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When retired grandma Regina Richardson of Pittsboro, North Carolina, gathered with her family at a local restaurant for her belated birthday celebration, she had no idea she was in for the surprise of her life. HGTV had actually coordinated with her daughter to use the occasion to inform Richardson that, out of 77 million entries, she had won the 2022 Urban Oasis sweepstakes.
Richardson was stunned when HGTV personality Brian Patrick Flynn, followed by a camera crew, entered the restaurant carrying a cake — made to look like the 2022 Urban Oasis home, a newly built and fully furnished home in Nashville that was part of the sweepstakes grand prize. After Richardson recognized Flynn and looked at the cake, she screamed, “I won it!?”
Overwhelmed by the news that she’d been chosen at random to receive the home, a new car, and a check for $50,000, Richardson held Flynn’s hands to keep her steady on her feet, prompting Flynn — who was responsible for the interior design of the house — to say Richardson’s response “may be the best reaction in history.”
Winner Regina Richardson Says She Always Enters HGTV’s Sweepstakes
In a video of the surprise announcement, posted on HGTV’s Instagram account, Richardson was clearly stunned by her big win but never gave hope it might happen. She revealed she’s been entering the sweepstakes for as long as she can remember.
“I have been doing this forever,” she said, still in disbelief. “I do it every year, every house.”
In a press release, HGTV said the grand prize package is worth $1.3 million. It includes the 2,500-square-foot Urban Oasis home — which features three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, and two half baths — as well as $50,000 from Ally and a new Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
Richardson told HGTV her win was “a dream that came true for me and my family.”
“When the camera crew came over in front of us, I thought that my daughter had set up a video for me, then I looked to my right and Brian was standing there,” she said. “When I saw his face, I just knew, and I think I said, ‘I won it!'”
Richardson told People magazine she considers herself an HGTV “superfan,” and that whenever the network offered sweepstakes for new homes, she’d sign up for daily reminders so she’d remember to enter each day. Fans were allowed up to two entries daily — once on HGTV’s website and the other on Food Network’s website.
Richardson said her favorite HGTV shows are “Married to Real Estate” with Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson, “Help! I Wrecked My House” with Jasmine Roth, and “100 Day Dream Home” with Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt.
Brian Patrick Flynn Provides Tour of Regina Richardson’s New Home — But Will She Keep It?
HGTV tapped Flynn to design its 2022 Urban Oasis and serve as the host of a show about the home in October. He has also previously worked on the HGTV Dream Home and is the star of Magnolia Network’s “Mind For Design.” Architect Turner Binkley, builder Mitchell Builders Group, muralist Kelsey Montague and expert organizer Brittani Allen rounded out the team that brought the home to life.
Flynn said his design was inspired by the city of Nashville; it’s located about 10 minutes from downtown.
“I am one of Nashville’s biggest fans,” he said in the video about the interior design. “Additionally, I love country music. It’s pretty much all I listen to. So my idea for the interior of the interior was to have it represent what country music and Nashville look like in 2022.”
According to press materials, the final product includes a first-floor “eat-in dining room and den area,” “a state-of-the-art kitchen with an expansive island and banquette seating” and a minimalist living room. Flynn’s design includes a marble-wrapped fireplace, kidney-shaped living room sofas, Broadway-inspired bistro lights, and lots of colorful art including female country music artist album covers, vintage instruments, and wall murals.
It’s not clear if Richardson will move from North Carolina to the new home, which Trippy estimates is a more than eight-hour drive. In addition, the taxes associated with winning a million-dollar home can be too much for many people to take on.
According to a January 2021 article on Homes.com, only six of the first 21 HGTV Dream House winners lived in the homes they won for more than a year. The longest was the 1998 winner, who used her Florida dream home as a vacation property for eight years before selling it.
In March 2022, House Digest reported that the taxes owed on homes valued at over a million dollars can be hundreds of thousands of dollars, so most winners sell the homes back to the developers or accept a cash alternative.
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