We often remind our clients that coming in as a finalist for a design award is, to the general public, indistinguishable from coming in as a winner. Sure, we all love to sip that extra glass of champagne--and being a winner gets you a nifty award for your brag wall...but for the purposes of your marketing, you get to use the awards logo on your PR, put out the same press releases, and promote your accomplishments whether you're bringing home a piece of hardware, or whether you're bringing home a piece of paper you can frame.

One of many cool innovations in the Greater Vancouver Home Builders' Association's Ovation Awards is the recognition that being named a finalist also...gives everyone a good excuse to get together and party. Twice: because there's a soiree for the finalists, and then a gala in another month and a half for the winners. (That's not counting next weekend's Georgie Awards reveal, which we always look forward to! You know it's coming when 'iron tux' suddenly appears on the regular to-do list in addition to 'clean sensor dust').

We had a crop of eleven projects come up in the finals last night, spanning the entire gamut of categories. Congratulations to Rembrandt Renovations, reVision Renovations, Kerr Construction, Project Mint, Holson Construction, Janet Scagel Design, Essence Properties, Alabaster Homes, NWI Construction, and Platinum Group of Companies for making it into the finals!

We'll spotlight a number of them in upcoming blog posts, but here's a taste of what's to come: