Walking through the three Big Brothers Big Sisters million-dollar Dream Street lottery homes on a Sunday afternoon is fun. All ages traipse up to the garage doors, leave their shoes by the steps and head on into the houses.
Walking through the three Big Brothers Big Sisters million-dollar Dream Street lottery homes on a Sunday afternoon is fun. All ages traipse up to the garage doors, leave their shoes by the steps and head on into the houses. Soon a sense of camaraderie develops as families wait for each other near doorways and pass each other on kitchen hallways. It doesn't take long to figure out that everyone inside is dreaming and imagining themselves inside those homes.
“Oh, Honey! Look how easy it would be to clean up the kids and even the dog here. Look there's a place to sit and take off your boots,” says one woman as she steps into the mud room of the Veneto bungalow.
The lady hasn't even got inside the real living part of the house yet and this is her first of the three show homes, but she can envision how easy it would be to live there. She is oohing and aahing over the dog bath, the wash-up sink and the boot and coat racks and for her, it's obviously the stuff of dreams.
This is the 34th Big Brother Big Sister home lottery. It's a cool concept because as they support and facilitate mentoring programs for some 5,000 Edmonton-area children, the Big Brother Big Sister lottery provides families with the chance to dream of a fancy home with amenities for every age group. Sure enough there is a dog bath, but for Mom, there are huge efficient, unbelievably beautiful kitchens to wish for and for Dad, there are heated solariums with barbecues.
“I won't have to go out in 30 below weather to cook on Boxing Day,” one grandfather says as he walks through the Veneto home. For him, it's as if he already owns the dream.
A young couple stands quietly staring at the elegant dual-sided black-marble faced fireplace. One side is in the living room and behind it, on the other side of the wall, is the fireplace in the master bedroom. The couple says nothing. They just look at each other. But you can tell they are dreaming.
Alves Development
Next door the Alves Development house has a layout that seems made for entertaining, but it's the light fixtures the little boy notices as he stares up at the layered, coffered ceilings.
“Look Dad!” he implores, as he gets into the dream game. “Look Dad! They have outer-space lights!”
Indeed, the light fixture in the main living room has multiple rectangular shapes suspended from the ceiling like a piece of inter-galactic sculpture.
“That does look classy,” the Dad agrees as he lifts Junior up for a better look. “Look!” he says to his wife. “Outer-space lights!”
She is not looking at the lights. She's more interested in the glass-enclosed wine-bar just off the kitchen. It has a plank table and rows and rows of criss-crossed spaces for wine bottles.
“Oh I want this!” she says. “Look, Mom! It's a charcuterie room. It's where you have wine and cheese. I want this!”
Grandma looks curiously at the room and asks her daughter what she would use the room for.
“What do you think?” the daughter laughs, pointing to the wine.
Downstairs it's the theatre room that draws gasps. Everyone wants to settle down and watch movies on the giant screen, but there's a bar here too and Dad points out how easy it would be for the guys to stand back behind the couches near the bar.
“Remember how crowded it was at Christmas? Everyone would fit here.”
Romaya Homes
Next door the Romaya House is an ultra-modern house with a boxy exterior that makes it a standout on the block.
The split structure of the home allows for a two-storey high ceiling. From different vistas along the stairway you can see down to the family room and another dramatic-looking Edison-style light fixture.
The kitchen has two islands and again Dad points to the entertainment advantages.
“You could cook on one island and get everyone to sit at the other island without getting in the way of supper,” he said.
No one could possibly get in anyone's room upstairs in the 12-foot long shower. As each family walks into this gigantic space, they start to smile. Sometimes whole families call each other in to just plain laugh at the joyous incongruity of a shower this big.
“You could have your Monday shower, your Tuesday shower your every day of the week shower here,” said Grandpa. “You'd never have to leave.”
Never leaving these homes was the general consensus, but never leave which one? The winner gets to choose just one of these three homes.
“Which one do you want?” Dad asked. “The one with the fireplace in the bedroom? The one with the char-coot … what did you call it room? The one with outer-space lights? Which one?”
“I want that shower,” said a chuckling Grandpa.
For more information about Big Brothers Big Sisters Dream Home lottery visit bigbrothershomelottery.org or phone 1-877-483-8832. The homes are located in St. Albert at 8, 10 and 12 Elaine Street. Lottery ticket prices begin at $25 each.
