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House of the Year Gold + Category Win
How Nick and Chamal’s $750,000–$1 million Hallmark Homes build won Gold and Category Winner in the Altus Window Systems New Home category at the 2026 Master Builders Awards.
Proud to Share
We are proud to share one of the standout moments of our year. On 17 July 2026, in front of more than 500 guests at the Master Builders House of the Year Gala Dinner at Te Pae Christchurch, our clients Nick and Chamal watched their home take out the Gold Award, then go on to be named Category Winner in the Altus Window Systems New Home $750,000 to $1 million category.
For us, it is recognition of the craftsmanship, attention to detail and outstanding execution we aim for on every build. For Nick and Chamal, it was the result of almost three years of dreaming, researching, learning and making thousands of decisions, and we were glad to be alongside them for every one of them.
A Vision Before They Had a Builder
Nick and Chamal arrived in New Zealand from the United Kingdom with no building experience and no connections in the industry. What they did have was absolute clarity on the kind of home they wanted to create. The one thing missing was a design and build partner who could turn that vision into reality.
Their search led them to Christchurch, to the right section, and eventually to our team. From the first architectural drawings, we worked alongside Nick and Chamal through more than fifty design variations, refining the layout and the finer details until the home reflected exactly how they wanted to live.
“Hallmark Homes believed in our vision from day one,” Nick says. “They never treated us as first-time builders. They listened, challenged us when needed, educated us and gave us the confidence to create something truly personal. Every designer, consultant, tradesperson and supplier became part of the journey.”
That is how we approach every build: not just to a brief, but with the people behind it.
Built Around How They Live
Every choice in this home was intentional.
A kitchen designed to be the heart of the home. Built for busy mornings and long dinners with friends, with input from kitchen design specialists brought onto the project specifically to get this space right.
Lighting that shapes atmosphere room by room, created with lighting specialists working alongside our team.
Interiors that feel like a portrait of the people who live there, with colours, textures and furnishings refined by interior designer Fiona Renton, from Sandalwood Design to reflect Nick and Chamal rather than a generic showhome look.
Landscaping that supports people and nature alike. An empty section transformed by landscape design specialists into a private sanctuary, planted to support birds, bees and biodiversity as well as weekend entertaining.
Trade craftsmanship throughout. Joiners, painters, plasterers, electricians, tilers and flooring specialists each added their own precision to the finished result.
Nothing here was chosen because it was on trend, and nothing was chosen because it was the most expensive option. Every decision was made because it belonged, and that is exactly what the judges saw when they walked through the door.
A Project Team That Became Part of the Story
The celebrations did not stop when the gala dinner ended.
In the days that followed, messages arrived from right across the project: builders, landscapers, joiners, plasterers, painters, suppliers and designers. Many wanted to say how proud they were to have played a part in the home. Some shared photos taken on site during the build. Others simply thanked Nick and Chamal for trusting them with the details.
For the couple, those messages meant as much as the awards. It was proof that a build like this is never one person’s achievement. It belongs to everyone who helped bring the vision to life, and it is exactly why we build the way we do, one relationship at a time.
Coming Home
When Nick and Chamal boarded a plane from the United Kingdom in 2023, they weren’t chasing awards. They were looking for a place to build a new life.
What they found was far more than a section in a new subdivision. They found a community, a network of trusted trades, and a team who cared about the details as much as they did.
Today, the Gold Award and Category Winner trophies tell visitors this is an award winning home. For Nick and Chamal, and for us, they represent something bigger: the courage to leave established careers behind, move to a new country, and trust an unfamiliar process, one conversation and one decision at a time.
For Hallmark Homes Canterbury, this project stands alongside the craftsmanship, collaboration and quality we build every home on. For Nick and Chamal, it will always mean something more. It is where their New Zealand story truly began.
Because in the end, this was never just about building an award winning house. It was about finding home.
Where the delight is in the details.
At Hallmark Homes, we’ve built our reputation as one of Christchurch’s most trusted names in design and build. Everything we do comes back to three things: flexibility, innovation and people-first design.
Straight From Our Clients
“We built our dream home with Hallmark Homes and couldn’t be happier!
As new arrivals from the U.K. with no building experience, we were blown away by how supportive and flexible the Hallmark team was. We were involved in every detail of our architecturally designed home and felt like we were their only clients!
It’s a family-run business with amazing staff who made the whole journey smooth and exciting. We now live in a beautiful home that turns heads, people often stop to ask who built it!
Highly recommend Hallmark Homes, no matter your budget. They’ve got options to suit everyone. We walked in as clients and left feeling like family.” – Nick
“Walk in as clients, leave as family” isn’t just something we say. It’s what happens naturally when you build a home together: months of collaboration, shared decisions and watching a vision take shape create bonds that last well beyond handover day.
Built on Strong Partnerships
We know a great build only happens through great partnerships. On the Oakbridge project, our trusted Christchurch supplier network worked alongside us at every stage to deliver a result we’re genuinely proud of.
- Builders – Exo Construction
- Exterior Plastering – Christchurch Exterior Plastering
- Wallpaper Installer – Andrew Gill
- Joinery – Finesse Joinery
- Electrician – Maestro Electrical
- Flooring – Carpet Plus
- Benchtops – Archant
- Appliances – Harvey Norman
- Tiler – IMO Tiling
- Tile Supplier – Tile Max Christchurch
- Interior Design – Sandalwood Design
It’s these relationships that let us hold every build to the same standard of craftsmanship, communication and consistency, project after project.
Thinking about starting your own build?
Our team would love to hear about your vision, wherever you are in the process. Start a conversation with Hallmark Homes.
