Inside this year's Minto Dream Home in the CHEO Dream of a Lifetime Lottery

The CHEO Dream of a Lifetime lottery has returned and the grand prize is a record breaking $3.4M package, which includes a fully-furnished home, along with cash, a car, groceries and much more.

The Minto Dream Home, dubbed ‘Le Rêve’, lives up to its name. The house, nestled on a large corner lot in the Arcadia community of Kanata, is a Parisienne-inspired 4,600-square-foot space of perfection.

"My inspiration came from 'Emily in Paris'. Watching the series with my daughter, I fell in love with the Parisienne architecture all over again and using the Haussmann style," Says Tanya Collins, Minto Dream Home designer. "Definitely the hallmarks of it are the herringbone floors, the high ceilings, the bright, lit rooms, the ironclad staircase; so, all these elements are in the house to conjure up that Parisienne apartment feeling."

Upstairs, a chic master bedroom with soft, warm tones, will have you sleeping in style. The ensuite bathroom is big and so is the walk-through closet. There are three more bedrooms upstairs, two share a bathroom, but there is also a third. At the top of the stairs, a glass wall--behind it, a bright reading room which overlooks a field.

• PHOTO GALLERY: Take a look inside this year's CHEO lottery grand prize

On the main level, an office, a spacious dining room with a grand stone fireplace, a large, functional kitchen that overlooks a family room, and a family suite that includes a bedroom, private bathroom and balcony. The home is designed to constantly clean the air inside for added health benefits as well.

The CHEO Dream of a Lifetime lottery which launched on Wednesday, has more than $5M in prizes to be won, including new cash prizes and a 50/50 draw. Last year, the winner took home about $1.4M.

The many prizes are donated and the tickets sold in the lottery benefit the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario.

“This is a very important day for us. We are launching what is an enormously important fundraiser for the kids at CHEO,” says CHEO Foundation acting president and CEO Steve Read, noting that the lottery has generated more than $80M since it began.“It’s absolutely critical to us at CHEO, in terms of being able to support the clinicians and the staff at CHEO and the research institute and the work they do everyday. What’s even more amazing is the impact that we had. We have been able to put the best equipment in the hands of our clinicians and all the programs that support the families that are going through their care all of that is made possible by the community support for events like the Dream of a Lifetime Lottery.”

Helping kids like 10-year-old Ollie Acosta-Pickering, who toured the home with his mother, Dawn Pickering. In 2019, Ollie was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma, a rare form of cancer.

"Right away, they knew what it was they did a biopsy they did everything," says Ollie. "They did everything perfectly and that’s how I survived."

Ollie's family was by his side from chemotherapy treatments to stem cell transplants. Now, they're on the road to recovery.

"It’s not just the patient, it’s the entire family that is treated at CHEO. All of the people were with us from the start, so I can’t say enough good things. It’s incredible the support that you get," says Pickering. "We have had some of the absolute best doctors that we possibly could have gotten in our team ... we’re grateful for all of the people that work within it and all the programs that they are able to deliver because of the dollars that they get donated."

Tickets start at $100 and are available for purchase online or by calling 1-877-562-5437.

Beginning Sept. 12, the doors to the Minto Dream Home will open to the public for tours. The home is located at 620 Winterset Rd.