HGTV Dream Home 2010

Set on 3 acres, the house comes with the eco-friendly GMC Terrain.

My favorite spot in the place: this fireside chat before a fireplace featuring trendy tile from designer Erin Adams.

A skylight highlights the dimensional aspect of the tile.

There’s more Erin Adams tile in this dramatic floor-to-ceiling backsplash in the kitchen, drawing on the turquoise, silver, and pewter colors of Native American jewelry:

Off the kitchen, you’ll find a sleek and sophisticated butler’s pantry, more luxurious than most kitchens!

The views from the living room are inspiring, though the decor’s a bit…meh.

Love the contemporary use of rustic pine on the ceilings, including this casual dining room:

Note the armchairs. They must've been dirt cheap because they're EVERYWHERE in this Dream Home.

Nice office.

Another of the woven armchairs, far right corner.

I dig the cork walls in the media room–great texture and acoustic sound absorption.  But if you want to snuggle with your S.O. while watching a flick, you’ll be relegated to the loveseat, while those chaises taunt you with their comfy feet placement.

I'm also not a fan of the gargantuan coffee table. Sure, it's modular (4-pieces, bunched), but there's so little space to move around it, your shins will be battered and bruised by those corners.

Cute guest room.  Restful, appropriate for teenagers or grownups alike.  My only beef is that the off-centered-ness of the window wasn’t disguised.

Another cute bedroom for kiddos.  My hat’s off to designer Linda Woodrum and the stylists responsible for taking tacky Disney merch (obvious product placement) and making it look designer-y:

Ubiquitous armchair appearance.

The master bathroom is the ultimate in hotel/spa design, including a luxurious towel warming drawer.  Which I want.  Right.  Now.

The peek-a-boo barn doors bring the exterior view into focus.

Let’s see…this Dream Home has a mammoth kitchen with two fridges and two freezers, a swanky butler’s pantry, two dishwashers, not-one-but-two laundry rooms, a bazillion exciting features, worth a cool $2 million.  Yet the master bedroom only has…

A queen bed?

Starting to hate the woven chairs.

Way to take the dream out of the Dream Home.

Three chairs surround this tiny (by luxury standards) bed.  Could we not eliminate the chairs and have a big-boy bed?  And why are there three chairs around the bed anyway?  Egads…are we inviting spectators in to watch?

Moving on, I was all cued up to adore the casita (luscious Erin Adams tile again) until Jeb pointed out that the toilet is in full view of the bedroom.  Watching your adored in the bathtub or shower?  Sexy.  Watching your adored take a dump?  Not so much.  Please tell me the glass wall features smart glass.

Substandard beds and exposed potties aside, the red-headed stepchild of the whole shebang is the home’s landscape design. I’m all for xeriscaping and appreciate (to an extent) creating a landscape that fits in with its surroundings.  But the contemporary flavor of this house begs for contemporary plantings…and you’re not going to find that at this house.  Instead, the exterior of this Dream Home looks like one of HGTV’s “before” pictures.  There are several dead-looking trees and bushes, microscopic prickly pears outside the master bedroom.  Poor Jamie Durie had to talk it up for the episode–when based on the promos for his show The Outdoor Room, I’d guess he was cringing horribly over it.  HGTV must know it sucks too, because I had to take my own shots of the landscaping from my TV:

Next year, let’s please get the Monrovia hookup and let Jamie Durie bring it up a notch, eh?

You can register daily to win these palatial digs and all of the goodies therein (including several cheap woven twine armchairs!) by visiting HGTV.com. Deadline to enter is February 19th.