Way back in 2020, the Lowcountry was set abuzz with the news that HGTV had selected the Lowcountry for its annual Dream Home. This special event, held every year since 1997, sees HGTV’s design experts coming together to create a spectacular home that is then given away in a national sweepstakes.
This year, our community is back on the network with the HGTV Dream Home 2025, an open concept house built in Berkeley Hall.
For the Windmill Harbour home they created in 2020, the team unveiled an inspired waterfront home that reveled in rich greens and blues against open spaces of crisp white.
So how do you do that all over?
“When we first took this project on, I kept asking myself that same question,” said HGTV star Brian Patrick Flynn. “I kept saying, as the interior designer of HGTV Dream Home 2025, which happens to be within about 10 minutes of HDTV Dream Home 2020, ‘How am I going to make these different?’”
Working alongside architectural firm Court Atkins Group and Shoreline Construction, Brian Patrick Flynn designed the home to carry the same sense of Lowcountry inspiration, albeit tweaked for the mainland’s unique aesthetic.
“I don’t know how to truly capture what the essence of Bluffton is, but there’s a ‘laid backness’ to it. But it’s also rooted in tradition, which are two very different things,” Flynn said. “I’m very proud of how our architecture team and our builder pulled together something that so quintessentially looks like Bluffton. I feel like it’s a cross between a very classic farmhouse and a very old-school, traditional Southern cottage. And the square footage is incredible.”
The home’s expansive great room speaks to what the team was able to do with that footage, stretching a shiplap-accented chimney towards soaring ceilings on walls whose subdued mint green walls serve to frame the golf views of wide windows.
“I love the tall ceilings that allow all this beautiful light to come in,” Flynn said. “And I think that the colors we used inside the house are truly unique. They really fit Bluffton. (In the) HGTV Dream House 2020, all the main spaces were pure white because there was a lot of color outside between the muddy green of the marsh and the blue of the sky. I wanted to bring the outdoors in this time instead of going all white.”
When designing a dream home, Flynn has to keep in mind that he has no idea who will end up winning the top prize. As such, his designs tend to be a little more accessible for any kind of taste. “My usual aesthetic is very preppy and masculine, with a lot of dark colors, so I have to check that at the door,” he said.
The door, it turned out, was the door to the HGTV Dream Home’s media room. Here, Flynn allowed himself to have a little more fun with color, drenching the room in rich greens against bold blue curtains for a broad palate that culminates in an eye-catching, circus tent-style ceiling.
“It feels a little bit more tailored, a little more menswear inspired, and a little bit more on the mid-century, 1960s side,” Flynn said.
Flynn allowed himself to have a little more fun with color in the media room, using rich greens against bold blue curtains for a broad palate that culminates in an eye-catching, circus tent-style ceiling.
Adding to the color palate is the wide sectional sofa which let Flynn add a touch of Southern charm. “We have this beautiful L-shaped sectional, which miraculously also was available in a beautiful cotton ticking stripe, which is super coastal, very laid back, and very Southern,” he said.
At the heart of the home, the kitchen scales back on the home’s cooling palate with stark white that stands out from the gold-accented tile backsplash and quartzite center island.
Perhaps the biggest nod to the Lowcountry vibe is an addition that has quickly become a Bluffton staple: a back kitchen.
“The reason that I love the back kitchen so much is it’s just a few steps off the main kitchen,” Flynn said. “In the Lowcountry, it’s all about entertaining and not having to worry about the mess from prepping for a party.”
HGTV Dream Home 2025 in Bluffton, SC
Naturally, this being a home inspired by Bluffton, outdoor living was paramount. Team members outdid themselves, creating a cohesive backyard oasis that stretches out across a few different types of space. From the sparkling waters of the pool to the stack-stone outdoor dining table to the soaring pergola above the outdoor lounge, this is a space that was built for a party.
“The backyard has something like seven different areas we’ve set up. We have an outdoor fireplace, we have this pool with water and light features, plus a built-in planter. … I love that we really put the outdoor spaces to use,” Flynn said. “I’m a massive fan of winter in the South. That’s when I usually visit Bluffton – in January or February.”
So which feature does Flynn see providing the big viral moment for this year’s HGTV Dream Home? Well, this is Bluffton. And we love our dogs. Much like the massive kennel and doggy care in the Hilton Head dream home, Flynn sees the integrated pet washing station as the biggest potential star.
When designing a dream home, Flynn has to keep in mind that he has no idea who will end up winning the top prize. As such, his designs tend to be a little more accessible for any kind of taste.
Flynn said the kennel was the first house he had worked on that included pet lovers as part of the architectural design. “That room was such a hit online. It got so much buzz,” he said. “A lot of people ask me what rooms I think will resonate in the dream home. My favorite, by far, is the media room. But I think there’s something special about this laundry room with the dog station that people will really react to.”
In addition to the fabulous home, the winner of the sweepstakes will receive a new 2025 Mercedes-Benz GLC, $100,000 from Viva and a five-year supply of Viva paper towels. The entry period runs through February 14, and anyone can enter daily at HGTV.com and FoodNetwork.com. Tune in at 8 p.m. January 1 for the one-hour HGTV Dream Home Special on on HGTV, HGTV GO, Hogar de HGTV, or on Max and discovery+ the same day.
HGTV Dream Home 2025 in Bluffton, SC
