Michael Nash Design, Build & Homes just won three national Chrysalis Awards in one year. Founder Sonny Nazemian says the trophies matter less than what it takes to keep winning them.
There is a version of the remodeling industry where awards are wallpaper. A plaque in the lobby, a badge on the website, a line in the sales pitch. Michael Nash Design, Build & Homes operates in a different version, where a juried award is closer to a peer-reviewed audit of how a company actually works.
The Fairfax, Virginia design-build firm won three Chrysalis Awards for Remodeling Excellence in the 2026 cycle, something the national program’s own administrators describe as very rare. It was also the eighteenth consecutive year Michael Nash has won at least one Chrysalis Award, the longest active run in the country, bringing the firm’s total to 53, a national record.
Ask founder Sonny Nazemian about the streak and he redirects the question almost immediately.
“One award can be a great project and a bit of luck,” he says. “Eighteen years in a row is not luck. It is a system. The judges never see the system, they only see the finished work, but the finished work is where the system either holds up or it does not.”
What a Jury Sees in a Michael Nash Project That a Homeowner Cannot
Juried programs like the Chrysalis Awards evaluate submitted projects on design quality, creative use of space and materials, and how well the finished work improves on the original structure. Panels review project narratives, budgets, and before-and-after documentation. The jury is looking at the same things a homeowner should be asking about, just with the training to spot shortcuts.
That, Nazemian argues, is the real consumer value of a record like Michael Nash’s. Most homeowners hire a remodeler once or twice in their lives and have no reliable way to compare craftsmanship across firms. A jury of industry professionals reviewing hundreds of entries does that comparison for them.
“A homeowner can see whether the kitchen is beautiful on the day we hand over the keys,” he says. “A judge can see whether the layout decisions, the structural work, and the material choices will still make sense in fifteen years. Those are two different tests, and you want a firm that passes both.”
Michael Nash Wins Across Categories, and That Breadth Is The Stress Test
One detail in the Michael Nash record stands out: the range of categories. The firm has won in Kitchen, Bath, Additions, Interior and Exterior Remodeling, Detached Outbuilding, Residential Interior, and Whole House Remodel, which the Chrysalis program identifies as its most competitive divisions. Michael Nash is also one of only twenty companies in the country to hold the Decade of Excellence Award, given for winning in ten separate years.
Nazemian sees the breadth as more meaningful than any single win. A firm that only wins in kitchens may simply have one strong designer. A firm that wins across whole-house remodels, additions, and outdoor living has to sustain quality across estimating, architecture, project management, and field crews at the same time.
“Every category tests a different part of the company,” he says. “Kitchens test detail. Additions test structure and permitting. Whole-house remodels test whether your designers, your project managers, and your carpenters can all execute one vision for months without the wheels coming off. When you win across all of them, that is the company being judged, not a project.”
The Part The Trophies Never Show
Nazemian is candid that a long award record does not mean a long record of easy projects. Remodeling is disruptive, budgets are emotional, and no high-volume firm satisfies every client on every job. What eighteen consecutive years of juried recognition demonstrates, he says, is that the Michael Nash baseline never moves.
“The award submission is due whether your season was smooth or difficult. The jury does not grade on effort. So the only way to show up eighteen years in a row is to build the same way in the hard years as in the good ones. That is the whole secret, and it is not a secret at all. It is just discipline that most companies are not willing to sustain.”
Michael Nash Design, Build & Homes is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, and serves Northern Virginia, Washington, DC, and nearby Maryland communities. Project galleries and the full Michael Nash awards archive are available at michaelnashdesignbuild.com.