for its two-bedroom-plus-den bungalow The Butternut, a model home at Minto’s Mahogany community in Manotick.
Also in the winners’ circle from Ottawa: Mizrahi Developments, which nabbed two marketing awards for its 1451 Wellington condo project. Mizrahi won for both brochure/kit and for sales office – mid- to high-rise.
In all, Ottawa was represented by 12 finalists at this year’s awards.
Find the full list of winners here.
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Winners at the 2017 Ottawa Housing Design Awards
