With a reputation for its music, technology and rapid growth, Austin, Texas, will also be known to HGTV fans as the location of the HGTV® Smart Home 2015. Fans can visit HGTV.com/Smart to get a first look at the modern Austin farmhouse, located in the city’s historic Zilker Park neighborhood.

Packed with Texas style and the coolest gadgets, the HGTV Smart Home 2015 is a modern Austin farmhou ...

Packed with Texas style and the coolest gadgets, the HGTV Smart Home 2015 is a modern Austin farmhouse. (Photo: Business Wire)

This press release has an accompanying Smart Marketing Page providing further details about the organization, products and services introduced below. You can access the Smart Marketing Page via the following link: http://smp.newshq.businesswire.com/pages/hgtv-launches-virtual-tour-hgtv-smart-home-2015

The two-level modern farmhouse is approximately 2,300-square-feet, with three bedrooms and three baths, featuring high-tech components and smart solutions to give the homeowner better control over energy use, security, interior climate and lighting. Constructed by Austin builder, Riverside Homes, the home is part of a grand prize package valued at more than $1 million that will be awarded this summer. In addition to the home and all its furnishings, the grand prize package includes a 2015 Mercedes-Benz C-Class and $100,000 provided by national mortgage lender Quicken Loans.

“When we looked for this year’s HGTV Smart Home location, Austin was at the top of our list. You can’t find a city with a better combination of emerging technologies, exciting nightlife, great food and a welcoming culture that attracts more and more people each year,” said Jack Thomasson, HGTV professional house planner. “To be able to build this new home in a thriving neighborhood close to downtown Austin puts it in the center of everything ‘smart’ that the city has to offer.”

During the giveaway period for the HGTV Smart Home 2015, which begins at 9 a.m. ET on April 15 and runs through June 2, 2015, eligible viewers can enter twice per day on HGTV.com and can sign up for daily email reminders. HGTV Facebook and Twitter fans can check in for ongoing updates and new details (#hgtvsmart).

The HGTV Smart Home 2015 features an open concept living and kitchen space surrounded by windows outfitted with tech-smart features to block sunlight and UV treated to reduce heat while providing welcomed natural light. This area makes for great entertaining and shares the balance of the main floor with a bedroom and fully compliant ADA bath.

Heading up to the second floor, a vaulted media loft serves as a second living area, flanked on either end with the master bedroom and a third bedroom, both with an en suite. This part of the home also boasts tech-savvy features from its large theater HDTV to LED lighting and natural light from multiple skylights and windows.

In keeping with the “Imagine Austin” development plan and the McMansion ordinance that limits size and ornamentation on new construction in certain areas, the home is on 0.8 of an acre, subdivided into six lots with a common courtyard in between. The home has multiple outdoor areas, including a screened-in porch and an outdoor dining area with a barbeque connected by large sliding doors that can remain open much of the year adding living area to an open floor plan and its sense of space.

The multiple private outdoor living spaces surrounded by drought-resistant plantings from the City of Austin Gross Green List, Zoysia grass, gravel hardscape and an automatic sprinkler system to avoid water waste. The home also has earned a 4-star rating (out of 5) for being green from Austin Energy, designating it as an "Austin Energy Green Building.”

The fully furnished HGTV Smart Home 2015 features products provided by national advertising partners including Bassett Furniture; Mercedes-Benz; Quicken Loans; Shaw Floors; Bush Brothers & Company; LiftMaster; Moen; Farmers Insurance®; Lebanon Seaboard Corporation, makers of the Preen® brand; The Sherwin-Williams Company; Tempur-Pedic; Texas Tourism and VELUX.

About HGTV

America’s leading home and lifestyle brand, HGTV features a top-rated cable network that is distributed to more than 96 million U.S. households and the HGTV website, HGTV.com, the nation’s leading online home-and-garden destination that attracts an average of four million unique visitors per month. The brand also includes the HGTV HOME™ consumer products line which showcases exclusive collections of paint, flooring, lighting, furniture, plants, fabrics and other home-oriented products. For more information on HGTV HOME branded products and to find a retailer, go to hgtvhome.com. In partnership with Hearst Magazines, the HGTV Magazine, a home and lifestyle publication, is currently available on newsstands. Viewers can become fans of HGTV and interact with other home improvement enthusiasts through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., HGTV is owned by Scripps Networks Interactive Inc.