The Onyx at McLaurin Farms won Gold in Category 20 at the 2026 Triangle Parade of Homes. That's the category for homes priced $1,175,000 to $1,240,000, and the award was announced at the Parade's Awards Gala on October 13.
The judges work from a score sheet, and it's worth knowing what's on it. The house they score comes out of a long list of decisions, and on The Onyx the selections were the work of Leah Jennings, our designer. We asked her what she was thinking about when she made them.
How a Parade home is scored
Judges walk every entry before the tour opens to the public and score it on a sheet from the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County. Each home competes only within its price category, so The Onyx was measured against the other homes in Category 20, not against every house on the tour.
A perfect score is 525 points. The interior carries 350 of them and the exterior 175.
| Exterior | Points |
|---|---|
| Curb appeal | 50 |
| Design | 25 |
| Landscaping | 25 |
| Outdoor living and planning | 25 |
| Workmanship | 25 |
| Special touches | 25 |
| Interior | Points |
|---|---|
| First impression | 50 |
| Floor plan, flow and design | 50 |
| Kitchen | 50 |
| Owner's suite | 50 |
| Living area | 25 |
| Secondary bathrooms | 25 |
| Closets and storage | 25 |
| Lighting | 25 |
| Workmanship | 25 |
| Detailing and special touches | 25 |
Judges rate each line from poor to perfect. They're asked to leave lot cost out of it, since lot prices vary so much across the area. Each judging team also nominates one home for a Special Feature Award and writes comments on the sheet.
Five lines carry 50 points each: curb appeal, first impression, floor plan, kitchen and owner's suite. Together they're worth 250 of the 525. Workmanship appears twice, once outside and once in, and that part of the score belongs to the trade partners who built the house.
What the judges are asked to look for
The HBA gives judges a short description of each line. Read together, they keep coming back to a builder going further than a buyer would expect.
The first impression line asks whether the interior makes you want to see more and whether its ideas are "expressed in a fresh unexpected way." The kitchen line looks for special or unique design features, and it lists cabinetry, hardware, trim and lighting among them. Lighting gets a line of its own, covering how much light a home has and the "design, style and use of fixtures throughout the home." Detailing and special touches rewards whatever sets a home apart from market homes and from the others in its category.
No line on the sheet mentions a range hood or a corbel. A range hood falls under the kitchen and a corbel under the living area, and both are the kind of thing the detailing line describes.
A special detail in each space
Leah Jennings
Designer, Gemstone Homes
“I focused a lot on creating a special detail in each space.”
She kept each room classic and gave it one thing to look at.
The entry
Leah's top five features of the house include "foyer details that make a strong first impression." Inside the front door, the walls are paneled two stories up, beside a wood stair with a light under every tread. First impression is the first interior line on the sheet, and it's worth 50 points.
The kitchen
“The kitchen is very classic but I made the range hood stand out with wood details and a grand feel.”
The cabinets are painted, and the counters and backsplash are pale and lightly veined. The hood is wrapped in stained wood, with curved brackets that come down to the counter on both sides of the cooktop and frame the pot filler between them.
The living room
“The living room beams are simple painted beams but I added a swooped corbel detail that adds interest. Same with the fireplace. A simple painted brick fireplace but the mantel adds interest with a layered effect.”
The beams are painted to match the ceiling, and each one curves down into a corbel where it meets the wall. The fireplace is painted brick with a stepped surround, set between built-in shelves that are lit from inside.
The lighting
Two of her five features are about light: integrated lighting in the built-ins and beams, and modern lighting. In the owner's suite, the ceiling beams carry their own lighting, which washes across the ceiling between them. Lighting has its own 25-point line, and the owner's suite is another of the 50s.
White oak trim and classic tiles complete her list.
What she's most proud of
“I’m most proud of how all the little details married together to create a really pretty house. When you focus on adding intentional details and classic design it creates something really special.”
Planning your own selections
Leah's approach is a good one to borrow. Keep the room classic and decide where its one special detail goes, whether that's a hood, the end of a beam or a mantel. We make the selections with you before we break ground, so there's time to get those decisions right.
The Onyx is open for the final weekend of the Parade, October 16 to 18. It's Parade map 64, 3829 Cobbler View Way in Fuquay-Varina, and it's free and open to the public.
The point values and judging descriptions come from the HBA's 2026 judging category descriptions and official sample judging sheet.
