Bold outside, terracotta inside: HGTV’s Charlotte Dream Home embraces the dark side
The 2025 HGTV Dream Home has landed on the shores of Lake Wylie, and it has more to offer than its views.
Designer Brian Patrick Flynn told CharlotteFive this year’s build, which is just outside of Charlotte, strikes a balance between bold design and real-life livability, with features meant to appeal to everyone from outdoor lovers to those who prefer quiet evenings in.
“No matter what your level of water sports is — or love for being outside is — there’s something for everyone,” Flynn said.
A lakeside home with a bold exterior
For Flynn, the standout feature of the home is the two-story dock.
The lower deck offers shady outdoor dining and easy access for swimming, he said, while the upper deck becomes a perfect spot for watching sunrises or sunsets.
“To me, that was the most Lake Wylie-specific design element,” he added.
On the house itself, Flynn opted for a near-black exterior — unconventional for a lakeside setting, but intentionally chosen to make the home stand out against the water.
“It creates a crisp silhouette around the house” and “embraces the stunning backdrop,” said Flynn.
Design that marries practicality with personality
Inside the house, Flynn faced a familiar challenge: design a home that works on camera and in daily life.
The home must serve “as a live set” for shows, commercials, and social media, and also as a livable home for whoever wins, Flynn said, which meant a careful blend of durable materials, premium finishes and personality-filled spaces.
One daring choice he made was a rough natural flagstone backsplash in the kitchen, something more often reserved for patios than for interiors, he said.
“It felt like the right trend moment,” he added.
In the dining room, he paired terracotta wainscoting with a teal-known-as-Still-Water paint above, an unexpected combination that, he said, reflects colors found together in nature.
For those who favor bold statements, there’s also an upper-level room painted a deep cordovan red-brown, a color “most people would immediately use,” Flynn said, but flooded with natural light, which helps it shine.
To reinforce the sense of home, Flynn and his team filled the space with antiques, locally sourced art and even nostalgic touches like a swinging café door between the dining room and kitchen, echoing the feel of a classic sitcom set.
“I want somebody to walk in and feel like … this is truly a home.”
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This story was originally published December 4, 2025 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Bold outside, terracotta inside: HGTV’s Charlotte Dream Home embraces the dark side."
