In 2026, Home & Design inaugurated its prestigious Icon Awards, which recognize visionary leaders who have made remarkable achievements in their fields. These annual awards honor an architect, an interior designer and a landscape professional for their accomplishments and impact on the local design community.
Since launching her namesake firm more than 30 years ago, Cathy Purple Cherry has designed and reimagined hundreds of luxurious residences across the U.S. Purple Cherry Architecture & Interiors’ award-winning projects run the gamut from weekend escapes to multigenerational estates in styles ranging from traditional to contemporary.
Driven by a passion for art and architectural design, Purple Cherry has been honing her craft since childhood. Painting lessons at a young age later led to studies at the Corcoran School of Art, University of Colorado, Boulder, and University of Maryland. In 2024, she published her first book, The Design of a Country Estate. It focuses on a compound she and her team masterminded, which boasts a manor house and nine purposeful outbuildings, from an entertainment barn to a pottery studio.
A wife and mother of three, including an adopted child with special needs, Purple Cherry is passionately involved in many philanthropic efforts. She and her firm offer their design expertise and sensitivity to the non-profit and special-needs communities via the Purple Cherry Purposeful Architecture Studio.
In 2026, Home & Design inaugurated its prestigious Icon Awards, which recognize visionary leaders who have made remarkable achievements in their fields. These annual awards honor an architect, an interior designer and a landscape professional for their accomplishments and impact on the local design community.
Barbara Hawthorn founded her innovative firm more than four decades ago with a mission to create environments that integrate architectural integrity, fine art and craftsmanship to suit the lives of her clients. Since then, she has left an indelible mark on distinguished residences, embassies, restaurants and institutional interiors. Working in styles ranging from historic to contemporary, she takes an approach that is at once timeless, sophisticated and deeply personal. Her original furniture designs can be found in The Phillips Collection, America’s first museum of contemporary art. Among her most recent projects, Hawthorn directed several renovations for the Daughters of the American Revolution in Washington, including its executive offices, an historic brownstone and the president general’s reception room in the iconic DAR Constitution Hall.
A graduate of Vassar College and the University of California, Berkeley, Hawthorn has been widely recognized for her accomplishments in design as well as her lifelong devotion to philanthropy. She has served as board chair of the McLean Project for the Arts and has been honored with both the Fearless Woman Award from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington as well as the Professional Woman of the Year award from The National Association of Women.
In 2026, Home & Design inaugurated its prestigious Icon Awards, which recognize visionary leaders who have made remarkable achievements in their fields. These annual awards honor an architect, an interior designer and a landscape professional for their accomplishments and impact on the local design community.
Since Kevin McHale co-founded McHale Landscape Design in 1981 with his brother, Steve McHale, the company has made its mark designing and building exceptional residential landscapes with a focus on craftsmanship and excellent customer service.
The winner of more than 450 design awards, the firm now employs more than 450 people across 10 locations. However, it still remains a family business with 11 members of the McHale family actively involved today.
A certified professional horticulturist, Kevin McHale has been an active leader in the field throughout his career. Among other prominent board positions, he served two terms as president of the local chapter of the Landscape Contractors Association. And he has also earned LCA’s prestigious Landscape Leadership Award, which honors individuals who have made lasting contributions to the industry.
Kevin McHale puts a high priority on giving back: He has served on a Calvert County advisory board that develops programs to support individuals recovering from substance abuse. Such philanthropic work goes hand-in-hand with his belief that delivering high-quality design, landscape services and built environments can have a positive impact on the community.
We are honored to present the annual Home & Design Excellence Awards. Showcasing the depth and breadth of talent in DC, Maryland and Virginia, this juried competition recognizes outstanding work in residential architecture, interior design, custom-building, kitchen and bath design, landscape design and remodeling. Congratulations to the winners, chosen from 258 entries. They are listed here and further spotlighted in corresponding sections of the Idea Book.
 | Grand Award | Merit AwardContemporary ArchitectureMODE4 Architecture, PLLCRead More... |
 | Grand AwardTraditional ArchitectureKimmel Studio Architects | Merit AwardTraditional ArchitectureHammond Wilson |
 | Grand AwardCustom Build: Whole House, New ConstructionPyramid Builders | Merit AwardCustom Build: Whole House, New ConstructionSandy Spring Builders |
 | Grand AwardCustom Build: Whole House, RenovationMODE4 Architecture, PLLC | Merit AwardCustom Build: Whole House, RenovationMPR Architecture |
 | Grand AwardKitchen DesignMegan Downey Studio | Merit AwardKitchen DesignMegan Downey Studio |
 | Grand AwardBath DesignJulia Longchamps Design | Merit AwardBath DesignBarbara Noguera Interiors |
 | Grand AwardMore Than One AcrePristine Acres | Merit AwardMore Than One AcreCampion Hruby Landscape Architects |
 | Grand AwardLess Than One AcreRichardson & Associates Landscape Architecture | Merit AwardLess Than One AcreRichardson & Associates Landscape Architecture |
 | Grand AwardOne-Quarter Acre Or LessBob Jackson Landscapes, Inc. | Merit AwardOne-Quarter Acre Or LessPristine Acres |
 | Grand AwardWhole HouseJLA Designs | Merit AwardWhole HouseDara Beitler Interiors |
 | Grand AwardCondo/ApartmentColleen Healey Architecture + Interiors | Merit AwardCondo/ApartmentLisa & Leroy |
 | Grand AwardGetaway HomeJodi Macklin Interior Design | Merit AwardGetaway HomeFarnady Interiors |
 | Grand AwardOutstanding Single-Room MakeoverJTW Design | Merit AwardOutstanding Single-Room MakeoverEL Studio |
 | Grand AwardInterior RenovationFowlkes Studio | Merit AwardInterior RenovationPyramid Builders |
 | Grand AwardExterior MakeoverRobert M. Gurney, FAIA Architect | Merit AwardExterior MakeoverPremier Home Center |
Three expert panels judged the 2026 Home & Design Excellence Awards. Many thanks to our esteemed local jurists, listed below:
 | Sarah Armstrong, AIA, is an award-winning architect and principal/owner of Studio 360 LLC, a boutique architecture firm specializing in custom residential design and interiors. She earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Virginia Tech and is licensed in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and Washington, DC. Sarah is also a member of the National Association of Women Business Owners. |
 | Gregory Wiedemann, FAIA, is principal of Wiedemann Architects, with offices in Bethesda and Easton, Maryland. A former professor of architecture at the University of Maryland, he earned undergraduate degrees in mathematics, urban planning and civil engineering from Tufts University, and a master of architecture from Harvard. In 2021, he was elevated to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects. |
 | Christian Zapatka, AIA, is a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome. After completing his professional degree in architecture at Princeton, he apprenticed with Michael Graves, winning the Rome Prize in Architecture. In addition to teaching, Zapatka was awarded the John Russell Pope Award for urban planning in 2025. His forthcoming monograph will cover 25 years of independent professional practice. |
 | Todd Howard Ezrin, ASID, brings decades of experience leading residential, multifamily and commercial projects to his work at TOBE DesignGroup. By uniting clients, consultants and contractors around a shared vision, he transforms design challenges into successful outcomes. Todd holds degrees in interior design from Marymount University and business management from Ithaca College. He is NCIDQ- and LEED-certified. |
 | Ann Gottlieb delivers bespoke interior design services for luxury spaces, specializing in crafting personalized and curated environments that reflect each client’s lifestyle. Ann holds a B.S. in interior design from Virginia Tech and is NCIDQ- and LEED-certified. Her work has appeared in numerous publications and she was named one of eight designers to know in the DC area by Architectural Digest. |
 | Patrick Sutton is an internationally recognized interior designer celebrated for creating residences and hospitality spaces that are as personal as they are beautiful. With studios in Baltimore and Palm Beach, he approaches each project as a story, translating his clients’ dreams into timeless, bespoke interiors. His books, Storied Interiors and Tailored Interiors, offer a glimpse into this carefully considered design process. |
 | Matthew Gryskevich is the director of sales and design at Wheat’s Landscape based in Vienna, Virginia. A summa cum laude graduate of West Virginia University with a degree in landscape architecture, Matt has built a career around his passion for thoughtful landscape design, exceptional outdoor spaces and developing talented professionals through mentorship and leadership within the industry. |
 | J.R. Peter, PLA, is a landscape architect and the owner and managing principal of Colao & Peter Luxury Outdoor Living, a Northern Virginia design-build firm specializing in high-end residential landscapes. With over 25 years of experience, he has designed outdoor environments throughout Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC, helping Colao & Peter earn more than 50 industry awards for excellence. |
 | Clare Siegel, founder and owner of Land Art Design, has spent the past 41 years transforming outdoor spaces into timeless works of art. Shortly after graduating from George Washington University, she established her firm with a clear vision: to turn ideas into beautifully crafted outdoor spaces. A lifelong love of nature inspires her to create environments that people truly enjoy, are visually striking and highly functional. |
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DC’s Phillips Park neighborhood mandates that houses be based on traditional styles with pitched roofs; however, architect Robert Gurney’s clients wanted something a little more modern in flavor. To comply with the enclave’s architectural standards—not to mention respecting heritage trees that dot the corner, quarter-acre lot—he conceived an L-shaped, three-story, 5,870-square-foot home.
Gabled roofs, divided-light windows and a tall chimney use the language of historic domestic architecture to conjure a contemporary abode. Exterior materials, including brick, stucco, slate, painted-wood clapboard siding and stained mahogany, fit in nicely with the fabric and feel of neighboring houses, while open-plan interior spaces with abundant windows lean modern. As Gurney notes, “Large expanses of glass connect visually and physically to the rear garden, encouraging a strong indoor-outdoor connection.”
Architecture: Robert M. Gurney, FAIA, principal; Nicole de Jong, AIA, Robert M. Gurney, FAIA Architect. Builder: Added Dimensions. Landscape Architecture: Campion Hruby Landscape Architects.
The primary goal of this project by Muse | Kirwan Architects was to convert the site of a former office building and historic automobile repair shop in Georgetown into a single-family residence with the owner’s business offices on the lower level. Portions of the exterior walls were preserved but the interior was completely demolished to create a new mixed-use structure with a one-story rooftop addition. The resulting design respects the scale and historic character of the adjacent row homes, utilizing brick for the renovated portions of the exterior, while more modern materials, such as a stained-wood rainscreen wall system, help articulate the addition. A new green roof system provides insulation and storm water control.
Architecture: Stephen Muse, FAIA, principal-in-charge; William Kirwan, AIA, LEED AP, principal, Muse | Kirwan Architects. Builder: Horizon Builders. Landscape Architecture: Arentz Landscape Architects.
This 18,920-square-foot residence in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, was conceived by Kimmel Studio Architects as a multigenerational Shingle Style retreat that encourages family gathering. “The exterior’s cedar shingles, stone base, shake roof, bowed decks and majestic turret reference historic coastal architecture, while the interior plan caters to modern life,” architect Devin Kimmel explains.
A sculptural four-story stair rises through the center of the residence to a custom, nine-foot-diameter domed skylight. The generous great room and multiple recreational spaces offer prime spots for entertaining, connection and relaxation. Situated between beach and lakeside conditions, the house opens and adapts to the waterfront environment through large sliding-glass walls, recessed motorized screens, high-efficiency windows and geothermal heating.
Architecture: Devin Kimmel, principal; Kevin Dworak, project manager; Casey Bice, job captain; Hanna Gordijenko, architectural designer, Kimmel Studio Architects. Interior Design: Patrick Sutton. Contractor: Horizon Builders. Landscape Architecture: Campion Hruby Landscape Architects. Landscape Contractor: Walnut Hill Landscape Company.
Designed by Hammond Wilson for a growing family of six, this picturesque home on Harness Creek in Annapolis replaced an existing Mediterranean abode with an architectural style more reflective of the Chesapeake Bay region. The project includes a new primary residence connected by a breezeway to a detached two-car garage, creating a cohesive composition that responds to both the character of the site and the surrounding waterfront context. A new pool and pool deck round out the amenities, joining an existing boathouse on site.
The resulting design creates a seamless relationship between indoor and outdoor living spaces through expansive windows, covered porches and carefully framed views of the water and natural features.
Architecture: Sandie Martino, partner; Marshall Harris, project architect, Hammond Wilson. Interior Design: Erin Paige Pitts Interiors. Builder: Pyramid Builders. Landscape Architecture: Campion Hruby Landscape Architects.
Situated along 380 feet of protected shoreline in Annapolis, this new residence constructed by Pyramid Builders was designed from the ground up to fully inhabit its extraordinary waterfront setting. The existing structure was demolished and the site was substantially reworked before construction on the 7,845-square-foot home began.
Aesthetically, the goal was to honor its creekside location rather than compete with it by “celebrating clean sightlines and choosing a material palette of stone veneer and NuCedar siding for durability and visual coherence over time,” explains Pyramid’s Bret Anderson. That the house blends effortlessly with the preserved pier and boathouse is a testament to how well the design worked with the site’s existing character.
Architecture: Hammond Wilson. Interior Design: Erin Paige Pitts Interiors. Builder: Bret Anderson, president and founder; Jake Vandevort, project manager; David Nabb, site manager, Pyramid Builders. Landscape Architecture: Campion Hruby Landscape Architects.
An art-loving Bethesda couple desired a contemporary home inspired by Glenstone in Potomac, and assembled a team that included GTM Architects and Sandy Spring Builders to achieve their dream. Sited on a 25,000-square-foot lot, the residence emphasizes layered volumes, expansive glazing and seamless transitions to outdoor living areas, including a terrace, pool and putting green, extending the home into its natural surroundings. Inside, a light-filled passage creates a gallery-like experience upon entry. Natural maple surfaces, carefully framed views and curated artwork establish a sense of calm and arrival while drawing visitors toward the landscape beyond.
Architecture: GTM Architects. Builder: Tyler Abrams, VP project management; Tom Bennett, VP construction; Eric Abrams, senior project manager; Tom Fitzgerald, construction manager, Sandy Spring Builders. Landscape Architecture: Richardson & Associates Landscape Architecture.
For the renovation and expansion of a mid-century, developer-built residence in the Fort Hunt neighborhood of Alexandria, Mode4 Architecture conceived a contemporary family home that balances functionality with architectural expression. Situated on a half-acre wooded site, the completed residence now encompasses 6,921 square feet.
While the original home provided a basic structural footprint, it lacked spatial clarity and the functional organization required for the multigenerational household. “The intent was to retain the value of the existing structure while fundamentally reworking how the home is experienced, both spatially and visually,” explains architect Christopher Tucker. The clients’ daughter’s dedication to piano performance inspired a series of vertical tower elements whose spacing and proportions reference musical notation—a lovely example of life influencing art.
Architecture: Christopher Tucker, AIA, principal; Damien Williams, project manager/designer, Mode4 Architecture, PLLC. Contractor: Square One Development Group.
At a waterfront property along Broad Creek on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, a long-neglected farmhand’s cottage was reimagined as a 1,200 square-foot guest retreat by MPR Architecture. “Rather than demolish and rebuild, we worked within the existing shell, honoring the site’s agricultural heritage while introducing a contemporary spatial sensibility,” notes architect Michael Rouse. Opening up the roof structure created a cathedral-like atmosphere with spaces dedicated to farm-to-table cooking, tranquil views and quiet contemplation.
Architecture: Michael P. Rouse, AIA, principal; Christian Bocchino, Associate AIA, project designer, MPR Architecture.
Contractor: West & Callahan.
This 5,315-square-foot project by Fowlkes Studio, designed for an entrepreneur and a professor, consists of three parts: a full renovation and third-floor popup of a DC townhouse, a renovation of the carriage house at the back of the property and the garden between the structures.
Two new staircases—one interior, one exterior—serve as connective tissue for the residence. The sculptural interior spiral threads vertically through the heart of the home, bringing light into its core, and linking the kitchen to the roof terrace, which offers a view of the Capitol and hosts a soaking pool. Exposed brick, cement tile and the classic form of the interior stair nod to the house’s 19th-century past, whereas the flat-panel walnut doors, large aluminum-frame windows and minimalist trim reflect a more modern aesthetic.
Architecture & Interior Design: VW Fowlkes, AIA, principal; Catherine Fowlkes, AIA, principal; Evie Soileau, RA, project architect, Fowlkes Studio. Builder: Ley Ltd. Landscape Architecture: Moody Graham.
High above Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, Pyramid Builders transformed a 6,500-square-foot penthouse atop the Four Seasons into an elegant perch for a pair of art collectors. Floating gallery walls and white oak paneling narrate a restrained material palette. High-end finishes of onyx, marble, fumed eucalyptus, Venetian plaster and bronze highlight the project, which includes a theater room with wet bar and a kitchen clad in warm oak, quartzite and brass.
Architecture: Ziger|Snead Architects. Interior Design: Laura Lee Clark Interior Design, Inc. Builder: Bret Anderson, president and founder; Dave Attenberger, chief operating officer; Julie Kellar, project manager; Drew Ashton, site manager, Pyramid Builders.
A rich material palette gives this new kitchen in a Northwest DC Tudor home a warm and inviting vibe for a young family. Megan Downey Studio reconfigured the rear of the structure, combining a series of smaller rooms into a large, newly connected cook space and family room.
Materiality, texture and sophisticated detailing take center stage in the kitchen. Dark-toned wood cabinets with chunky custom handles, bold black countertops and handcrafted clay tiles lend an artisan feel. Enlarged windows with delicate wood mullions and detailing fill the once-cramped kitchen with natural light. Custom millwork such as the adjacent breakfast nook and built-in seating feels modern and fresh while still in sync with the era of the home. For more on this project, see page 94 of the 2027 Idea Book.
Architecture: Lyon Architecture. Interior Architecture: Megan Downey, Megan Downey Studio. Interior Design: Emily Lindberg Design. Builder: Precision Capital General Work. Cabinetry: Sakonnet Furniture Makers.
