My Private Tour Recap of the 2018 HGTV Dream Home

Thanks to Delta Faucet for inviting me to have a private tour of the 2018 HGTV Dream Home. All opinions are 100% my own.
When I was on vacation in Hawaii celebrating my high school graduation with my family, I got to chatting in the pool with some other resort guests. We exchanged pleasantries and then the next question we exchanged was "where are you from." I remember at that moment in time being embarrassed to say that I was from Indiana. I didn't feel like it had anything special to offer. It was just blah. My friends from the Midwest may even remember a small amusement park that had the slogan "there's more than corn in Indiana...", however, none of us were too sure of what more there was. It wasn't until years later and decades after I moved away that I grew to appreciate the roots in my home state. That said, I'm not sure HGTV is building a dream home there anytime soon, but they did stake their claim to a beautiful home not far from where I am currently planting roots with my family in Gig Harbor, Washington. 
I recently had the opportunity to tour the 2018 HGTV Dream Home with one of the major sponsors, Delta Faucet. Delta is based in my hometown in Indiana. Fun fact, I worked at the headquarters during my summers in college answering the phones. So if this didn't all come full circle, I don't know what would. 
I'm excited to share with you a recap and a tour of some of my favorite spaces in the 2018 HGTV Dream Home and explain a little bit more about the trends I spotted inside the home while being a tad bit snarky about my lack of possession of any design knowledge.

2018 HGTV Dream Home Recap

This time of year, I don't really love where we live. I'm always cold and the rain and dreary skies get me down but I will never, not ever, get tired of looking at the water on the Puget Sound or getting a glimpse of Mt. Rainier when "the mountain is out." I live for the summers and spend as many days as possible outside reminding myself of the beauty that is all around me. There may be more than corn in Indiana, but there aren't mountains and oceans and it just can't compare to Washington.
I love that HGTV selected Gig Harbor, Washington for its 2018 Dream Home because it's a beautiful area to live. Gig Harbor is tucked away from the big city but it's not a far drive from Seattle or Tacoma, so you can experience the city life in under an hour. But why would you want to, when you have everything you need in The Harbor? 
The home itself is a 1970's remodel with an amazing piece of waterfront property on Henderson Bay. I'm fairly certain I wouldn't hate the winters around here quite so much if I got to experience the views from this home on a daily basis. 

When we visited the home, it was a typical winter day with rain and all my new out-of-state friends were freezing because the 50-degree day felt more like 20. One of my biggest struggles as a homeowner in the greater Seattle area has been to create a light and bright interior that can combat the dark and dreary days that it's competing with outside. I haven't succeeded so far, but after seeing this home, I know that it's possible.
The home has three stories and has what a real estate agent would call a daylight basement. The lower level has access to the outside, but it's built into the sloped hillside. If you drive up to the home, you only see two levels. The lower basement level is only seen from the back and side of the home. 
The lounge area is a cozy space on the lower level with plenty of seating and views for days. 

I love how designer, Brian Patrick Flynn, incorporated iconic scenes from our area on the walls. The space needle holds special significance to me because that's where my husband proposed to me twenty years ago!

The four-bedroom home has 3 1/2 baths which would be perfect for a family with older or adult children. This bathroom was my second favorite bathroom in the home {though they all competed closely!}. Stay tuned when I show you the master bath because, wowzers, that space was a dream! I'm a big fan of the Matte Black finishes on the bathroom fixtures and have put in a special request to my husband to install my own H20kinetic Showerhead. It's not only got the feeling of more water without using more water {science or design or something...}, so it allows a warmer shower with more coverage and hello, remember what I said about always being cold?
Seriously, check out that countertop! I love how the faucets complement it without competing with it, which brings me to my next thoughts.

I'm skipping the main floor for a second and jumping right up to the primary bedroom. It's my blog, I can do what I want. The primary bedroom has its own floor. Like the whole upstairs is just master bedroom space and it's got some amazing views.
When asked about my favorite room in the house, I decided that it had to be the master bedroom space. I'm an adult and I can probably add "own your space" to the 10 Things I've Learned with Age post. I gave some fancy quote that I can't believe came out of my head and I think it was something like "The views from this room are unbelievable and everything about the design complemented it without trying to compete with it." That almost sounds like I have a tiny idea of what I'm talking about. I don't. 
I'm not a designer. I'm like most of you. I know what I like and what I don't like but usually need to see it before I can decide. What I do like are these views and I love having designated spaces to live. 

I also loved all of the gallery walls that were all over the home. This one, in particular, was my favorite as it wrapped around the stairs into the master bedroom space.

If the design of this home is any indication of what the future of design looks like, you can safely hang up all of your art and pictures because it looks like gallery walls aren't going anywhere any time soon.

And while there were neutral walls painted throughout the whole home, there is yet another mural painted on the focal wall. 

See those windows there? I can see how this might have been a design dilemma because they don't open up outside but instead they open up to the great room and kitchen below. 

As a homeowner, I'm not sure I would have known to keep those windows. It kind of seems awkward to have windows that open up to your living area, but apparently, I would have been wrong. Again, remember, I know what I like after I see it and I like how this was done, though I'm not sure I would have come up with the same idea. I probably would have been like "drywall over them people!" but then you wouldn't have this amazing view looking out.

Remember how in the 90's we were all like paint all the rooms. Get rid of all the white, and now we're all like bring back all the white and friends, I'm going to tell you, I was wrong. In 2001 when I painted that bathroom red, I was wrong. I should have left it white because look at this! 

I can't even! If you have not gotten on board with the Matte Black faucet thing, please tell me you are seeing this and totally reconsidering.

That Synergy soaking tub has shown up in my dreams. I'm not going to lie.

I don't really follow trends, but I happened to hear something recently about some Pantone color of the year for 2018 and it's purple. It's actually ultra-violet number 19-93889 {it's not...I made that number up, sue me}. It reminded me of when I was in second grade and I had this purple sweater with a Jordache horse on it that wore at least every other day. 

I don't know a single female who hasn't had purple as their favorite color for at least a hot minute. 

As an adult though, it kind of makes me gag. I am sad to hear that purple is the color of the year because for yet another year, I will not be trendy. But parents, if you have a child who insists on having a purple room check this guest room out. 

 

It's purple but not offensive. Can it be neutral? Because I think this is neutral.

Also, another gallery wall because, duh, trends and stuff.

I could keep showing you photos of this home, but heck, I'm not a photographer. The pros have clearly documented every single space in this home 100 million times better than I could ever have. I just wanted to point out some of my favorite spaces and give you some of my rambling thoughts.
The stuff I love is sitting down chatting about the design inspiration and doing my best to get inside this guys head. I also got to drop some local knowledge on him so we're cool like that. He may only remember me as the octopi {octopod?} lady, but whatever.

Plus, for about 24 hours I got to surround myself with some pretty amazing influencers. These bloggers and designers are amazing. Go check them out! Abby {Just a Girl Abby} and Amie {Meme Hill} have some pretty awesome recaps. 

me, Heather Bullard, Abby Lawson, Brian Patrick Flynn, Amie Freling, Claire Brody
There you have it. A little private tour of the HGTV Dream Home right in my backyard. 
Please don't even bother to enter to win. You will hate the weather. Plus, more odds of winning for me!
disclaimer: I was wined and dined by Delta Faucet and enjoyed my time with them immensely. All opinions are 100% my own.