HGTV Dream Home makes debut in Whitefish
The master bedroom features a large walk-in closet.
View of the red guest room at the HGTV Dream Home in Whitefish.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
Exterior of the HGTV Dream Home 2019 on Big Mountain in Whitefish, Montana.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
Long view of the lodge-style bonus room of the HGTV Dream Home 2019 on Big Mountain in Whitefish, Montana.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
Detail of the back porch of the HGTV Dream Home 2019 on Big Mountain in Whitefish, Montana.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
Detail of a second floor guest room in the HGTV Dream Home 2019 on Big Mountain in Whitefish, Montana.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
View of the red guest room at the HGTV Dream Home in Whitefish.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
Interior of the master bathroom of the HGTV Dream Home 2019 on Big Mountain in Whitefish, Montana.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
Kitchen at the HGTV Dream Home 2019 on Big Mountain in Whitefish, Montana.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
View of the great room from the second level of the HGTV Dream Home 2019 on Big Mountain in Whitefish, Montana.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
Detail of the walk-in of the master bedroom of the HGTV Dream Home 2019 on Big Mountain in Whitefish, Montana.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
Detail from the lodge-style bonus room of the HGTV Dream Home 2019 on Big Mountain in Whitefish, Montana.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
Chandelier over the master bedroom of the HGTV Dream Home 2019 on Big Mountain in Whitefish, Montana.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
A round mirror in the great room of the HGTV Dream Home 2019 on Big Mountain creates an interesting view of the room.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
A 100% animal-friendly fake moose hangs over the fireplace at the HGTV Dream Home 2019 on Big Mountain in Whitefish, Montana.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
The master bedroom in the HGTV Dream Home 2019 on Big Mountain in Whitefish, Montana.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
View of the dining area and great room of the HGTV Dream Home 2019 on Big Mountain in Whitefish, Montana.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
Fully furnished and TV-ready, the 2019 HGTV Dream Home built atop Big Mountain in Whitefish stands ready for its television debut and its lucky new owner as one of the country’s most anticipated giveaways nears its opening day.
The two-story, 3,700-square-foot home invites all who enter to experience the height of luxury mountain living aimed at an unforgettable view of Montana’s legendary landscape.
The task of creating the year’s most coveted house for designer Kevin Richardson of Timber Forge Design in Whitefish meant intermingling the mountain lifestyle and a few modern extras not found in a typical Montana home.
Richardson completed plans for the house within four to five weeks, drawing on designs for a home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, that never came to fruition.
He said he reduced the square-footage to fit it to the mountainside lot and added some quirky elements befitting a dream home.
Builders Tyler Frank and Bear Barinowski with Malmquist Construction of Whitefish received solid plans and got to work in February, working closely with Richardson to add some of their own creative components.
The teams worked together with HGTV to create a home worthy of the property and to capitalize on thwe pristine views from every room.
“This home, I think, without having the personal touch to a specific person, we were able to just let loose,” Frank said.
Three bedrooms, three and a half baths, a bonus room and wide-open kitchen and living spaces overlook the Whitefish mountain range, Whitefish Lake and other scenic views from almost every room in the house.
“I love when you come through the entry and the view immediately kicks you in the face,” Frank said.
With building complete, it was time to furnish and decorate the dream home, and the HGTV designer focused everything on the home’s defining feature.
“About a year ago, all that was here was a tiny little five-rung ladder to look at your view and everything was frozen,” said TV personality and renowned interior designer Brian Patrick Flynn. “The whole entire decorating part of the house was based around everything we could see outside the window.”
Themed “mountain modern,” the house exudes a Montana ski-lodge style with its classic Northwest decor, but with a new-age twist.
Autumn colors of browns, rust orange, greens, deep blues and yellows provide pops of color to the white and brown landscape outside, accentuating the shades and hues of a Montana fall.
An artificial mounted moose upholstered with an eccentric Western style fabric takes center stage in the living room in place of a television, above a modern fireplace set into a black welded steel wall.
“As a designer I feel like if you’re in a property with a million-dollar view, it’s ridiculous to have a TV in the same room,” Flynn said. “So the whole idea was to have conversation happen and to let the view be the star.”
Fully furnished from Wayfair.com, the home boasts other unusual, yet carefully chosen features, including a chandelier in the shape of a bird’s nest hanging above the bed in the master bedroom and a large wet room with both a massive tub and two shower heads in one large glass-encased space overlooking the same majestic view through a picture window.
Collections of colored felt hats adorn a couple of the walls, one by the main entrance and one above the bunk beds upstairs. Not for wearing but for sharing, according to Flynn, they’re meant to act as Pinterest- and Instagram-worthy conversation-starting pieces to get people excited and interested in the other unique features of the house.
Even the characteristic necessities of a Montana ski house embody the visage of a dream home.
The mudroom, an expectedly messy room in any house, lends itself as more of a grand entrance than a place to kick off muddy boots and sweaty socks. Decorated with unique, hand-painted textile window shades and custom throw pillows atop a white cushioned bench, the room invites residents and visitors to stow their gear in a large closet and shed their active wear in the adjacent laundry room.
Beyond the open-style living room, dining room and kitchen through a wall of windows lies an unobstructed view of mountains, Whitefish Lake and an undeveloped mountainside forest further accessible through the accordion doors opening the living room wall onto the spacious deck.
The outdoor living space to the rear of the house features a Scandinavian-style pine hot tub, patio, a barbecue area with built-in seating and an outdoor fireplace, all looking down over the mountain tops beyond.
“One of the things I’ve noticed about Whitefish is it’s so…I guess the only word that comes to mind is high-end. Every house I see here is just so beautifully done,” Flynn said. “I wanted to do something different, something that people who don’t live in the West might not expect.”
Come Dec. 28, millions of people across the country will vie for a chance to win their own slice of “the last best place” when entry for the 2019 HGTV Dream Home opens. Eligible participants may enter up to twice a day every day through Feb. 18, 2019, for their shot at the entire prize package, including the dream home, a 2019 Honda Pilot and $250,000 in cash.
Altogether, the package is valued at more than $2.3 million, the largest giveaway in HGTV history. Tune in to the HGTV Dream Home 2019 Special on HGTV at 8 p.m. Jan. 1. For full rules or to enter the drawing for the giveaway, visit HGTV.com.
Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.