Greetings, HGTV Dream Home fans.

We’re closing this blog to do a bit of housekeeping. A new and improved blog format is coming soon. We’ll alert you when it’s live.

In the meantime, please pay a visit to our sister sites, HGTVRemodels.com and FrontDoor.com, to learn more about the construction of this year’s home and its picturesque mountainside location.

Super Fan is back today and putting a call out for questions. Are there details you need to know about HGTV Dream Home 2012 that we haven’t already revealed? Gail wants to know!

Today, I invite you to participate in a very special poll. Our visual designers created five possible banners, one of which we will post along with the virtual home tour on December 1. We’d like you to help us choose the best design.

Please review the banners and pop back here to cast your vote. Voting closes on November 23 at noon ET. The winning banner will be posted on December 1, 2011, at around 9 a.m. Keep checking Dream Home central for the updated look.

I am happy to leak a few late-breaking details about HGTV Dream Home 2012. Please visit HGTVRemodels.com to read the latest and greatest. House planner Jack Thomasson never ceases to amaze. Just when you think he’s outdone himself, he pulls out a few more punches.

December 1 is fast approaching as is our online virtual tour. Wait till you see the sunset shots we captured.

Happy Friday!

Today, please pop over to the Design Happens blog to read designer Brian Patrick Flynn’s lovely post about his experience at HGTV Dream Home 2012. He’s spending time at the home site this week, shooting videos that will appear in our online virtual home tour. Plus, you’ll see a sneak-peek picture of the amazing outdoor living room. I believe he’s now as smitten with Utah as I am.

“I wasn’t prepared for the intensity of color.” That’s probably the first thing I’ll say if and when someone asks, “Hey, Mar, how was the trip?” The scenery is awe-inspiring, from the cottonwood and scrub oak-dotted landscape to snow-capped Mount Timpanogos and the babbling indigo blue waters of the Provo River, slicing through prairie land on its journey to the Utah Lake.

Today marks the final day of our trip to HGTV Dream Home. I’ve been gathering information about the home’s interior design, while our photographers snap photos of every square inch of space, all in preparation for the launch of the virtual home tour Dec. 1.

So what’s it like? The answer very much depends on what room you happen to find yourself in. If you’re enjoying morning coffee in the great room, then “light,” “bright” and “happy” are words that might pop to mind. If you’re lounging in the first-floor guest suite, “oasis” and “calming retreat” seem most appropriate. Relaxing in the family room? The colors and fabrics might put one in mind of the Old West and saloon interiors. Each space has an interesting story to tell, with design inspiration woven into the very fiber of the home.

On a personal note, we’ve had the pleasure of taking breaks to watch our colleague fly-fish from the banks of the Provo River. There’s something so transfixing about the experience. I’m not sure if it’s the sound of the water, the swish of the fly line or the gentle rustle of prairie grasses that soothes me most. I’m thinking it may be some combination of the three. And then there’s the brilliant autumn sunshine that bounces off the water and warms your cheeks — complete serenity.

This isn’t the sort of home and property that instantly sweeps you off your feet. The feeling grows slowly, sneaks up on you in a warm and comforting way until that moment when you realize something has changed: that you are smitten.

We’re nearing the completion of HGTV Dream Home 2012. Our interior designer Linda Woodrum is presently at the home, putting her finishing touches on interior and exterior spaces. Today, I’d like to share a series of photos sent from house planner Jack Thomasson. In dramatic fashion, skies cleared just as delivery trucks arrived with furnishings. At the end of “load-in day”, clouds rolled back in, casting a gorgeous glow on our modern rustic-style ranch home.

Wondering when we’ll reveal pics and videos of the finished interior? Mark your calendars for December 1 when our online virtual tour launches. Then on December 29, at 9 a.m. ET, our giveaway entry period begins. Remember: You can enter twice daily for your chance to win HGTV Dream Home 2012!

Today, I’d like to share an amazing before and after from HGTV Dream Home 2012.

The inspiration of house planner Jack Thomasson, a glass staircase railing system lends a contemporary design aesthetic and complements the rustic ranch style of the home. Douglas fir mortis-and-tenon timbers comprise posts and rails, with custom-cut glass pieces between posts. The transparent treatment is repeated in the game room’s Juliet-style balcony rail.

To learn more about other unique design components and home systems, visit our Building of HGTV Dream Home 2012 package on HGTVRemodels.com.

I was traveling through the western Pennsylvania countryside last week and snapped some photos of corn cribs, which served as inspiration for the exterior cladding of HGTV Dream Home’s kid’s wing. This home, though brand new, is being built to resemble a homestead that’s stood for generations. I love the thoughtfulness that’s gone in to each and every detail.

If you have a moment today, please check out the HGTVRemodels.com slideshow that showcases the home’s most outstanding architectural features and home systems.