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Home + Design Awards 2026

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Call for submissions
Sept 26 - Oct 26, 2025 Reader's Choice Voting
Nov 19 - Dec 7, 2025

The Details

We’re excited to invite San Diego’s brightest design talents to showcase their best work. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or an emerging student designer, this is your chance to shine! Submit your most outstanding residential or commercial projects and be recognized by industry experts and readers alike.

Categories for Submission

Interior Residential Design

Bathroom

Bedroom

Closet

Dining Room

Home Office

Living/Family Room

Kitchen

Staircases

Exterior Residential Design

Backyard Landscaping

Front Yard Landscaping

Exterior Renovation

Outdoor Kitchen + BBQ

Patio/Porch

Pool + Spa Design

ADU

Commercial Design

Bar Design

Commercial Landscape Design

Coffee Shop/Cafe Design

Event Venue Design

Hotel/Resort Lobby Design

Office Interior Design

Restaurant Design

Full Home Design

Full Home Interior

Full Home Exterior

Student Submission (No Fee)

Best Overall Design

Meet the Judges

Daniela Deutsch

Daniela Deutsch has been practicing and teaching Architecture for the past 20 years. She is currently the Dean of School of Architecture and Professor at the NewSchool of Architecture & Design in San Diego and serves on the Board for the San Diego Green Building Council.

Megan Groth

Megan Groth is an architect, urbanist, educator and author of the book ‘Places We Love: San Diego Tijuana’. She has taught at the University of Washington, Oxford Brookes University and Woodbury University, and is now a lecturer in architecture at the University of San Diego.

Jeff Walker

Jeff Walker is the founder and broker of Agents of Architecture, Inc., a real estate agency that focuses on selling Southern California’s historic and architecturally unique properties. As a long-time San Diegan, and an attorney with a real estate law background, Jeff is passionate about the city’s architectural past, as well as how it is evolving.

Kristy Kropat

Krist Kropat is an interior designer, lighting designer, and entrepreneur. She founded her boutique design studio 18 year ago in San Diego, designing award winning residential and commercial projects through California and Germany. With a background that blends creative and technical expertise, she combines analytical problem-solving and design thinking to create beautiful, functional, sustainable, and inclusive spaces. Having lived in San Francisco and Berlin, she brings an international perspective to her designs. After spending 11 years abroad, she has returned to her native San Diego, and now serves as President-Elect of the San Diego Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers.

Entry Rules & Requirements

Submission fees

$18 per entry.

Student entries are free, but only one project may be submitted per student.

Eligibility

Open to projects completed between 2023–2025.

Only completed projects are eligible (no renderings, AI, or future builds, except for student submissions).
Submissions must be from San Diego-based firms or businesses. Projects must be located in California.

Photography Requirements

Submit at least 1 professional-quality photo (300 dpi) of the project for possible inclusion in the magazine.
Up to 3 photos may be included.

Overall Home submissions should include 8 photos
By submitting, you confirm you own the rights to the photography and grant San Diego Magazine permission to publish them in print, digital, social, and other formats.
You also confirm you have consent from the property owner to submit photos and details of the project.

Multiple Categories

You may submit a project in more than one category. However, you cannot win for the same project in more than one category.

Reader’s Choice Voting

Projects entered into Reader’s Choice voting must adhere to all submission guidelines.
Fraudulent voting will result in disqualification of the entry from Reader’s Choice and Expert’s Choice.

Winners, voted by the public, will be featured online at sdmag.com. All winners will receive a branded 2026 winner’s badge for use on web, social, and print.

Student Submission: The winning student entry will receive a portion of the collected submission fees and will be featured in San Diego Magazine. Student Projects can be submitted HERE

Awards & Recognition

Expert’s Choice

Winners in key categories, selected by our panel of judges, will be featured in the April 2026

San Diego Magazine Home + Design issue and on social media.

Experts Choice will be awarded in the following:

1. Best Overall Interior (single room or full home)

2. Best Overall Exterior (single feature or full home)

3. Best Overall Commercial Design

4. Best Student Submission

Reader’s Choice

Winners, voted by the public, will be featured online at sdmag.com. All winners will receive a branded 2026 winner’s badge for use on web, social, and print.

Student Submission

The winning Expert’s Choice student entry will receive a portion of the collected submission fees and will be featured in San Diego Magazine.

Home + Design Awards Presented by Room&Board

The Home + Design Awards will be formally announced at the Room&Board reception, hosted on March 31, 2026. This event is by invite only, and one complimentary ticket per nominated company will be provided. Companies may purchase additional tickets for $75 via Eventbrite, but capacity is limited.

Submit your work

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