This is what I imagined moving into when my husband said "I took a job in Silicon Valley." Instead, given our budget and timeline, I'm living in a shoebox.

A girl can dream, though...especially about that tub...

http://embritadesign.blogspot.com

i admit i'll enter....but if i win i won't live in it either. the style isn't my dream and the interiors are way too traditional, stuffed with meaningless tchochkes, and overly wrought. to me it's a lottery, not a dream. still, it's nice to see one in california and where someone could actually live and work year round.

That's a whole lot of expensive ugly.

Agree with healthyhome and rosenatti---it really is tchochke laden and ugly. And what a boring, ranch-house neighborhood! This is the first HGTV Dream Home (well, I've only noticed the last 2 or 3) where I can't ignore a heap o' trendy embellishments and latch a bit of fantasy onto the mountain view or water frontage, or something!

Regardless of the style of the house, I think it's absolutely cruel to give away a house to someone and not pay the taxes on the prize, especially at a time when many prominent giveaways pay the prize tax liability. Most people do not have the income nor wherewithal to shoulder a $3-600,000 tax liability on a 2 million dollar home, even if they mortgaged the home to pay it.

finally a dream home that doesn't suck

"keep in mind that the winner's responsible for paying taxes on the prize. Would you be surprised to hear that none of the winners of the previous 12 giveaways still lives in a Dream Home?"

I would love to win this house. Visit it for a good weeklong party, and promptly sell it.

I hate faux traditional homes. Why can't they build something interesting? Even the "Green Home" they did last year was a fake old house. They should either restore a real old house or build a modern house. As for the interior design,

Didn't quite complete that thought, did I.

As for the interior design, it is overdone and overwrought, as is all HGTV design, but is not that bad. and I too would happily soak in that tub.

Another Ugly Faux Victorian filled w/ Ethan Allen Crapola...
...If I won, I'd sell the thing too.

(Oh, but there's nobody to buy it anymore - I guess I won't bother entering)

it could be much, much worse... they could have gone for the OTHER tired "theme"..."Tuscan" villa since that's de rigeur for wine country... as for it being yet another cliche, well, what do we expect? there doesn't seem to be any new ideas any more... with the democratizing of design in general, everything's gotten bland. In order to appeal to the vast majority, things have to be safe, expected, non-confrontational, non-thought provoking that's how one sells lots of units of a product... gawd forbid they ever try to make people think, experiment, push the envelope (colors and materials used in unexpected ways or, how about a SMALL house for once with clever storage solutions?) ... nope, "beige" it is, cause beige is safe and, beige sells the most units...

I think most people want safe, beige, traditional decor. From what I've observed, most people aspire to the Pottery Barn or Crate and Barrel catalog look. Appalling, I know.

Wow, what a bunch of ... attitude.

I hate those Victorian tubs, don't understand the appeal. (OK, apart from deep water which can also be had in something new...)

Anyhow, the HGTV Dream House isn't about cutting edge design, it's about middle American fantasies. They showcase new appliances and other sponsored products, but they aren't trying to be "architect of the year".

You guys should listen to yourselves sometime. It's comical in a mean-spirited sort of way!

The house itself isn't that bad if one likes traditional. However, I would feel very weird having the biggest house on the street and the only one with two stories. Even though the house isn't as showy as a typical McMansion, it's still a lot more conspicuous than its neighbors.

That is really dumb, HGTV. You give away these "dream" homes that people can't afford to keep. What's the point of a "dream home giveaway"? Brainless, brainless, brainless.

--Um, I really don't get the griping about taxes here. All else being equal, the acquisition of any 2 million dollar property ain't exactly the worst hardship, guys, is it? If you sold it on the spot, and forked out the capital gains tax, you'd still have a healthy bag of loose change to show for it.