This is not a photo of the Dream House, but shows Merritt Island from the Banana River.

(Photo credit: “Merritt Island, Florida (southern tip)” by Leonard J. DeFrancisci – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.)

Have you heard about the HGTV Dream House giveaway?  Well, I am entering the contest over and over because it would be perfect for me.

The house itself is not really my taste, but it’s location is worth everything.  And the winner gets a boat and a lovely dock with pretty lights along the boardwalk.  I would live in a tent to be on that piece of land!

The Dream House is located on Merritt Island, near the Canaveral seashore / space center (Florida’s east coast).  It is on the Intracoastal Waterway / Banana River, which is exactly where I’d love to live.  Our new fishing business needs such a location, but living on the water is a dream that is out of reach for us.  That is why winning this house giveaway is a must!

After looking through the before and after pictures, and watching some of the videos, the house doesn’t really impress me all that much.  Of course I would love to win such a beautiful place, but the decor is not my style.  And why isn’t the pool enclosed?  And why doesn’t it have a hot tub attached?  The pool is just not impressive.  A lovely pool is something I want more than a big showy house.  And the house is big.  And colorful.  I’m not sure I could handle the bright orange walls, or the teal bedroom.  But I do love that view of Florida’s inland waterway!

The kitchen is a bit odd, and that massive, retro, surfing wall image in the living room is unique, but how long before I get sick of looking at it?  Not long, is my guess.  To each his / her own.  The whole kitchen / living room area doesn’t do it for me, but I do love the wall colors and light colored flooring.

Outside, the designers took down a lot of nice palm trees to re-do the water facing side of the yard, and to build the courtyard entry from the road.  (View the before and after pictures on the HGTV site.)  The site claims that the designers wanted the house to resemble homes in the Hamptons in New York.  Why?  It’s Florida, so why not make the house over in a Florida style?  Oh well.

One more criticism I have is with the color of Trex wood they used for the dock do-over.  Often people walk barefoot, and that dark faux wood will be hot.  I would have chosen gray or another light color.

And as far as sitting outside the front door, in your courtyard (which is what they make you think you’ll do, by setting up a table and chairs out there), that is unlikely to happen, because it’s HOT in Florida.  The courtyard is pretty, and the big, palm tree lined driveway is impressive, but the seating area, at the front entry to the house, seems out of place to me.

But the taxes alone would mean I couldn’t afford to live there.  I’d have to sell it I suppose.  Still, I’d have the cash, the new car and the boat, and I’d be in a very good position to buy a more affordable home, with a dock just as pretty.  One located someplace on the ICW.

When I win, I will be sure to blog about it here.