Prize Home Tour

My favorite part of summer is when the PNE comes back to Vancouver. Where else can you stuff your face with mini donuts, watch a pig race, lose those same mini donuts from a stomach churning ride and possibly win a 3000+ sq ft home? Despite the fact that it will be permanently planted in Kelowna (which is roughly five hours from where my fella works so we’d have to sell it even if we won) when the newest PNE Prize Home is revealed and officially up for grabs I start climbing the walls to go see it up close. The tickets are reasonably priced so it’s pretty hard to resist this unlikely yet tempting opportunity. My biggest dream is to own a house of my own but as most of you know, it' takes a very long time to collect enough pennies together for that momentous moment of purchasing your first home. So I’m sure you can imagine how alluring it is for a beautiful fully furnished house to be dangled in front of me like a ball of yarn to a kitten. I know the feasibility of them actually pulling my ticket out of the giant spinning barrel is pretty slim to none but I figure by buying the tickets in July and anxiously waiting for the draw in September, I’ve just purchased two months of hearty day dreaming for myself. And when your inflated rent is due, your neighbours in the apartment next to you are partying and all you really want to do is garden quietly in your non-existent backyard, sometimes escaping to a day dream is all that gets you through. I’d like to invite you to do a little dreaming with me today.

The Entrance and Washroom: I am gaga for contrast of the dark floors against the robin’s egg blue and white trim when you first walk in the door. The iron in the cut out on the wall is such a sweet detail for the craftsman style. I also really like the raised sink and faucet coming from the wall in the washroom. From the moment you walk in it feels like a cozy family home.

The Living Room: I think the vaulted living room is so bright and elegant without being stiff and losing the family feel. One of my only criticisms is that the designers went a little heavy on the blue. I would like to have seen a few different colours used throughout the home. I love the pairing of the black chandelier with the iron wrought railings on the staircase although, I’ve never seen that type of railing with a white handle.

The Dining Room: This dining room is perfectly nice but I think most people prefer a separate designated room for the dining away from the kitchen. It does flow very well with the open concept of the home.

The Family Room: Let’s talk about this little -what I refer to as- nook. I think it’s very sweet and would be a perfect place for morning coffee and reading the paper. However, they refer to this space as “the family room” and I kind of had to chuckle at that. To me, a family room is a comfy couch, a television and room for clutter like the Timmy’s Xbox and little Suzy Q’s dolls scattered about. So in my humble opinion this is an itty bitty breakfast nook which is perfectly lovely but certainly not a family room.

The Kitchen: I can’t make up my mind on this kitchen. There are certain elements I love like the big island, the shiny appliances, the counter tops and the bright windows. What I’m iffy on is the lighter beige brown cabinets in the mix. I understand the idea is to lighten the feel of the kitchen and all dark cabinetry would be too heavy but I don’t know if I’m liking the colour.

What do you guys think? I think I’m just hung up on last years prize home kitchen and this one just doesn’t compare. You can see last year’s house including the kitchen here.

The Study: I’m digging the decorative ladder up the bookcase. It reminds me of the scene from Beauty and the Beast when Belle is swinging around on the ladder in the library. “There must be more than this provincial life!” Yes… I am a grown up.

The Media Room: It’s a little tight and uninviting. I think a sectional couch along the window wall instead of separate chairs would do wonders for this room. Then the TV could go on the opposite wall with a coffee table between. It’s the only family gathering room with a TV in it so it needs a to be a place where more than two people can sit. There’s also no where to put down your drink or put up your feet. This room has potential but the furniture setup doesn’t do it justice.

The Master Bedroom: Firstly, I’m not sure how the door works with the railing, it may just be set up that way for tours. The room is quite cozy and soothing. It’s done in the same blue as the rest of the house but this room appears to have some kind of coloured trim around the moulding. I haven’t seen it up close so I’m not sure what it is. I love the chaise sitting area for relaxing and the bedroom has it’s own personal deck.

The Master Bath: What bathroom is complete without a soaker tub, gas fireplace and flatscreen tv on the vanity? Loving it!

Second and Third Bedrooms

Laundry Room

Backyard Deck

Here’s the deets of what’s included in this grand prize package. It’s more than just a house if you can believe that! You get:

• 3000+ sq. ft. craftsman-style home professionally designed and built by Britco Structures
• A beautiful lot in Kelowna on Kirschner Mountain
• Furniture from Lane Home Furnishings, a division of Yaletown Interiors
• High-efficient water heater and geoexchange space heating and cooling system from Terasen
• Energy-efficient appliances, patio furniture and a barbecue from The Home Depot
• Hot tub from Coast Spas & Billiards
• Home electronics
• $2,500 grocery package from MarketPlace IGA
• One year MiniMaid housecleaning service
• One year newspaper subscription to The Province

(For the record, these companies and the PNE are not greasing the wheels for me to give them any shout outs. I’m just a sucker for a purdy house and a good deal)

So what do you think? Is this contest worth entering or would you pass? Do you like it better than last years prize home? Let me know!