2026 NCHBA STARS AWARDS
THE REAL ESTATE STUDIO EARNS FOUR STARS AWARDS AND AN HONORABLE MENTION
The Real Estate Studio was honored with four awards and one Honorable Mention at the 2026 North Carolina Home Builders Association STARS Awards.
2026 NCHBA STARS AWARDS
The Real Estate Studio was honored with four awards and one Honorable Mention at the 2026 North Carolina Home Builders Association STARS Awards.
The 2026 STARS Awards included approximately 315 entries across some 85 categories, representing the work of home builders, developers, marketing professionals, designers, and industry colleagues from across North Carolina.
Together, these awards recognize both the brand we created for The Real Estate Studio and the work we develop on behalf of our clients and their communities.
The Real Estate Studio’s identity was created to communicate a distinct point of view: refined but approachable, editorial but personal, and capable of supporting a growing collection of services and experiences.
At the center of the identity is a signature monogram inspired by the idea of connection. Its continuous form reflects the relationships that move through our work, connecting people, places, services, and experiences.
The broader logo system provides the flexibility needed to represent The Real Estate Studio across brokerage, new homes, community marketing, signage, digital platforms, print collateral, and everyday client touchpoints without losing visual continuity.
The same identity was also recognized as Best Logo for a Company at the 2026 MAME Awards.
The Real Estate Studio website was designed to do more than introduce a company. It creates a connected digital experience for buyers, sellers, builders, developers, and industry partners, each of whom may arrive with a different need or point of entry.
A considered page hierarchy, guided navigation, community resources, property discovery tools, and original editorial content work together to make a complex real estate ecosystem feel more intuitive.
Throughout the experience, the website reflects the same hospitality-driven principles that shape our in-person relationships. Information is thoughtfully organized, visual presentation is refined, and visitors are invited to explore at their own pace while always having a clear path toward a more personal conversation.
Forest Ridge is a new-home community in Franklinton, North Carolina, created by WHW Builders. Its brand identity was developed to reflect the natural character of the land while establishing a refined and recognizable foundation for the community’s introduction.
The logo combines elegant typography with an organic botanical mark, creating an identity that feels established, welcoming, and connected to its wooded setting. A layered color palette, custom patterns, mapping illustrations, iconography, and supporting graphic elements extend that identity into a complete visual system.
From early signage and marketing materials to community mapping, collateral templates, and digital applications, the Forest Ridge brand was designed to remain consistent as the community moves from introduction through active sales and beyond.
The award-winning brochure work for North Ridge was created to communicate more than the features of two distinctive homes. Through The Poppy and The Sterling designer lookbooks, architecture, materials, interior selections, craftsmanship, and design philosophy were brought together in an immersive editorial experience.
Each lookbook guides the reader through the home with considered pacing, detailed imagery, product information, and insight into the decisions behind each space. Rather than reducing the homes to a list of specifications, the experience helps prospective buyers understand how the elements work together and what living within each home might feel like.
The North Ridge brochure was also recognized as Brochure for a Community at the 2026 MAME Awards.
The Backdrop for Life video received an Honorable Mention in the Best 30 to 60 Second Commercial category. The NCHBA awards this distinction to recognize outstanding work in exceptionally competitive categories when less than one point separates the first- and second-place entries.
The video was created for an audience of builders and developers, but its story begins with the people who will one day live in the homes they build. Rather than focusing on specifications, sales performance, or construction milestones, the video reflects on the memories, traditions, celebrations, and everyday moments that unfold within a home. It recognizes that builders create more than houses. They create the setting for experiences that can remain with people for a lifetime.
The video was one of two sponsorship commercials developed by The Real Estate Studio for the 2026 MAME Awards Gala. While Protecting What You’re Building considered the business realities and responsibilities behind community development, The Backdrop for Life focused on the human experience made possible by the finished home.
Together, the videos present two complementary perspectives on the significance of the work builders and developers do.
These five honors span work created for our own company and work developed for our clients, their communities, and the home-building industry. They recognize two brand identities, a website, a brochure, and video, but none of those elements was created simply to stand alone. Each is part of a larger experience.
A brand sets an expectation. A website creates a first welcome. A community identity begins shaping a sense of place. A brochure helps a buyer see more than materials and square footage. A video can remind an industry why its work matters.
When those touchpoints are connected by a clear strategy and a consistent point of view, marketing becomes more than presentation. It becomes part of how trust, understanding, and emotional connection are built.
The North Carolina Home Builders Association STARS Awards celebrate excellence throughout the state’s home-building industry. Categories recognize achievement in building, design, marketing, merchandising, sales, and professional services.
For The Real Estate Studio, this recognition reflects something larger than five individual projects. It affirms an approach grounded in strategy, thoughtful storytelling, cohesive experiences, and an understanding that every interaction contributes to how a company, community, or home is understood and remembered.
We are grateful to the North Carolina Home Builders Association for this recognition and proud to see the work of our team and clients represented among this year’s honorees. More importantly, these honors encourage us to continue creating brands and experiences that are not only distinctive, but useful, enduring, and meaningful to the people they are designed to reach.
If you are preparing to introduce a company, community, or new-home experience, we would welcome the opportunity to learn what you are building.
