Welcome to the HGTV Green Home 2009 scavenger hunt, where we’ll divulge two clues a week that’ll lead you closer and closer to the location of our latest eco-friendly home.

Ready to get started?

While out on your scavenger hunt, look for this little green house: When you see it, you’ll know you’ve found a clue.

Speaking of clues…. Here’s your first one!

Clue #1: What do all of these homes have common?

Think you know the answer? Post your guesses below and come back this Thursday for another clue to the location of HGTV Green Home 2009.

Till then, hop on over to HGTV Dream Home and vote for your favorite table setting.

It’s going to be an exciting season here at HGTV Green Home 2009. We’ve got so much great stuff planned for you, from exclusive videos to behind-the-scenes blogs, all leading up to that thrilling final moment when we surprise the winner with the keys to their brand new, eco-friendly home.

It all starts Monday with the HGTV Green Home scavenger hunt. We’ll post two clues a week that will lead you closer and closer to the location of our latest eco-friendly home. So join us then — and make your best guess. Who knows where it’ll all lead?

Hey HGTV Green Home fans! Just doing a quick check-in to say that we’re gearing up for HGTV Green Home ’09. Tune in early next week for some exciting news.

And if you haven’t been by HGTV Dream Home Central in a while, swing by and cast your vote for the table setting that will welcome the winner to their new outdoor dining room. You can vote once a day till October 31.

It’s been a big summer at my house. My family moved into a 100-year-old cabin and we put green ideas into action by decorating with tons of recycled materials. My favorites: the wrought iron window box that is now a pot rack, and the beautiful pieces of barn wood that we turned into a two-level bar.

Got any green decorating ideas or tips you’d like to share?

The winner walkthrough video is here! Watch Marsha Coulthard tour her new house in Tradition Hilton Head, S.C.

Jack Thomasson hands over the keys

We’ve also got exclusive construction pictures of HGTV Dream Home 2009, courtesy of HGTVPro.

2009 HGTV Dream Home Sneak Peek

Stay tuned for more on HGTV’s 2009 Green Home and Dream Home.

Drum roll please! It’s official — HGTV has given away the keys to its first HGTV Green Home.

Congratulations to Marsha Coulthard of Bradenton, Fla., whose name was chosen from over 21 million entries. Marsha won the beautiful eco-friendly home in Tradition Hilton Head, S.C., along with a GMC Yukon Hybrid — a prize package totaling $850,000.

During the show, we also announced the winners of the Get More Green sweepstakes, which included a $15,000 shopping spree from Sears and a $10,000 gift card from Kohler.

The Sears shopping spree went to Frank Retter of New Carlisle, Ind. and the Kohler gift card was awarded to Bernadette Vidal of Brick, N.J.

We’ve got exclusive behind-the-scenes video of the HGTV Green Home giveaway. Check out Marsha’s answers to your questions and if you missed the exciting ambush last night, here’s your chance to see it now.

Sunday’s the night! Tune in at 8/7c to find out who won the HGTV Green Home. We’ll also announce the winners of the Get More Green Giveaway prizes: a $15,000 shopping spree from Sears and a $10,000 gift card from Kohler.

Here are some goodies to carry you through till the show airs:

Dream Home 09: The Floor Plans Are Up

To follow up on last Friday’s entry, Red Hot and Green is now live. Go take the quiz and check out the slideshows in their native habitat.

Here’s a fun, new feature: Earth-Friendly Style: Decorating ideas you — and the planet — will love

See you here on the blog Sunday, during and after the show. Then come back to Green Home Central Monday morning to watch the ambush again and hear the winner answer your questions.

Happy Friday, everybody! I’ve been busy this week working on a homepage for our new series, Red Hot and Green, which is hosted by handyman Carter Oosterhouse and designer Nicole Facciuto, from What’s Your Sign? Design. It premieres Tuesday, July 2, at 11/10c, but we’ll have the homepage up next week so you can get a preview. We’ve got a ton of fun stuff, like videos with HGTV Green Home house planner Jack Thomasson and a “Can You Pick the Green Product” quiz.

Till then, here’s a sneak peek of two of the slideshows. The Red Hot and Green link on the last pages won’t work till next week when the show page launches (did I say sneak peek?), but I know you’ll have fun perusing all these beautiful rooms and storage tips. I bet you’ll even recognize some of these pictures from our Green Home slideshows.

10 Beautiful Rooms (You Won’t Believe They’re Green!)

Green Storage Options

I love the rooms in the first one because they came from some of our favorite designers (like Carter, Vern and eco-guru Lori Dennis) and talented viewers like you, who uploaded photos to Rate My Space.

Here’s a taste of what you’ll see, a bachelor’s lounge by Lori Dennis:

Have fun clicking through. See you next week!

Carter Oosterhouse

Earlier this year, HGTV.com gave fans a chance to ask Carter Oosterhouse your green questions. And boy, did you ask! We got over 100 questions for your favorite green handyman. From those, we chose five, which we sent to Carter to answer.

Read on for his tips on everything from using cork flooring in bathrooms to finding the best ways to make an older home eco-friendly.

Q: Hi, Carter! I am having a really hard time finding an affordable green builder or green ideas so I can be my own contractor. I really want to generate some of our own electricity and use recycled materials. Can you help?

Karen, Virginia

A: It’s a lot easier to build green than you might think. There are many things that are considered standard building practices that can make a green impact; for example, using I-beams for your floor joists that are made from engineered wood products instead of solid wood.

When you’re considering producing your own electricity, the two most well-known options are wind and solar. For both, you will need to work with your local installer to see if you have the natural means necessary to have the system make sense. You need to have a certain number of days of sun for the year or you need a certain average wind speed. The great thing about green energy is that your investment will pay you back in energy savings.

Q: Hello! Our family is finally refinishing our basement and would like to use earth-friendly materials. Our main concern would be keeping the basement dry and mold free. Any suggestions?

Sharon, Connecticut

A: When you’re looking to finish a basement, moisture is always an issue. There is a product called Dricore Subfloor Systems that works well. Dricore is plywood with a rubber backing that enables your finished floor to keep dry. On the walls you want to use a waterproofing that locks the moisture out, and there are several products that achieve this that you can find at your local hardware store. After those are complete, you can begin with standard framing and finish materials. As far as green goes, you might want to consider using the concrete floor as your finish floor. Concrete floors can be stained and sealed in a variety of finishes for an attractive look and help you save on the cost of a finished floor.

Q: Carter, I have a new home with asphalt shingles. How can I add solar shingles and where can I find prices and contractors in my area to install them?

John, Texas

A: The whole solar industry has made huge leaps in the last 10 years with product innovation and ease of installation, not to mention aesthetics. One of the latest products is BIPV, Building Integrated Photovoltaics. Because solar materials are not yet used in common building practices, you will need to find a company that makes these. Once you’ve decided on a particular company, ask them for a list of vendors and installers in your area.

Q: Dear Carter,

My husband and I own a 1929 cottage. Aside from replacing the windows, do you have any other ideas that might make a house from this era more energy efficient?

Dana, Mississippi

A: Insulation is at the top of the list when it comes to making an older home more energy efficient. One of the best approaches is to add blown-in insulation in your walls and attic. This can greatly increase your R-Value and decrease your monthly bills. Aside from insulation in an older home, it’s good to make sure your outside doors seal tightly, to update your heating or cooling system, replace your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents, and to use low-flow faucets and showerheads. All of these things have an initial investment, but will definitely save you money in the long run.

Q: Carter, can cork flooring be used in a bathroom?

Julie, Minnesota

A:When considering your options for flooring in the bathroom, you have a lot of choices and cork is one of them. However, it would not be recommended for a high-use bathroom due to high moisture levels. Cork is a great green product but is not a very dense product, so it has the ability to soak up more moisture and warp, unlike a dense wood.

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Can’t get enough Carter? Check out his latest podcast

Watch HGTV Sunday, June 8, at 8/7c to find out who won the HGTV Green Home and Get More Green Givaway

Tune in to Green Home Central Monday, June 9, to meet the winner and hear them answer your questions

Have you entered today for your chance to win the Get More Green Sweepstakes? Do it quickly! The giveaway entry period closes at 5/4c.

Enter now for your chance to win

We held the random drawing this morning and Jim Samples, president of HGTV, picked the potential winner* for the 2008 HGTV Green Home!

This was the first time I’d attended a drawing like this and I was surprised by how official it was. Third-party auditors attended, overseeing every aspect of the process. The way that on-air and snail mail entries are combined is truly ingenious and it gives everyone who entered an equal chance to win.

We had three times more entries than we expected, and out of that, only a small fraction of entries were mailed in. Way to go green and save paper, everyone!

The mail-in entries we did receive were really varied. I saw antique postcards, hand-painted postcards, envelopes lettered with messages and decorated with paint and stickers. There was even a low-tech entry made out of the cardboard backing from a note pad.

I won’t know the name or location of the winner until you do, when we announce it in the HGTV Green Home Giveaway special on Sunday, June 8, at 8/7c. Be sure to tune in and see if you won — and then check back on the website Monday morning to meet the winner and hear them answer your questions.

Don’t forget! Tomorrow’s the last day you can enter to win the Get More Green Sweepstakes.

And come back Friday to see Carter’s answers to your questions (from way back in January — you probably thought I’d forgotten about them!).

* There’s still some verification that needs to take place, so it’s not official quite yet.