It wasn’t until the last minute, when local interior designer Debbie Evans realized the awards would be presented in Whistler, that she decided to enter two of her company’s projects for the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) 2007 National SAM Awards.

She and her team at Whistler Interior Design Ltd. were so rushed to get the entries in that they didn’t even have time to make copies. “It was very, very last minute,” she said.

So they were surprised and excited to get word last week that the company was named as finalist in two of the award categories. Whistler Interior Design is one of two local firms named as finalists for the prestigious Canadian awards, which will be presented in Whistler in April.

“It would be really nice to be able to receive it in Whistler,” Evans said.

A customized house on a 40-acre lot in Pemberton was the project that earned both Whistler Interior Design and Innovation Building Group a spot in the finals for the Single Detached Home Between 2,500 to 4,000 Square Feet category. Evans said her design group worked on the project for about two years and was involved with Innovation from the project’s inception.

She described the house as “rustic” with many customized aspects, such as a custom plaster finish for the walls, custom window details and even a custom steam press designed by the carpenters to steam and press the wood.

“The whole house was completely customized, every single detail,” she said. “It’s a beautiful house.”

Phil Dugas of Innovation Building Group was the project manager for the house. He said the home was constructed as a hybrid between a timber frame and log shell with many reclaimed materials, such as the wood floors. The architects worked to maximize sun exposure and stay true to the Pemberton farmhouse style, he said.
“We all worked very hard on the place. It’s nice to see that everybody seemed to like it,” he said of the project earning a spot in the SAM finals.

Whistler Interior Design was also named a finalist in the Kitchen Home Renovation category for a kitchen in a house in Emerald Estates that was just featured in Home Makeover magazine. Evans said they originally thought the project was a quick kitchen fix-up but the owners wanted to remove some walls and open the space up. The design team added beams to allow them to remove the walls and posts in the kitchen, changing the atmosphere of the room completely, she said.

The National SAM Awards celebrate excellence in both new homes and renovation design, as well as marketing and sales achievements. Twenty-two SAM awards will be presented in Whistler on April 5, 2008, during the CHBA’s national conference.

“Our members are in the business of building dreams and these finalists are shining examples of how dreams can be achieved,” CHBA president, Richard Lind, said in a statement. “Every year, the tremendous numbers of entries for these awards proves that this is the most prestigious and exciting national event of our industry.”
Evans, who was recently elected as the first female director for the CHBA board, said winning design awards is rewarding for the whole design group.

“It’s a nice payoff at the end of a project — to say we worked really hard and we got recognition for it,” she said.

It’s also helpful to show potential clients that you’ve won awards for your work, she said. “It certainly helps with your reputation.”
Dugas agreed that it’s nice to advertise awards and said winning the SAM Award would be especially prestigious because it’s a national award. He also said the SAM Awards are interesting because they allow firms to compare themselves with builders across the country that work with different materials in varying conditions.