Boise Hunter Homes’ Sicily Earns National Recognition at the 2026 Gold Nugget Awards
The Sicily, a distinctive residential home designed and built by Boise Hunter Homes in collaboration with renowned architect Mike Woodley, AIA, has earned national recognition at the 2026 Gold Nugget Awards. The home was named among the top five residential projects in its category, receiving an Award of Merit in the Best Single-Family Detached Home category for residences measuring 3,500 to 4,000 square feet.
Located in Harris Ridge in the Boise Foothills, the Sicily spans approximately 3,973 square feet and represents a combination of contemporary architecture, thoughtful planning and flexible living spaces. The recognition places the Idaho-built home among a highly competitive group of residential projects from across the United States.
The 2026 Gold Nugget Awards attracted more than 800 entries nationwide, making the achievement particularly notable for Boise Hunter Homes. The company was the only Idaho builder to receive an award during this year’s competition.
A Prestigious Recognition for Residential Design
The Gold Nugget Awards have recognized excellence in residential architecture, community planning and development since 1963. Over the decades, the competition has become one of the longest-running and most respected residential design programs in the country.
Projects are evaluated for their architectural creativity, design quality, innovation and ability to respond effectively to the needs of modern homeowners. Recognition at the awards provides builders and architects with an opportunity to showcase projects that demonstrate outstanding approaches to residential design.
For Boise Hunter Homes, the Sicily’s Award of Merit represents a significant achievement and reinforces the company’s focus on creating distinctive homes in the Boise market.
“This recognition reflects the level of architecture we set out to bring to Harris Ridge,” said Travis Hunter, founder and CEO of Boise Hunter Homes.
The home’s exterior immediately establishes its architectural identity. Inspired by mid-century modern design, the Sicily features clean lines and a distinctive butterfly roof, giving the residence a contemporary profile that stands out within its foothills setting.
Architecture Designed Around Modern Living
While the exterior provides a strong visual statement, the interior of the Sicily was designed around a practical challenge facing many modern households: accommodating multiple generations under one roof while preserving privacy and independence.
A central feature of the floor plan is a 468-square-foot accessory dwelling unit (ADU). The private suite has its own entrance, bedroom, living area and dedicated garage bay, allowing occupants to maintain a greater degree of independence while remaining connected to the primary residence.
The design makes the ADU suitable for a range of living arrangements. It can provide space for aging parents, adult children, extended family members or other household needs without requiring a separate property.
Rather than treating the additional living area as an isolated space, the architecture incorporates it into the broader design of the home through an interior courtyard.
The Courtyard Creates Connection and Privacy
The interior courtyard serves as a defining architectural element of the Sicily. It creates a physical and visual connection between the ADU and the main residence while introducing natural light and outdoor access into the living spaces.
The approach allows the home’s different areas to remain connected without sacrificing privacy.
“The goal was to create a home that could support multiple generations without making either living area feel secondary,” said architect Mike Woodley, AIA. “The courtyard connects the home while giving each space its own sense of privacy and independence.”
This balance between connection and separation is increasingly relevant as homeowners look for flexible residential environments capable of adapting to changing family structures.
The courtyard also enhances the home’s relationship with the outdoors, bringing daylight deeper into the floor plan and creating an additional space for residents to gather, relax or enjoy the surrounding environment.
A Home Designed for Its Setting
The Sicily is part of an exclusive collection of homes at Harris Ridge, a community positioned in the Boise Foothills. The development combines access to natural surroundings with proximity to the amenities and employment opportunities of the Boise area.
Residents are located within minutes of downtown Boise, providing access to entertainment, restaurants, shopping and cultural attractions. The community is also positioned near schools and Micron’s expanding campus, making its location attractive to households seeking convenient access to education, employment and city amenities.
The setting complements the home’s architectural approach. Its modern exterior and carefully planned interior spaces are designed to take advantage of the surrounding foothill environment while maintaining convenient access to the broader Boise metropolitan area.
Boise Hunter Homes Highlights Idaho Design Talent
The Sicily’s national recognition is also notable because it highlights residential design coming from Idaho at a competition featuring hundreds of entries from across the country.
Boise has experienced significant residential growth in recent years, creating demand for new homes that combine contemporary design with functional living spaces. Projects such as the Sicily demonstrate how local builders and architects are responding to that demand with increasingly sophisticated approaches to home design.
The collaboration between Boise Hunter Homes and Mike Woodley brings together construction expertise and architectural design to create a home that emphasizes both appearance and usability.
From its butterfly roof and mid-century modern influence to its multigenerational floor plan and courtyard-centered design, the Sicily was conceived as more than a conventional single-family residence. Its layout reflects changing expectations around how families use and share residential spaces.
The 2026 Gold Nugget Award of Merit places the Sicily among the leading residential projects in its size category nationwide. For Boise Hunter Homes, the recognition provides further validation of its approach to architectural design and residential development.
For prospective homeowners, the project offers an example of how thoughtful planning can make a modern home adaptable to different stages of family life. The integration of a private ADU, dedicated garage space, courtyard and main living areas demonstrates how residential architecture can provide both independence and connection.
Set against the Boise Foothills and close to the city’s major amenities, the Sicily combines location, architectural character and flexible functionality. Its recognition at the Gold Nugget Awards underscores the growing sophistication of residential design in Boise and highlights the potential of homes that are designed around the evolving needs of today’s households.
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