Having never been to MV, I have no idea what this house screams, but I do know I don't care for it hardly at all. The building exterior is pleasant enough, but the "landscaping" is simply awful for so many reasons. All that stark white interior is cold and unfriendly--made me very uncomfortable just looking at the photos. The laundry area was nice, but are you really supposed to move a lamp every time you want to open the cabinet doors or fold clothes? The outdoor shower location blocks window views and light. The furnishings don't excite and, along with the fixtures, seem so rigidly placed. There aren't any fun vibes emitting from this house. For something so amazingly filled with natural light it feels dead and cold. I am having trouble coming up with positive things to say about this Dream Home, which surprises me, since I usually find many things to like with HGTV Dream Homes and so many here are raving about this one.

Gyr, it is an example of the ridiculous and ongoing phase of building trophy homes. I like the feel of the house, but agree with your about the landscaping (too manicured) and the rather sterile nature of it.

When I was a kid, we vacationed in MV every year, rented a falling-down cottage which I believe was made from tarp. Lol. It had no electricity and no running water. It was WAY down a dirt road deep in the pines, on Tashmoo. It had an outhouse, and a pump at the kitchen sink for bringing up water. Lighting was kerosene lamps.

and yes, it had the slamming screen door.

What an utter blast we had there every summer. WE couldn't WAIT to go back.

Now, Tashmoo is, apparently, one of the more exclusive enclaves on MV, with multimillion dollar homes, likely gated nonsense (What? Riff-raff? Not here, not now, not evuh!).

Yuck.

Only a 1 car garage?

I'm glad I'm not the only one who looked for the utility room.

I don't think this is meant to be a four season house.

It's pretty, but it doesn't excite me, in the sense that there is nothing new about it. It looks like a vacation rental home as some others have said..

It's really attractive and I'd love it. But it seems impractical:

The garage is tiny - room for just one car and not much room for anything like bikes, lawn equipment, etc. Even if you have a landscape firm do all the work, don't you have things like play gear and lawn chairs? (Come on I'm on an island! I need kayaks, SUPs, bikes... lots of toys.) Maybe there's a shed for that stuff?

No mudroom. Even if someone else is doing all the yard work, I'd still want somewhere to leave my shoes, jackets, etc. And after entering from the garage you have to walk through the Great Room to get to the (small) laundry room. So while I think the house is beautiful, it wouldn't work well for the kind of active life I'd want to lead there.

It's probably safe to say I would NOT blend in that area!

I had a giggle in the garage. A couple of bags of dog food on a bench is not what I would call "pet food storage." :)

I looked again, and it's actually labeled "pet food AND storage". I still don't think a bench is really "storage". And is the pet food included with the house? Is that the selling feature they are trying to portray here?

I'm guessing Nutro was a sponsor. But it's just a funny picture in a decor spread.
{{gwi:2136821}}

I'll take it, but then I love natural wood, blue, and white. Not crazy about the sinks in the master bathroom. And I most definitely would need more shelves for books and toys (bikes, boats, etc.)

I love symmetry, but the house is a little too symmetrical (outside and in) for my taste.

Funny...My 33 year old daughter called me to tell me about this house. She said that DH and I needed to build it somewhere. She wanted me to be sure and register to win. :)

Yes, I could live in it if I were to win, but I would make a few changes if I were to build the house.

I'm in.

DH keeps telling me if we sell our home here on the Cape and move to NH, we can rent homes wherever I want in the Summer. This would be way more fun for a few years! I wonder where it is on the Island.

It's a bit white for my taste, but I think we could warm it up. I'll be entering!

Anyone else having trouble entering? I just keep getting the rotating circular dots after putting in my email.

There are some things I really love about it. The open airy feel and the very coastal decor. But it just doesn't feel "lived in". If invited to a party and this was the house I would ooh and ahh over and over to the host/hostess. But would I want to live there? Curl up on the sofa to watch TV, read, etc? I don't know. Sort of has a "cool" feel to it.

New~
Keep trying..It took me some time to get through.

Thanks!

Is it a "design element"? Why does the window above the fireplace/TV appear to open? None of the other dormer windows have that appearance? It sort of goes against the illusion of a fireplace to have a window in the "chimney" in the first place. Bottom line someone could gift me this home, and I would be happy to live there!!!

Tib, I've seen pictures of the house you mentioned on the Cape. I even put it on my FB page one time as my dream home. I think they modeled this home after the one on the Cape, don't you?

I actually loved the home and decor except for the abstract paintings and was worried about where to store the lawn furniture. My husband said WHY would you worry about that?!?

The two fake chimneys sticking out of the roof would bother me, but not enough to turn down the house. I'll just keep my eyes on the lower windows when pulling into the drive.

The kitchen is the only room that I really like, and even there, I'd rather sit at a table than at a counter. Of course, the great-room table is only a few feet away.

This appears to be a house for rich millenials who don't have children, or plan to. If it's a vacation house, the master suite is hugely larger than makes any sense, but there aren't enough bedrooms either for a family or for many friends. As a year-round residence, there's no provision for a den or home office, or for a family room. In theory the great room is the family room, which is OK except that there is nowhere, except the bedrooms, or the master bath, to get away from the TV in order to practice the saxophone or whatever.

The one-car garage would be a stopper for many families, and I wouldn't really like having to carry groceries half the length of the house to put them away. The lack of a mud/sand room, as already mentioned, is a serious oversight regardless of how the house will be used. Except for the garage, both entrance go directly into the great room.

It looks like a random home from Coastal Living. Nothing wrong with it, but I would hope a dream would be more creative or inventive or IDK ...

I think for the average person, that house is more than a dream.

I agree 100% with okmoreh. To me, the interior space of the house is designed poorly - what a shame. Some of the interior details are very pretty, and I like the look of the exterior, but ugh. The maze of bathrooms, closets, laundry, and hallways on the guest/garage/kid room size of the house is terrible! I really can't figure out who would use this house - it's not well designed for a vacation home or rental, and it's not well designed for a year-round home.

I've never lived in a home that had a garage or more than 1 closet at least to start so I'm pretty okay w/ it. I'm one of those people that never really yearns for what I never knew so I'm good w/ a 1 car garage and the current storage.

I do like the point about the lamp in the laundry room. Why did they even bother 'trying'?

The other thing that I briefly chuckled at was the coffee table outside. At one angle it looked crooked. After thoughts should just not be done as someone is yelling 'WRAP!'. lol!

The kitchen looks to me as if the only food prep is to call for takeout. There's barely any usable counter space.

Lol Foxes. I was going to say, the one-car garage beats my no-garage car!

I agree that a 1-car garage with no storage for bikes and other outdoor toys, tools, and such just isn't practical. And the garage should be on the other side so you don't have to walk the length of the house to put away the groceries.

It's too McMansion for me. But I'd love to win it so I can sell it! :)

I think that it's really cute! Having a one-car garage wouldn't bother me. I'd just stow my boat in it anyway when I wasn't using it and then park the car out front.

That being said, there are a few nit-picky things as others have mentioned. I'd flip the laundry and the powder room. I'd have chosen a bigger sink in the kitchen and I'd love to know where the trash is located in that room. I wouldn't like showering outdoors if family and friends were hanging out on the back patio (I like to actually use an outdoor shower as a shower and not a "rinse-off" space). I'd rather use the "Trash/Recycling" closet in the garage as a storage closet and have an enclosure near the garage for the garbage, maybe where one of the patios is on the guest side of the house. I would LOVE to see a wood burning fireplace instead of faux chimneys and a gas fireplace. I would repaint the Kids' room as it has a lot going on in it anyway. The Master Bathroom does have electric blinds on the windows, but I'd rather see shutters on those windows.

As I said before, those things are just nit-picks. When I win it, I will be moving in every summer! :)

Here's my one-car garage

Mtnrd, I thought of you when I saw the colors in the bedroom...navy and coral....

{{gwi:2136822}}

I do love that soft aqua color (SW Watery) in the hall though, and liked the soft turquoise ceiling in the Mbath.

{{gwi:2136823}}

This post was edited by AnnieDeighnaugh on Mon, Jan 5, 15 at 17:13

AD, I think the ceiling color in the master bath is sw watery unless the link is wrong. I have the color all over my house - front door, laundry room, guest bath, master closet ceiling, kid's loft and I'm using it as a temporary back splash.

My name is deee and I'm a watery-holic :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Dream home sw colors

Yes, you're right...it looks like a lot of it is watery...very pretty color.

I agree the house should have a two car garage, but I think since the house is basically free, I wouldn't nitpick not having storage for bikes and lawn equipment. That's a pretty inexpensive fix.

Not sure if this is the gospel truth but- the island rumor mill has whispered the following: the dream house was built in about 5 months when most over on the islands take at least a year, it's worth is in the $2-$3M range and that it is in a sub-division in Edgartown - not on the water. Most rentals of this size and in this price have weekly cleaning and landscaping/lawn service. Depending on the area, how close to town and beaches, etc. according to one of the
online rental sites - it might rent in a range of from $4,500+ - $7,500 per week - Lower in the shoulder months (May/June and September/October) This is a wild stab as we do not have all the facts. Rentals have been scarce on the islands, as lately investors have snapped up a lot of the former rental properties. Now if it could sleep 8- then we are talking the higher range - but a pool might be needed as the icing on the cake...seems crazy with the South Shore so nearby! Whatever...it would take awhile to pay the taxes off- even with those rents.

Yes, beach pea, that echoes what I've stated above, re: Cape Cod and Islands rentals. Props are SO expensive, only people who don't need to rent them can afford them, so rental properties, esp. on water, or in the very high range like this house, are very hard to come by.

Edgartown is very nice, though.

It's not good when a small percentage of a population has most of the wealth. This is an example of what happens when that is the case.

I keep looking at it, and I think it makes a good general first impression, but overall it's kind of Twee.

Tibb,
That really is "laugh out loud".

AnnieD,
Yes, coral and navy, I am so the trendsetter. Still cannot believe I bought anything orange. I will have to post it next time I go.

Hmm, that MBA with the arched ceiling is rather fetching.

Oakley,
To be clear, my point is that, to people who are design obsessed, it is not particularly original. In fact it is not original at all. It is a "dream house" by any measure I agree, but an "HGTV" dream house should, IMHO, be more design forward.

It's a nice house, but nothing I'd've ever designed for myself. You need roller skates to get from the mbr to the kids' room...

It's a very pretty, nicely decorated house, and the great room layout is similar to my newly-built house, which I'm very happy with. I agree with others who've said they'd prefer the garage to be located closer to the kitchen and pantry; it seems rather oddly placed. The dressing room between the master bedroom and closet is also strange to me -- a nice feature in a larger home, but in this smaller plan it could serve as the missing office space if it were located more strategically.

We really loved Edgartown. The homes are so lovely. Would love to do a house tour there.

Palimpsest, to me, this is an example of "complete," with each room accessorized the right amount.

It is pretty. I'd sell it, but not because I couldn't maintain it. I'd sell it because I wouldn't want to live there. Though, it could be a nice vacation home.

Not sure I'd like having so many rooms with outside doors, esp the Mbath...you'd need to strap on your roller skates at night to run around the house to make sure all the doors were locked...

"It's my understanding that most winners stay in the house as a vacation, pick a few of the nicest decor pieces -- and the vehicle-- then sell it. Otherwise most won't be able to pay the taxes."

then they pay a ton in taxes... back a time I worked with a number of auditors. They said never spend even a night there - it'll cost ya big money. and yes, taxes, heating, cooling would be way up there!

This home doesn't hold much interest to me. I saw it coming on and changed the channel. Just for fun if I see it on again, I'll watch it.
I usually don't like any of the décor in those homes. Most homes those designer/teams people do on the shows would make me scream "noooooooooooooooooo!".

Well, they do give you $250k as part of the win...probably to help afford the taxes...

But you have to pay taxes on the $250k they give you to help you afford the taxes, no?

Tibbrix - sorry did not read the whole thread- I agree with you 100%..and...I too grew up on MV - ran up and down those same cliffs ...This "Dream" house in no way resembles the cottages in our memories...complete with painted floors and all the rest that you so perfectly detailed.

Foxes - I thank you for introducing us to this new project. It will be fun seeing how it all turns out! Especially how long the winners hold on to it - if they sell or rent it or just use it.........

Tibbrix - thought of you and lol as I was cleaning the snow off of my mom's car last night.

Annie - as soon as I read your post I had a vision of rollerskating around that house Xanadu style locking up for the night.

Xanadu, Xanadu..uuu..uuuu.....

I'm getting lime green pom pos w/ bells for my skates.

desertsteph - I may have misunderstood but are you saying that if you spend a night there you would owe more taxes than if you just sold it outright?

Either way, I would be thrilled to win this house, sell it, pay all the taxes, and still come out ahead so I could build my dream vacation home in Tennessee!

If the prize package is worth $2mil, then the income taxes due would be $741k....

That's just a straight calculation using the marginal tax rates...presumably there'd be some deductions and exemptions to reduce the tax take, but it's still a substantial amount of money and more than the $250k in cash could cover.

So I suppose you could use it for a season and sell before the taxes come due...

To me, this dream looks like a country club.....you could imagine yourself standing in the great room having a whiskey with another guest, and its commendable that its all one story, but to actually live in a place designed with so little imagination, originality or beautiful materials...nah....Lowe's called and they want their crown molding back.

HGTV says the total value of the prize is $2,000,000. If you subtract 250k cash and 50k for the car, the value of the house and furnishings are around 1.7 million. Sell the house for 1.5 million, pay the realtor 90k, pay 750k taxes and you end up with 660k cash plus a 50k car.

I'd be thrilled with 660k and a brand new car but the financial reality of the prize is sobering.

Shadygrove, it even looks like a country club. I love the look of the main cape house, but forget the wings. I don't necessarily dislike the décor, but in my opinion, more is not more.

I am so over these huge houses. When we downsized, it gave me such a sense of freedom that I would never go back to a big house. Our current home is 2200 sq ft, just big enough to entertain our whole family and small enough to feel right.

Too each, her own.
Diane