I agree with many of the other bloggers. There are all together too many "flips" and "redos" on HGTV. The Dream Home still needs to stay a "build it" show. I'm guessing that HGTV got a major deal on this house because of the Florida economy and that they are trying to save money. Either that or there is someone waiting in the wings to buy this when it is done. Not many buyers at this level in Florida yet, so the winner will not have a very large pool of potential buyers for this place no matter how "wonderful" it is and the eventual buyer will probably get a deal just so the winner can get rid of the house to pay the taxes. If they take the money, the eventual buyer still gets a deal. Win, Win for HGTV and the Dream Home 2016 buyer.

My point was not that no one likes orange (you apparently are one of the few). My point was that most people don't like orange and that if they use it in decorating, it needs to be in a way that is easily changeable.

If they are having a tour, the address will be out soon enough!

The general idea for taxes is about 50% of the value of the prize, which includes state and federal taxes. They really hit you for prizes.

The reason for selling the house yourself is because of the difference in cash settlement and taking possession of the actual house.

Please don't take offense Linda, but what is the deal with you and orange? I think orange is one of the most disliked colors in the decorating world and you put it on walls (check out the orange behind the toilet in the basement) and even tile (past smart house) so that it is difficult to change. Orange accents are fine because they are easy to change (return the pillows and the artwork), but walls, tile, furniture, cabinets and things like that are a major problem. Stick to the neutrals in these situations, please. Remember, the winner will most likely have to sell this house and buyers don't like to redo houses (especially new ones).

Just saw a video and the winner is in the Fox 9 viewing area and will be "surprised" tonight!

Please pardon my limited knowledge of geography, but just exactly what is the difference in a "marsh" and a "swamp"? I can't help but see a mosquito breading ground off that porch. I live in NC and I KNOW how hot and muggy it gets around here.

The Master Bedroom and bath are beautiful and that is a good thing since it is the ONLY bathroom on the first floor. I have no idea who made the decision to get rid of the powder room, but they have effectively made this home about TWICE as hard to sell for the winner! Even the Urban Oasis condo has more bathrooms than this home (vacation house or not).
I don't really know where to put this comment, but here goes. DIY, tell your website developer to lock the DIY network search bar/easy project finder to the top of the page. It is EXTREMELY annoying to have to deal with a scrolling bar that is right at eye level the whole time you are looking at ANY page!

The interior decor is just beautiful. The little "extras" they did with the repurposed materials are really neat and inspire me to try to see things in a new way. Let's be frank, there seems to have been more thought put into the interior decorating than the actual structural plan of the house! Didn't BC learn on the "ill-fated" North Carolina house that the BC bloggers are a great source of "common sense" ideas on the BC designs? If you have a resource (bloggers) with good, logical ideas, use it!
One other thing, why buy so much land, donate over half(31 acres?) and not have any money for taxes? What in the world would you want with 12 acres of land (most of which is on wetlands that you basically can't do ANYTHING on build-wise) and no money to pay the taxes, thus having to sell it with no possibility of living in it. BC is one of the few give-aways with some chance of actually keeping the house, but not without cash for the taxes! BC, buy less land and put the money in the prize. One acre in a subdivision is better than 12 acres in a "wetland area" (it's called the bayou in Louisiana and you don't see people running to live there either!) in most cases. Even if you like the views, I think BC missed it on the location this year, but their interior decorator is definately a "keeper". (Maybe they could loan her out to the Dream House this year.)