We're about to enter an exciting time in the world of self-builds, renovations and extensions. If you’ve recently completed a project then you’ll be thrilled at the news that the Homebuilding & Renovating Awards 2026 has launched.
We want to hear from homeowners who have gone above and beyond to create their dream homes. All sizes, shapes and budgets are welcome and will be judged across nine categories, which cover a range of criteria. Previous winners range from a bijou two-bedroom carbon-neutral oak frame home, to a demolish-and-rebuild 1980s property that’s now perfect for modern family life.
"Our annual awards aren’t just about putting amazing self-builds and renovations in the spotlight, however," says Beth Murton, editor of Homebuilding & Renovating. "They also highlight the hard work and determination of the homeowners, builders, architects, contractors and DIYers who make such individual and interesting homes possible. Entering the awards is a fantastic way to celebrate your build and thank the people involved in creating your new home."
One of the shortlisted projects will be chosen, by a public vote, to win our Readers’ Choice Award, and one will be selected by our panel of expert judges to win the overall Home of the Year 2026 award and a £1,000 prize. You’ll also have the chance to have your home photographed to appear in the magazine. We can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to!
How to enter
Submitting a project into the awards is free. Simply complete the entry form below before the closing date of 11 May 2026.
The project must have been finished within the last three years, or at least be very nearly complete, in order to qualify for the competition. Entries need to include the following attachments:
- Floorplans (before/after for renovation/extension projects where possible).
- At least two ‘before’ photographs where relevant.
- Five to 10 interior images (living room, kitchen, bedrooms, etc).
- At least one photograph of the exterior of the house.
Shortlisted projects may be visited in person by our awards panel and will be featured both in the magazine and online, so you must be prepared for you and your home to be photographed. Some winners will also gain coverage in The Times and The Sunday Times.
Chosen from one of the homes on our shortlist, the Home of the Year will celebrate the project considered by the judges as the most outstanding. The winner will also receive £1,000.
Complete the entry form
Homebuilding & Renovating Awards 2026 categories & sponsors
Our categories for 2026 cover a wide range of project types, from complete self-builds and conversions to extensions and even custom-build sites. Projects can be considered for multiple categories.
Best Self-Build sponsored by Self-Build Zone
This is the category for new homes built from scratch. The judges will be looking for well-designed new homes of all styles, sizes and budgets.
Best Extension sponsored by Korniche
For projects that have added an extension to an existing property to create a home that works for the homeowner's lifestyle perfectly.
Best Conversion sponsored by JK Floorheating
From barns and schools to churches and other such non-domestic buildings. We want to see structures that have been transformed into modern homes.
Best Renovation sponsored by 21Degrees
We're searching for previously dated, forgotten and unloved homes that have been saved through careful restoration, imaginative remodels or ambitious house renovation schemes.
Best Green Home Sponsored by Internorm
This eco home category is for homes that have been built or retrofitted to the very highest sustainable standards.
Best Interior
The judges are looking for any type of home project that showcases a flair for finishing touches on the house design and attention to detail.
Spirit of Self-Build sponsored by Loftleg
This category shines a light on homes that have been delivered against all the odds, or have significantly improved the lives of its occupants.
Best Value Home
A category for homes that represent exceptional value for money, or projects that have been achieved on a tight budget.
Best Custom Build sponsored by Plotfinder
This category is open for homes facilitated by architects, developers or suppliers of all shapes and sizes.
2026 judging panel
Our panel of experts judges who will be judging this year's Homebuilding & Renovating Awards and deciding on the winners in each category.
- Laura Jane Clark: founder of Lamp Architects, TV presenter (Your Home Made Perfect and Ugly House to Lovely House) and author of The Handbook of Home Design.
- Darren Bray: founder and director of Studio B.A.D Architects, lectures at Reading School of Architecture and is a visiting critic at Brighton Interior Architecture School.
- Julian McIntosh: founder of JMA Architects, he has appeared on the TV show Your Home Made Perfect. Julian specialises in home designs that focus on light, layout and flow.
- Michael Holmes Director of Content at Homebuilding & Renovating and chair of the National Custom and Self Build Association, an author and a presenter of various TV property shows.
- Beth Murton: Editor of Homebuilding & Renovating and has been a homes journalist for more than 20 years. She has also renovated two houses.
- Hugh Graham: is a Senior Writer for The Times and The Sunday Times. He is a two-time winner of Property Journalist of the Year and Lifestyle and Interiors Journalist of the Year.
Winners of the 2025 Homebuilding & Renovating Awards
Keen to see what took home the top spots in the 2025 Homebuilding & Renovating Awards? Take a tour of the category winners below to see what it takes to scoop the prizes.
Home of the Year and Best Renovation
- Architects: Forgeworks Architects & Richardson Interiors
- Location: Bath
"Perched on a private wooded hill side road in the outskirts of Bath with views directly over the city to Bristol, the Severn Estuary, and beyond to Monmouthshire, the existing mid-century bungalow had not been renovated in decades and suffered from poor insulation and a palette of pastiche, low-quality materials," explains architect Chris Hawkins.
The family fell in love with the views and location and planned to rework the existing house, reusing as much of the existing fabric as possible, into a contemporary lifetime home. As well as improving the eco-performance, the house renovation involved relocating the entrance, creating terraced outdoor spaces and optimising natural light, without significantly increasing the footprint.
A great deal of thought was given to the landscaping as well as the interior, with a replanted wildlife-friendly garden.
"This house is breathtaking and heartwarming in equal measure," says judge Julian McIntosh of Julian McIntosh Architects. "A stunning eco-friendly retrofit, it boasts a beautifully crafted exterior façade and a tactile yet ornate interior. With a thoughtfully designed layout that is both practical and expansive, the house seamlessly connects to its landscape through exquisitely framed views and a considered use of wood shingles. A testament to the power of retrofit and re-use, it reminds us that sustainability can be as practical as it is magical."
A truly worthy winner of our Homebuilding & Renovating Home of the Year 2025 award.
Best Self-Build
- Architects: New Space Architecture
- Location: Devon
"What makes this project truly special is its sensitive response to the site’s natural contours," says architect Mitch Huggins. "The house replaces a tired two-storey dwelling with a carefully considered design that works with the steeply sloping site.”
“The split-level layout allows the home to nestle into the landscape. This configuration maximises views, light, and spatial flow without dominating the hillside."
Many materials from the original house were repurposed, which was a key aim of the project's commitment to sustainability.
"Clay Marseille roof tiles were salvaged and reinstated, while reclaimed and local materials – including chert stone, Delabole slate, and clay bricks were used extensively in the construction," says Mitch. "The roof is finished in a striking combination of Corten steel and reclaimed tiles, offering both durability and a weathered texture that blends seamlessly with the natural environment."
Judge Darren Bray of Studio B.A.D Architects says, "This is a quite beautiful mix of textural materials, that route this building into its stunning context. It's a house that creates a sense of warmth through the carefully chosen materials that wrap this traditional but contemporary form."
Get the full details of the project in our exclusive tour of this striking self-build crafted from natural materials.
Best Extension
- Architects: James Dale Architects
- Location: Kent
This thoughtful redesign of a 1970s townhouse involved a full refurbishment and extension. The result is a home that celebrates the essence of the original architecture in a contemporary way, creating a home that perfectly suits the evolving needs of the owners.
"Work included slightly increasing the previous two-storey extension and converting the existing ground floor garage, maximising the space available within the property by bringing this area into the main house to provide a new shower room, music room, and store," says architect James Dale.
"Subtle design cues help zone the expansive open-plan living space, including flooring material and ceiling finishes. Within the seating area the ceiling offers a sense of drama to the space, with glulam beams laid in a striking grid, adding warmth and visual interest, in contrast to the crips plastered ceiling in the kitchen area."
Green tiles flow through the ground floor, delivering a cohesive interior which is further enhanced by a light sage palette running through the refurbished elements of the house and also echoed in the external window frames and front door.
"This end-of-terrace extension pushes the boundaries in more ways than one with several wonderful moments of material expression," says judge Julian McIntosh.
Want to see more? Take a full tour of this extended 1970s terrace home.
Best Conversion
- Architects: Design Storey
- Location: Cotswolds
Using a restrained material palette to honour its Grade II-listed heritage and the surrounding historic farmhouse buildings, this barn was converted into a small residential dwelling.
Materials included timber boarding and lime plaster which sit comfortably within the stone shell of the existing building. "The retention and repair of historic features such as barn doors, weathered timber boarding and timber roof structure and contemporary glazing respect the barn’s agricultural heritage," says Lydia Robinson of Design Storey.
Using clever design, the limited space in the barn conversion was maximised by creating "compact but characterful spaces", such as tucking the master ensuite bathroom under the eaves with the shower suspended over the stair.
'It's never easy to carefully stitch together old and new, but the designers and client have done a stellar job in fusing and retaining the existing materials and pieces of structure, with new contemporary windows and beautiful internal joinery," says judge Darren Bray.
Step inside this charming Cotswolds barn conversion for a closer look at the project.
Best Green Home
- Architects: Proctor and Shaw
- Location: South London
This unique project is defined by the clients' and designer's collective desire to deliver a beautiful and sustainable home designed to promote a sense of wellbeing.
"The project retains all historic high-carbon construction from the previous extension work. The new construction is almost entirely timber frame with minimal steelwork and groundworks due to the rather small footprint added. The garden room is timber framed with sustainable and highly robust Accoya timber cladding used throughout," says John Proctor.
"Wellbeing is promoted with a biodiversity net gain; all flat roofs have a variety of gardens installed, including a tiered rooftop allotment, with all rainwater collected for garden use. A ‘rain garden’ captures excess rainwater to soak slowly into the ground, transforming into a sculptural centrepiece during dry periods. It is surrounded by biodiverse planting that supports and attracts pollinators."
"This project brilliantly demonstrates how thoughtful design and the collaboration of like-minded clients, architects, and landscape designers can transform a typical end-terrace house into an exemplary home that achieves high levels of sustainability without compromising aesthetic appeal," says judge Michael Holmes, content director of Homebuilding & Renovating.
Best Interior
- Architects: Office S&M Architects
- Location: South London
This cookie-cutter 1950s corner terrace house in south London went on to break the mould after it underwent a colourful renovation into a vibrant family home – playing to the family's whimsical tastes and specific needs.
As well as its visual makeover there were practical upgrades which the building desperately needed. "The original house faced significant challenges, including leaky walls, deteriorating materials, and a maze-like layout of small, dark rooms. While this arrangement aligned with the lifestyle of 1950s families – where rooms were added incrementally as new functions emerged – it falls short of meeting the needs of modern family life," says Catrina Stewart of Office S&M Architects.
"The design draws inspiration from the vibrant imagery of 1950s cake adverts, American diners and digital art. Layers of pastel lilac evoke the icing on a cake, complemented by mint-green drainage pipes, checkerboard tiles, and a curved pink porch on butter-yellow columns that serves as a focal point – like the cherry on the cake," says Catrina.
"This house really makes me smile," says judge Laura Jane Clark of Lamp Architects. "Love it or hate it, I think it is really clever and unique. Playing with light and colour, shape and form, both inside and out, make this project a real stand out."
Step inside this Miami-inspired home for the full tour.
Best Value
- Architects: William Tozer Associates
- Location: Undisclosed
The brief for adding a rear extension to an extremely narrow terraced house could well have proved an insurmountable challenge, but William Tozer Associates have particular experience with smaller projects.
Adopting a retrofit-first approach, and taking inspiration from the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, the project transformed three floors, including the creation of a rear extension.
The problem of introducing a feel of light and space into such a restricted space was solved by combining clean architectural lines, with an abundance of judiciously placed glazing. An illusion of added space was achieved by incorporating split levels and clear views through to the living space as well as down to the lower-ground floor.
"Utilising the existing split level, extremely narrow layout to achieve beauty and drama is the genius of this incredible renovation," says Laura Jane Clark.
Take a tour of this former shipbuilder's cottage.
Spirit of Self-Build
This homeowner first set eyes on this property across a lake in 2012. "My eyes lit up when I saw this dishevelled, well-proportioned fantasy-like building hidden behind a coat of ivy," says Joe.
"It transpired that Plymouth Council owned the building so from 2014 I emailed them every few weeks asking them to let me restore building. Eventually, I think I wore them out."
"We wanted to keep the fabric of the building as original as it could be so we used traditional lime and exposed all the stonework. This was made hard by the 1970s renovation of steel and concrete, which we had to strip out," says Joe.
"The sheer determination shown to rescue and restore the building, and the lengthy period of time invested in doing so, for me encapsulate the tenacious spirit of self build," says judge Sian Astley, an interior designer and project manager.
Readers' Choice Award
- Architects: Kate Stoddart
- Location: Surrey
This project was voted the winner in the Readers' Choice Award by readers of Homebuilding & Renovating, The Times and The Sunday Times.
Architecturally distinctive, with its bold geometric form, this five-bedroom home balances modernity with natural materials, all alongside a strong environmental ethos.
"Sustainability is integral to the design," says architect Kate Stoddart. "A polished concrete floor embeds wet underfloor heating, powered by an air source heat pump. Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) ensures year-round fresh air with minimal heat loss, while solar panels offset energy consumption, supporting low-carbon living."
Don't forget to pick up your copy of Homebuilding & Renovating magazine (on sale now) for regular updates on the launch of the 2026 awards and all the advice you need for your project.
