Every detail has been well thought out, starting with the corner lot that maximizes frontage for this 2,390 square-foot two-storey home in the southwest community of Silverado. Then there's the side-attached garage, a true gem of an idea which leaves the entire front of the home, with its black rundle stone accents, unobstructed.

Charron Unger, Vice President of Product Development for Homes by Avi, is clearly quite proud of this home. And rightfully so. "It combines elements of Tudor and Craftsman styles," he says, "with detailing like the stone base and the stained fiberglass front doors." Once inside the home has more of that western ranch house feel to it, with terra cotta flooring and dark hand-scraped solid oak plank hardwood flooring.  It's also definitely very family-friendly for a fairly high end home, starting with the utility room entrance from the garage, which has individual storage spaces built right in.

The kitchen continues the two themes western and family friendly but at the same time has an understated luxury to it. The counter tops are dark quartz composite, the custom wall cabinets are a rich maple, appliances are stainless steel and top-of-the-line. It's a gorgeous kitchen, but it's practical while keeping with the theme. The kitchen eating area features a wooden table, handy bench seating and a western saloon style chandelier. The dining room is even more upscale, with dark wood trim and detailing, including coffered ceiling.

Upstairs, the home has three bedrooms, two children's bedrooms and a master.

The master bedroom includes a beautiful ensuite and a huge walk-in closet housing laundry facilities and incredible floor to ceiling built-in shelving. The upstairs media room is completely wired for the home theatre system, which is the only furniture actually included in the prize package.

The home itself is deceptive in size in that, in terms of square footage, it's not that large. What it is, however, is efficient. "We've maximized the use of space by eliminating unnecessary hallways", says Ungar, who sees the dream home as a sort of oasis on the grounds, where people can relax, get out of the rain or sun, and walk through." It's also going to be a personal oasis for one lucky winner. "I think the last three winners have chosen to live in the home", says Ungar.

Crews start disassembling the home three days after Stampede and it should be ready for move-in at it's new site some time in September. 

Straight Shooter
In 1978, "we had only built a handful of homes," says Avi Amir, president of Homes by Avi, "we did a lot of warehouse and office work." By then, however, he had "already made the decision that building new homes was the direction to go", and, in 1980, Homes by Avi built their first show home. Fast forward a quarter century and Homes by Avi is one of the city's biggest builders. In fact, in 2005, says Avi, "we built about 800 homes in Calgary and Edmonton.

We're trying to pace sales with our capacity to build. We don't want to pre-sell too many homes with the way building costs material and labour are going up." Of their involvement with the Dream Home, Avi says "It gives us a source of pride to be involved in this kind of event. Number one, because it's a real Calgary tradition and also because it's such a major fundraiser for the Rotary Club." NL