I'd give my eye teeth for that house, but a great deal of my "desire" comes from the fact that I love love love Lake Tahoe.

It has been my least favorite so far. I found it to be rather cold and a little bit like a furniture showroom with not any personal touches. Don't get me wrong, if I won it I'd be thrilled. It's just not warm to me.

I don't like the decor but that's just me. I'd sell it stat and take the money and run hahahahahah.

Love the exterior, but most of the interior is not my taste at all. I do really like the beamed ceilings and large windows, but the furnishings seem out of place. Colors seem wrong for the setting.

I'd love to own it and would definitely plan to enjoy it for a couple of years before selling it. I don't exactly understand the 2nd floor 'family room' either, Annie. Would much prefer another guest room, which is what it would become if we had our entire family there at once. The older boys or girls would sleep there most likely. I love red, especially for the vacation home, and it would be a fun place to stay with friends and family. And we like Lake Tahoe too! Summer or Winter is beautiful.

I've never been to Tahoe....I was surprised that there wasn't more in the way of outdoor living...is the summer season short there?

My son is helping me register twice a day without fail! I will invite all of you over for a sleepover when I win! We can't wait to get out on the water in the boat that you don't win, but have access to...

I love it.

Well, there's a huge outdoor kitchen for outdoor living.
I wonder if the upstairs family room moves the kids out of noise range from the downstairs bedroom and separates TV viewing from quieter activities.

Annie, I don't really know the answer to your question, but I would imagine it is fairly short and probably never gets really hot for very long. We've only been once in early summer and once in the winter to ski. It is listed as being in Truckee which is on the northwest side. Truckee is pretty much a ski town as I recall.

The powder room seems a little far from the kitchen/DR/FR wing. I don't care for the island cooktop and the huge hood front and center. The use of yellow is nice is nice though. I love the windows and vaults but it could be challenging to heat. If they show up at my door I will definitely answer!

Duplicate post

This post was edited by done_again on Wed, Jan 15, 14 at 17:31

the tax liability on it would be horrendous!

As outsideplaying notes, It is outside in Truckee, but in between the town and North Lake Tahoe/Incline Village. There are activities in both the winter and summer; actually Lake Tahoe is like 20 to 30 minutes away. It is at elevation, but the sunny season lasts from May through October. Snow doesn't usually hit until November. It will be in the 80s in the summer, but it will cool off quite a bit at night.

The home is on a top notch golf course. Close by are Squaw Valley (site of the 1968 Olympics) and ski resorts like Northstar. But the area is pretty much a year round destination. North Lake is serviced by the better interstate, so getting there is easier. I like Truckee and shopped for a vacation home there and in the north part of the lake ( -- not in this price range, lol!). It is a bit quieter and nicer than South Lake, where the larger Casinos are. Truckee has a nice main strip of restaurants, and some good options are available in Incline Village.

I'd take it in a heartbeat, even if I would change some decor. The modern decor and colors are pretty typical of the modern Tahoe esthetic. While many places are more traditional, this is not that out of the norm. Now affording the taxes and the upkeep might be a challenge!.

ETA another link to the development's web page -- with exterior views of the home, info on the clubhouse, the yacht, and other amenities.

Here is a link that might be useful: Development Web page

This post was edited by gooster on Wed, Jan 15, 14 at 17:48

I entered. I wonder how many mailing lists I am now on. Oh well, I won't give them my forwarding address when I move into the Dream Home. I'm not crazy about that long narrow kitchen or the yellow chairs, but somehow I will manage to tolerate them.

Dedtired,
After you win, if post here I'm sure someone can help you locate some other kitchen stools. Don't settle for stools you don't like.

Years ago a dream home location was called Hilton Head, except it was 30 minutes off the island. Bit of a stretch to call it Hilton Head, especially as so many more developments are being built between the exit off route 95 and the actual island, it wouldn't be as though it's the closest development to HHI. There doesn't seem to be much visible from the highway growth in that development. I wonder how it's doing.

I'd love the monetary equivalent, but not the Dream Home. I agree that all of that glass would require large amounts of energy to heat the house in the winter. It might be nice as a vacation house and as a rental property, but I wouldn't want to live in it full-time because of the decor and lack of storage.

Annie, I think HGTV does an annual Smart Home which uses green building techniques and the latest technology.

I gave up trying to view it with all the separate videos and ads. All I wanted was a simple tour...

We would love to move to California, so we're ready to move in. Love all the exposed beams and ironwork railings. However, we don't golf or ski. DH read they get 46" of snow in January on average. Yikes, I left land of the snow, but I could deal. Finding jobs would be a bit of a challenge.

We figured we could give MIL the guest room.

Guess we're ready to go should we win. Speaking of which, better get that entry in.

HHI, did not realize the HHI home was not actually on the island.

GW Sleepover! I'll bring my bunny pajamas.

I just hate the lie...they do this every year. You have this wonderful home with incredible views in a pristine area...but once they build the other 200 homes, you'll be looking over other houses that block your views, and your quiet contemplative space in the mountains turns into the heart of suburbia. But for the dream house, they make sure it's the first of the lot...so deceptive.

Peegee, I had the same frustration. All I want is to see the house... I tried a few entry points from the site, and then, forget it. If it's not user-friendly, HGTV may not need my Web clicks for their advertisers.

Regarding the lack of green building, my layperson's understanding is that this incentive for new builds ended in 2013. If HGTV planned this house to be showcased after Dec. 31, 2013, then green building wasn't a priority, unfortunately, for the network to highlight with this home. This is my understanding of the tax incentive, and, if true, would explain the lack of focus on "green" for this new build.

Well the residential tax credit for renewable energy continues until 2016, but beyond that, they should do it because it's a good thing to do. But when they were showing the construction of the house, it looked like their focus was definitely elsewhere.

On the dream home page, there is a floor plan on the right, if you click the rooms and then select the photos, you can see each space without having to cope with their awful videos. We watched the program via free on demand on our cable so we were able to avoid the commercials...

Loved the structure, loved the setting. Not so wild about the interior although I did like the bunk bed room! It is getting more and more painful to watch each year even w/ John Gidding being on it. I'll watch anything w/ him in it!

I like some of it, even though it is very different in style from our home. If I won, I would go there in the summer to escape the Texas heat and rent it out the rest of the year.

I gave up trying to view it with all the separate videos and ads. All I wanted was a simple tour...

If you click on a room on the floor plan you can choose to just view the still pictures without a video "tour".

The thing I really didn't like was the granite on the sides of the island. It just doesn't look right to me.

I don't think the interior design is that bad, although perhaps not the color palette I'd choose.

I think the upstairs family room is a great idea -- an "away" room, providing a secluded space, which is needed with the open plan of the rest of the house. I think the grid of wood blocks is a little strange.

The master bath has one of my biggest pet peeves -- an exposed tub in front of windows. Extremely creepy at night!

The oversized clock in the guest room says "time is ticking on your visit, I hope you don't plan to stay too long..." I could not relax with that huge thing screaming the time at me.

I seriously dislike yellow, particularly when paired with grey, so I won't be entering the contest. That will give the rest of you better odds. You're welcome.

i watched the show while on vacation - the hotel had hgtv. who is that guy who kept saying that things were "sick?" - he was annoying to me.

I thought it was a beautiful home, and love the industrial/modern look.

if i were to win it, i would not be able to use it, there are no jobs for me out there.