2012 Chrysalis Awards honor 82 cutting-edge remodeling projects

The full list of Chrysalis Awards winners includes:

Kitchen Remodel
Under $50,000
National Winner (Team)
Monmouth Custom Builders, Deal, N.J.
National Winner (Team)    
Sheila Rich Interiors, LLC, Monmouth Beach, N.J.
Regional Winner    
Artistic Renovations LLC, Seven Hills, Ohio
Regional Winner    
Michael Nash Custom Kitchens & Homes, Inc., Fairfax, Va.
Regional Winner    
Renewal Construction, Puyallup, Wash.

4 Tips for Winning Projects

After 19 years of administering the Chrysalis Awards, Ken Kanline has seen a very broad sample of what’s going on in the industry. Here are a few words of advice for companies thinking about entering design competitions.

1. Put it where it belongs.
Many projects can qualify for entry in several different categories. For instance, if you have a whole house remodel in which 70 percent or more of the budget is in a single area, such as the kitchen or an addition, you may be better off entering the kitchen or addition. In these cases if the key area isn’t an award winner, the whole house entry probably won’t be either. As “Deep Throat” told Woodward & Bernstein…”follow the money”.

2. There’s gold in niche categories.
You can count on competing with very large numbers of entries in some categories like Kitchen, Bath, Addition and Whole House, but not as much in Universal Design, Green Remodeling, or even Commercial Remodeling. So recognize those opportunities when they present themselves.

3. Money isn’t everything.
Why are there always more entries in the highest price categories?  Believe it or not, judges realize that the challenges can be greater when dealing with smaller budgets, and this is where value is most taken into account (consciously or subconsciously). It is also true that judges are not impressed with expensive projects that depend heavily on high-priced materials and appliances more than design. If you’ve done a great kitchen on a small budget it is just as impressive in its category as the winner of a kitchen over $100,000.

4. No one will ever know.
If you are shy about submitting your work for evaluation in a competition…get over it. Participating in competitions is one of the best disciplines you can adopt. Preparing an entry forces you to look at your work from a different perspective, and it can be a “company changing” event, win or not. Sure, the winners are published for all to see, but even if you don’t win, you will be better for the experience and no one but the judges will ever know you entered. I can personally name at least 30 companies in the past nineteen years that made a commitment to this process, and used it as a way to help focus their efforts and encourage their staff. These companies may not have won an award in the first, second or third attempt, but eventually they broke through and, even during the years they didn’t win, their businesses grew more successful. Go figure.

Kitchen Remodel
$50,000-$75,000
National Winner    
Metropolitan Builders Kitchen & Bath, Charlotte, N.C.
Regional Winner    
Case Design/Remodeling Inc., Bethesda, Md.
Regional Winner    
James Barton Design-Build, Apple Valley, Minn.
Regional Winner (Team)  
SEA Construction, San Mateo, Calif.
Regional Winner (Team)
Katja Rimmi Interiors, Half Moon Bay, Calif.

Kitchen Remodel
$75,000-$100,000
National Winner    
Jackson Design & Remodeling, San Diego
Regional Winner    
Renewal Design Build, Decatur, Ga.
Regional Winner    
Normandy Remodeling, Hinsdale, Ill.
Regional Winner    
A&E Construction, Pennington, N.J.

Kitchen Remodel
Over $100,000
National Winner    
Archia Homes, Duxbury, Mass.
Regional Winner    
Gayler Construction, Danville, Calif.
Regional Winner    
Mosby Building Arts, Kirkwood, Mo.
Regional Winner    
Mosaic Indoor Living, Atlanta

Bath Remodel
Under $40,000
National Winner    
Beautiful Remodel LLC, Gilbert, Ariz.
Regional Winner    
Knight Construction Design, Inc., Chanhassen, Minn.
Regional Winner    
The Wills Company, Nashville, Tenn.
Regional Winner    
Schmidt Contracting Services, Inc., Annapolis, Md.

Bath Remodel
$40,000-$60,000
National Winner    
David Wilkes Builders, Austin, Texas
Regional Winner    
Kitchen & Bath Design Center, Bellevue, Wash.
Regional Winner    
TimeLine Renovations, Inc., Maspeth, N.Y.
Regional Winner    
James Barton Design-Build, Apple Valley, Minn.

Bath Remodel
Over $60,000
National Winner    
Hanson Carlen Construction, Spokane, Wash.
Regional Winner    
Feinmann Inc., Lexington, Mass.
Regional Winner    
Silent Rivers, Des Moines, Iowa
Regional Winner    
Carnemark Systems & Design, Bethesda, Md.
Regional Winner    
David Wilkes Builders, Austin, Texas

Addition
Under $100,000
National Winner    
Michael Nash Custom Kitchens & Homes, Inc., Fairfax, Va.
Regional Winner    
Smiley Renovations, Silver Spring, Md.

Addition 
$100,000-$250,000
National Winner
John Caruso Builders, Whippany, N.J.
Regional Winner
J.L. Tippett Construction Company, Potomac Falls, Va.
Regional Winner
TreHus Architects+Interior Designers+ Builders, Inc., Minneapolis
Regional Winner
Renewal Construction, Puyallup, Wash.

Addition
Over $250,000
National Winner    
CG&S Design-Build, Austin, Texas
Regional Winner    
Vujovich Design Build, Minneapolis
Regional Winner    
Archia Homes, Duxbury, Mass.
Regional Winner (Team)  
Sockeye Homes. Kent, Wash.
Regional Winner (Team)  
Maple Leaf Design, Seattle

Residential Interior
Under $100,000
National Winner    
Ispiri Design Build Remodel, Woodbury, Minn.
Regional Winner    
BRY JO Roofing & Remodeling, Richardson, Texas

Residential Interior
Over $100,000
National Winner    
The Wills Company, Nashville, Tenn.
Regional Winner    
Vujovich Design Build, Minneapolis, Minn.
Regional Winner    
Corvallis Custom Kitchens & Baths, Corvallis, Ore.
Regional Winner    
Gardner/Fox Associates, Inc., Bryn Mawr, Pa.

Residential Exterior
Under $100,000
National Winner    
Michael Nash Custom Kitchens & Homes, Inc., Fairfax, Va.
Regional Winner    
Normandy Remodeling, Hinsdale, Ill.

Residential Exterior
Over $100,000
National Winner    
Carpenter & MacNeille, Essex, Mass.
Regional Winner (Team)    
Lemke & Son’s Construction, St. Paul, Minn.
Regional Winner (Team)    
Woodside Remodelers, Minnetonka, Minn.
Regional Winner    
Allen Associates, Santa Barbara, Calif.

Detached Outbuilding
National Winner    
Michael K. Walker & Associates    Sarasota, Fla.
Regional Winner (Team)  
Alward Construction, Berkeley, Calif.
Regional Winner (Team)
Design Set Match, Oakland, Calif.
Regional Winner    
Paulson’s Construction, Inc., Howell, Mich.
Regional Winner    
The Levine Group, Silver Spring, Md.

Outdoor Living
National Winner    
Key Residential, Farmers Branch, Texas
Regional Winner    
Allen Associates, Santa Barbara, Calif.
Regional Winner (Team)  
Monmouth Custom Builders, Deal, N.J.
Regional Winner (Team)
Bohn Associates, New York
Regional Winner    
Mantis Design/Build, Minneapolis

Residential Specialty Item
National Winner    
Knight Construction Design, Inc., Chanhassen, Minn.
Regional Winner (Team)  
Grossmueller’s Design Consulting, Washington, D.C.
Regional Winner (Team)  
ART Design Build, Bethesda, Md.
Regional Winner    
Chermak Construction, Inc., Edmonds, Wash.
Regional Winner    
Mosaic Indoor Living, Atlanta

Whole House Remodel
Under $250,000
National Winner    
Michael Nash Custom Kitchens & Homes, Inc., Fairfax, Va.
Regional Winner    
mackmiller design+build, Eden Prairie, Minn.
Regional Winner (Team)  
M Designs Architects, Los Altos, Calif.
Regional Winner (Team)  
Lynstar Enterprises Inc., San Jose, Calif.
Regional Winner    
Testament Construction Group, Baltimore

Whole House Remodel
$250,000-$500,000
National Winner    
Sullivan Building & Design, Quakertown, Pa.
Regional Winner    
Allen Associates, Santa Barbara, Calif.
Regional Winner    
S.W. Scheipeter Construction, Webster Groves, Mo.
Regional Winner    
CG&S Design-Build, Austin, Texas

Whole House Remodel
$500,000-$1 Million
National Winner    
The Block Builders Group, Bethesda, Md.
Regional Winner    
Jackson & LeRoy Remodeling, Salt Lake City
Regional Winner    
Provenance Builders, Dallas
Regional Winner    
PURE Design Environments, Eden Prairie, Minn.

Whole House Remodel
Over $1 Million
National Winner    
Glass Construction, Washington, D.C.
Regional Winner    
FatBoy Construction, Tacoma, Wash.
Regional Winner    
CG&S Design-Build, Austin, Texas

Residential Historic Renovation
National Winner     
Sullivan Building & Design, Quakertown, Pa.
Regional Winner    
Provenance Builders, Dallas
Regional Winner
Tru-Built Construction, Lincoln, Neb.
Regional Winner    
Custom Kitchens by John Wilkins, Inc., Oakland, Calif.

Residential Universal Design
National Winner    
Greymark Construction, Houston
Regional Winner    
Glickman Design Build, LLC, North Potomac, Md.
Regional Winner (Team)  
mackmiller design+build, Eden Prairie, Minn.
Regional Winner (Team)  
Accessibility Design, Minneapolis

Best Green Remodeling Project
National Winner    
Matt Powers Custom Homes & Renovation, Houston

Residential Insurance Restoration
National Winner    
Chermak Construction Inc., Edmonds, Wash.
Regional Winner    
PURE Design Environments, Eden Prairie, Minn.
Regional Winner    
Star Construction Company, West Newbury, Mass.

Commercial Insurance Restoration
National Winner    
Sterling Group DKI, Tacoma, Wash.
Regional Winner    
A&I Incorporated, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Regional Winner    
PURE Design Environments, Eden Prairie, Minn.

Commercial Remodel
National Winner    
Glass Construction, Washington, D.C.
Regional Winner    
TreHus Architects+Interior Designers+ Builders, Inc., Minneapolis
Regional Winner    
Fine Remodel, Sandy, Utah
Regional Winner    
TriVista USA, Arlington, Va.

Basement Remodel
National Winner    
Rule 4 Building Group, Elkridge, Md.
Regional Winner    
DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen, Springfield, Ill.
Regional Winner    
Sun Design Remodeling, Specialists, Inc., Burke, Va.

Pictures of the 2012 award-winning projects, and all winning projects since 1998, can be seen on the Chrysalis Awards website at www.chrysalisawards.com.