The 28th annual Parade of Homes brought another showcase of Summit County’s best builds to the community.

The parade started in 1994, the year after the Summit County Builders Association began. Marilyn Hogan, executive officer of the Summit County Builders Association, said the annual celebration started as a way for people in trades to showcase what their company was capable of. 

Each year, Hogan reaches out to those who have a membership with the association to see who would like to participate, and the association also brings in a few out-of-town judges to choose the winners. Two judges, one from Colorado Springs and one from Steamboat Springs, participated.

Whitney Young, the owner of Neu Designs, said the owners of a home she designed asked to enroll their residence in the parade. It won the prize of best overall home in the 6,000- to 7,000-square-foot category. 

Located at 74 Southside Drive in Breckenridge on a 3.35-acre lot, the home is a two-story house with five bedrooms and seven bathrooms, including a private forest and ski views.

“What was interesting about this house is I originally bought the lot with the intention of building the house for myself and my family,” Young said. However, her children still attend school at Dillon Valley Elementary, which Young said was too far away — especially during the ski season. “That commute was like 40 minutes,” Young added. 

Therefore, about a third of the way through framing, Young put it on the market. Soon enough, a couple from Texas connected with her. The couple bought the property with the floor plan, then collaborated with Young to personalize it. 

According to Young, the movie theater room and the water feature on the back patio are the couple’s favorite features. However, the public’s favorite were the kitchen cabinets. 

“We took the back of a cabinet, like a 10-foot tall cabinet that’s cut for glass, then we tiled the backs of those cabinets with this mosaic that had marble and onyx and brass in it to create a pattern,” Young said. “You couldn’t tell if it was wallpaper or if it was tile until you got up close.”

This reportedly gave many of the parade-goers inspiration for their own homes. 

“The biggest comment we got from that house is that for the size and the grandness of it, it still felt very warm and cozy and livable,” Young said. People felt like they could replicate some of these design concepts in their own house and it wasn’t so over the top that it was out of reach. And so that was really cool.”

Four other homes were also entered into the parade. 

Pinnacle Mountain Homes entered two of their builds. 

The first, 1028 Discovery Hill in Breckenridge, is a 5,977-square-foot home with five bedrooms and seven bathrooms. It won best overall home for its size category, and the residence also won best master bedroom suite, best interior finishes and best interior furnishings.

Lindsay Wilson, the director of marketing at Pinnacle Mountain Homes, said paradegoers complimented the attention to detail, large windows and spectacular views.

Pinnacle, in collaboration with Collective Design Group, also entered 145 Highline Crossing in Silverthorne. It is a 6,670-square-foot home with four bedrooms and 5 1/2 bathrooms that won best remodel.

Thebeau Enterprises, in collaboration with BHH Partners, entered 2766 Estates Drive in Breckenridge. It won best exterior design and elevation. The home is 5,992 square feet with six bedrooms and nine bathrooms. It also has an additional 2,271-square-foot caretaker unit.

Lastly, Raptor Construction entered 65 Wolf Rock Road in Keystone, a 5,937-square-foot home with five bedrooms and six bathrooms. It won best kitchen as well as best landscaping and outdoor living space, with over 2,000 square feet of outdoor patio.