Photo by tomhilton
Turkey Day approaches and winter holidays are not far off. If you won HGTV Dream Home 2011, how would you celebrate the holidays? Would you invite the entire fam to your new mountain lodge, decorate each room with a ceiling-high Christmas tree and serve sensational dinners each evening? Let’s daydream today.
Photo by carbonnyc
I’ve been told I cannot tell you about it – that I have to keep it under wraps until December 20, when the virtual online tour of HGTV Dream Home 2011 launches. But I cannot really help myself. There’s a secret feature – a luxury something-or-other that is just so perfect for the location. I myself was a bit surprised when I visited the home earlier this month and spotted it. No one ever mentioned it. It never appeared in a floor plan that I reviewed. What do you think it might be?
And, no, I’m not talking about the space above the Car Barn. That’s a completely different story.
Super Fan has an update! The powers that be did a switcheroo and changed hosts for the special. It must have been a decision made in the secret room above the car barn. Take a look!
Online team, from left: Drew Liff; Eric Perry, still photographer; Jerry Hammarlund, photography assistant (and all-around good guy); Bruce Cole, photographer and digital media producer; Mary Graff, editorial manager; Jeannine Shipp, interactive planning director; Daniel Pratt, senior visual designer.
It’s our last day together: Two photographers headed home to Detroit this morning and the rest of our online team flies out of Vermont on Monday.
I like this town. Residents live, eat and breathe green. If you follow the slow food movement, you will appreciate what Stowe has to offer, both in terms of dining options and access to farm-fresh, organic produce, meats and cheeses. And don’t get me started on the pizza: Piecasso pizzeria became our go-to place for lunch and dinner.
And if you haven’t figured this out by now, I really like HGTV Dream Home 2011. After visiting for a few days and making myself at home, I more clearly understand architect Paul Robert Rousselle’s vision for this modern mountain lodge as a gathering place for generations of family members. I can just imagine kids hanging out in the ski dorm and running around on the ground floor while music blasts from the sound system and parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents chat in the gathering room. On a summer evening, the party would inevitably spill out onto the back terrace, which boasts gorgeous views of Mount Mansfield.
A group of us clicked through photos of the home’s interior yesterday. You are in for such a treat when the virtual tour launches in December. I consider one feature of the kitchen quite a construction feat – you won’t believe your eyes!
I am signing off for now. I leave Stowe knowing that the winner of HGTV Dream Home 2011 will be fortunate indeed.
Stowe is quiet.
I don’t mean that in a derogatory way. It’s so peaceful here, especially during this off time between fall foliage season and the holidays. Things are still, as if the little village has decided to take a much-needed nap before the skiers and hustle-bustle of the winter season blasts the area with activity. It’s the perfect time for our online team (interactive planning director, senior visual designer, world-class photographers and I) to visit HGTV Dream Home 2011 to snap photos and take notes in preparation for the launch of the virtual tour. (Mark your calendars for December 20, btw.)
Our first full day at the home was easy, breezy. The sun was shining; icicles dangling from the roof’s edge were melting – the constant drip of the glistening water drops had a hypnotic effect I appreciated. The home’s interior, bursting with colors, seemed to smile.
Builder Brendan O’Reilly stopped by in the afternoon to chat about the home design and construction details he found particularly challenging. I think my favorite exterior feature at the moment is the masonry-clad foundation, which calls to mind historic homes and limestone barns that dot the countryside near my hometown in Pennsylvania. Brendan, a Pennsylvania native himself, chose bluestone, quarried in the northeastern part of the state, to pave walkways. I’ve come to realize that each HGTV Dream Home tells a personal story about its builder.
Today is cold and rainy. Snowflakes were falling this morning as I interviewed Linda, whose creativity and out-of-the-box approach to design never cease to amaze me. I love what she’s done in the master suite. She says her favorite space is the kitchen – and for good reason.
I hope you are all well and excited about this year’s home. I can’t wait to share more details with you in December.
Super Fan’s college friend spills the beans about this sweet New England town.
If you’ve been following our coverage of HGTV Urban Oasis, then you’ve already met FrontDoor.com’s senior editor Annalisa Burgos. In an exclusive video series, she scoured New York City in search of Vern Yip’s favorite shopping destinations, the coolest places to hang in the Financial District and design secrets that stretch the limits of small living spaces.
This week, she’s headed to Stowe to explore the HGTV Dream Home 2011 neighborhood for FrontDoor.com. Where would you like her to go? What cool sites should she hit up? Cast your vote in the poll below and post more thoughts below.
Super Fan leaks details about interior designer Linda Woodrum’s biggest inspiration for this year’s color palette.
She’s back and better than ever! Our Super Fan Gail will be pounding the pavement in search of exclusive details and answers to questions you posted in the blog.
Happy Friday, folks!
It’s a gorgeous day here in Tennessee: Sunny and 67 degrees. I can’t say the same for our friends in Stowe, Vermont. The HGTV Dream Home 2011 construction crew is working in the midst of a winter weather advisery. Our interactive planning director Jeannine just swung by my desk to report that our time-lapse camera may very soon capture snowy scenes from Mount Mansfield.
Here’s a pic from earlier this morning. We’ve moved the camera one last time. Lovely, no?
Monday Morning Update
Can you imagine the holidays?
