The prestigious Master Builders House of the Year competition celebrates outstanding construction in New Zealand, awarding the best homes and builders and the craftsmanship behind them. French Electrical is proud to have worked on three award-winning properties, showcasing excellence in residential design and construction.
Country chic
Awards Won: Regional Category Winner | Gold Award
Category: Builders Academy New Home $1.5-2 million
Builder: Fowler Homes Auckland (South) Limited
This is luxury countryside living. With three wings clad in a mix of brick, plaster and vertical aluminium, the architecturally designed home settles into its rural surroundings.
The formal entry opens to the main wing, which has a dining room, a kitchen, and open-plan living areas. A grand hall with a raked ceiling, timber floorboards, and glazing maximises natural light, warmth, and views. The clean-looking white kitchen has a scullery and a long island that doubles as a breakfast bar.
It’s great for entertaining, either in the dining space, formal outdoor dining room or a second outdoor space where louvre roofs ensure everyone stays dry.
Among the four bedrooms is a resort-level main suite in its own wing. It has floor-to-ceiling windows, an ensuite with a double vanity, a walk-in wardrobe, and sliders that open to a private deck with a spa pool. The third wing has three more bedrooms, a laundry, bathroom, toilet, and double garage.
French Electrical designed the lighting plans for this property, including strip, automated and feature lighting behind mirrors and splashbacks in the kitchen and bathrooms. The complex and high-spec electrical installation was also undertaken by French Electrical, including the heat pumps and ceiling ventilation system, underfloor heating, the speaker cabling, garage doors and electric gates, and the outdoor louvre roof system.
Jamie at JCDesign designed the kitchen, scullery, lounge shelving (including desk), laundry, and vanities, and Legacy Joinery manufactured and installed them. Most of the benchtops are Silestone Calacatta Gold Engineered Stone, supplied by Cosentino NZ and fabricated by Stone by Design. The storage hardware is all by Hafele, including the strip lighting in the cabinetry, kitchen bins, laundry baskets, Tavinea cutlery/utensil inserts, Le Mans corner units, pull-out ironing board and charging docks.
Bret Robinson, Director of Fowler Homes, says French Electrical was referred to him by another contractor three years ago. He says the French team is always friendly and professional. “They provide prompt service, and any issues are quickly resolved. Chris French is very approachable and always available.”
You can view more photos of this aspirational home on the Registered Master Builders House of the Year website here.
Show stopper
Awards Won: Regional Category Winner | Gold Award
Category: GIB Show Home
Builder: Frame Homes
This new three-bedroom and two-bathroom show home in Karaka, South Auckland, is designed for enjoying the living spaces both indoors and outdoors. The exterior is simple yet stylish, with FlaxPod ColorSteel Longrun roofing, and a laneway-vibe tumbled brick and Palliside cladding.
The entrance leads straight into the kitchen and living area, which is super family-friendly. The slick white-and-wood kitchen and walk-in scullery have plenty of storage space. Large stacker sliding doors open onto the expansive deck and outdoor barbecue/entertaining area.
The main bedroom has a walk-in wardrobe and a fully tiled ensuite.
The partnership between Frame Homes and French Electrical is evident in the top-quality homes they design and work on together. In 2023, French Electrical designed the lighting plans for Frame’s Gold Award-winning home in South Auckland.
In this 2024 award-winning home, French Electrical designed and installed the full electrical spec – power, lighting, TVs, appliances, heat pumps, etc. The LED lighting was from NSG, and the kitchen pendant, a showpiece above the kitchen island, is from Lighting Direct.
Mark Frame, owner and Director of Frame Homes said, “We have worked with French Electrical for many years. We value their professionalism and dependability, as well as their commendable expertise and quality workmanship.”
Congratulations, Mark and the Frame Homes team!
You can view more photos of this lovely home on the Registered Master Builders House of the Year website here.
Off to a good start
Awards Won: Regional Category Winner | Gold Award
Category: New Home up to $500,000
Builder: Frame Homes
This new three-bedroom, two-bath home in South Auckland was built with first-time buyers in mind. The exterior is simple yet stylish, with charcoal steel roofing, dark windows, and matching Linea Oblique cladding.
The kitchen separates a carpeted lounge area on one side, dining on the other, with a large island that works to provide a casual place for everyone to gather while meals are being prepared. Take meals or a drink outside through the sliding doors and make the most of the patio area and fully fenced garden.
The main bedroom has a walk-in wardrobe and a fully tiled ensuite.
French Electrical designed the electrical and lighting plans for this home, in Hunua Views which includes everything in a standard home – power, lighting, TVs, appliances, heat pumps, etc.
French Electrical enjoys collaborating with Frame Homes because their business values align. Both Chris French and Mark Frame are local owner-operators who engage directly with their clients, place an emphasis on exceptional quality, and ensure the process is seamless, from start to finish. As you can see from these homes, each business stands out for its high-quality design, materials, and attention to detail.
Congratulations again to Mark and the Frame Homes team!
You can view more photos of this great home on the Registered Master Builders House of the Year website here.
How do you get an award?
House of the Year is the industry’s most prestigious competition. To enter, you must first be a Registered Master Builder, a recognised hallmark of quality. There are four Renovation and twelve New Home categories, including Builder’s Own Home, a GIB Show Home, Volume/Group Housing, and a Multi-Unit category for apartments, duplexes, and terrace housing.
There’s also the Pink Batts Craftsmanship Award, Feature Home Awards, and four Lifestyle Award categories, which include the APL Environmental and Sustainable Excellence Award. For this, the judges consider how the building company has incorporated sustainable principles in the home’s design, choice and installation of materials, and construction.
All category entrants in each region are judged by the same panel of two judges. For example, a New Home up to $500,000 in Wellington will be judged by the same two people who judge all other categories in Wellington.
The judges evaluate every property, assigning scores based on the set criteria for its category. Properties are assessed using a 2000-point scorecard—1300 for workmanship and 700 for design, style, and functionality. Multi-unit properties are judged slightly differently—1100 for workmanship and 900 for design, style, functionality, and general consideration. If they get the required points, properties are awarded either gold, silver, or bronze.
Get inspired
It is rewarding to work with great clients and help them achieve recognition for their expertise. We’d love to hear from you if you want to elevate your development project and work with an electrician who exceeds expectations.
If you’ve seen something you like the look of in our work – pendants, lighting ideas or having an EV car charger installed at your home, we’d love to book a consultation with you.