Dream big: 2019 Rotary Stampede Dream Home offers contemporary-farmhouse design with a personal touch

The way light shines brightly through the carefully placed windows of every size and shape is Homes by Avi CEO Charron Ungar's favourite part of this year's Rotary Stampede Dream Home.

"There is no dark corner anywhere," said Ungar, whose company is in its 24th year of building this Stampede mainstay. "(It) is so fluid – everything has its place."

The two-storey, 2,455-square-foot contemporary farmhouse has a prize value of $1,066,759 (including $100,000 cash and furnishings worth $86,000) and will see more than 100,000 visitors during this year's Calgary Stampede. It is the largest dream home ever and will eventually be relocated to the southeast community of Walden.

Julie Punter, Homes by Avi's manager of showhome selections and presentation, says the three-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom home is inspired by the popular stylings of HGTV's Fixer Upper host Joanna Gaines.

The interior walls, cabinetry and floors add to the home's brightness. Warm cream colours mingle with the black accents of wrought-iron hardware and lighting fixtures, and shiplap and wallpaper backdrops. The living room walls and windows stretch upwards from the main floor to the second level.

A large main-floor master suite seamlessly flows from bedroom to luxurious ensuite to walk-through closet. From there, one can easily navigate to the laundry room, the mudroom (complete with private suite and shower for the family dog) and the double-car garage.

There is also a main floor craft room, equipped with beautiful iron/glass sliding "barn doors," that can also be used as an office or guest bedroom. Upstairs, there is a unique food preparation area (with fridge, microwave and dishwasher) within the family/media room, which also offers access to the rooftop deck.

The home displays 38 custom-designed paintings (with hand-stitched embroidery) from artist McKenna Prather, whose work was selected through the 11th Dream Home Artist Project.

"Everyone dreams of winning the home, but really, the winners are the thousands of people helped through the charities." - Craig Stokke, Rotary Club of Calgary South dream home chair

Ungar says the lottery home allows Homes by Avi to give back to the community, while receiving valuable feedback on its new home designs. For the Rotary Club of Calgary South, the home is a huge fundraiser that involves 7,000 volunteer hours.

The modern-farmhouse vibe of this year's home is already a favourite with the club's dream home chair, Craig Stokke.

"In my view, it's one of the nicest houses we've had in its theme and layout," said Stokke, president of Seller Direct Real Estate. "It's so bright and functional."

Last year, the dream home lottery raised $600,000 for more than 30 charities, including Between Friends, Providence House and the Calgary Women's Emergency Shelter.

"Everyone dreams of winning the home, but really, the winners are the thousands of people helped through the charities," said Stokke.

Dream home tickets are available at the Calgary Stampede or at calgarystampedelotteries.ca.