For information about the Dream Home Giveaway Sweepstakes, About.com's guide to Contests, Sandra Grauschopf, has the full scoop.
Turn Natural Materials Into Indoor Decorations
Gather natural materials from your area to incorporate into you home. The great room of the Dream House, located in Islamorada, Florida, used palm fronds and palm tree clippings. Designer Linda Woodrum suggests you coose items from the region you live in, from cacti to pinecones.A Faux Mantel for Your Flat Screen TV
In the game room, a shelf was installed on the wall to make it look like the TV is sitting on it. It's more attractive than having a TV hanging on a wall. Balance the television with artwork on either side of the shelf. No one will ever know that you're fooling them into thinking the TV is grounded.Kitchen Art
There's no rule that says a kitchen has to be stark and bare. Bring art into the kitchen to add color, texture, and a focal point. This year's Dream House kitchen shows three large pieces of work on a bare wall.Continuity of Color
When you paint a room, paint the ceiling the same color. If you saturate the room with color, you get the feeling that you're encapsulated in the room. The kids' room in the 2008 Dream House uses a very definite sky blue on the ceiling and four walls.Frame Pictures in Sets
Instead of using whatever you have lying around the house, plan the framing of photos and artwork. Choose a frame finish and group them in a room. Use all black, all gold, all silver, or all wood. The continuity will contribute to the organization of the room. In the Dream House 2008 Game Room or Office, the black and white photos were grouped together and the color pictures were kept separate.Draw from the Area for a Decorative Motif
The Florida Dream House was a natural for a "stylized palm fronds fabric in a bright, unusual color." You see the same natural palm fronds through the windows of the Great Room.Two Looks for One with a Slipcover
Create two totally different color schemes for a room by having slipcovers for the upholstered furniture in a room. Select the bold color or pattern for the actual upholstery then have slipcovers made in a more neutral fabric. The room can shout with color or whisper calm depending on the furniture covers.Be Brave with Bold Color
No more white walls. This year's Dream House used bold color in almost every room of the house. Choose sky blue, mustard yellow, pumpkin, or olive for interest. Choose hues of the same intensity for a continuity of look and a visual flow from space to space.Expand Your Living Space Outdoors
Especially if your home feels a bit tight, you can create more living space by moving outdoors. Whether it's a loggia, porch, or even an outdoor shower (that sounds a bit decadent, doesn't it?) use these ideas for outdoor space, furniture, and furnishings.A Real Multi-Purpose Room
If your space is at a premium, this tip will go a long way to help provide room for more activities. Using movable chairs and tables, you can easily covert from a movie room to a game room to a party room.Decorate More Than the Center of Your Dining Table
Who says you have to keep your centerpiece in the center of your dining table? Use interesting objects, flowers, containers, pictures, and objet d'art for a focal point on the whole expanse of your table.Is It Real or Is It Faux?
It can be very costly to bring natural materials into the room as decorative elements. You can really fool the eye with amazingly real (but really not) pieces at much less than the real thing. Find resin models of shells, coral, tree branches, and rocks. They'll last almost forever and you'll be helping to save the environment.
HGTV's Dream Home 2008 is a spacious (3500 square feet), fully-furnished, custom-designed home in Islamorada, Florida. Take a virtual tour of Dream Home 2008.
See the whole HGTV Dream Home 2008 on a special premier show premiering January 1, 2008 and view all the rooms in the house.
