Two couples are challenged to show the country whether or not they are able to work well together, they turn a dilapidated house into their Dream Home.
Each week, the two teams renovate a room or area of the house in the space of one weekend.
The 'Dream Home' concept enjoyed success in New Zealand over a period of ten years and inspired a similar venture in Australia.
Consequently, Australia's Nine Network screened two series of the very successful show called The Block, though the production company failed to pay Ninox any licence fees.
In 2005 Ninox Television Ltd launched legal action, alleging that the latter's TV series infringed copyright.
The court eventually ruled against Ninox, concluding that though the shows were very similar in character, "simply by reason of the fact that there are large elements of unscripted dialogue and interaction within the overall framework of the programs, there cannot be any substantial reproduction.
The finalists present their design concept to the judges as a portfolio and a model and given their reasons why they should compete to win their Dream Home.
The teams also visit Mitre 10 and Farmers (the major sponsors of the show) to choose possible items for the house as well as building materials.
Once the home is demolished, builders build the shell of the house; putting up any frame work (and usually the roof).
These jobs include carpetlaying, plumbing, and electrical work, as well as the construction of the roof on the house and pavement driveway and garage.
Rules that the teams must adhere to during the construction of their Dream Home include that: Each week the three judges view the rooms constructed and judge the standard of the workmanship, design aspects, and whether the project was actually completed, looking for any possible flaws.
The judges then decide which room constructed that week deserves to win, which carries a small weighting in determining the final winner.
The final show is live and viewers are still able to place their votes for the overall project prior to the winner being announced.
The second place team wins all the furnishings in the home, and also money for a deposit to enable them to purchase the house at the auction, should they hold the top bid.
The houses were 1930s style bungalow houses, the interior was gutted out and exterior cladding removed but the teams built their Dream Home in the shell of the original home maintaining much of its original look, even the timber windows were kept as opposed to replacing them with modern aluminium window joinery.
This was the first series where the couples and their designers were given the opportunity to see the room the other team had completed and give their view, usually picking any faults out to the shows viewers.
A rising property market in every region since the show began has made purchasing the Dream Home for the team who come second much harder.
In this series, both teams faced the reality that if they didn't win their Dream Home the couple would not be able to afford to purchase the property at auction.
The auction for the second place teams Dream Home did not meet reserve and viewers were left uncertain of whether the family would be able to purchase the home but it was revealed the following day the family managed to negotiate to purchase the property.
The expectations for the houses in this series were scaled back to reflect tougher economic time as a result of the recession.
After four years off the air Mitre 10 Dream Home returned in July 2013, with Simon Barnett replacing Jayne Kiely as host.
The team colours were changed in 2013 to orange and black, in keeping with the new Mitre 10 Mega logo.
[6][7] In March 2024, buyer’s agent Simon Cohen, interior designer Rosie Morley, and Lana Taylor of Three Birds Renovations were announced as series judges.
[10] A Canadian adaptation of the show, Rona Dream Home, was hosted by Caroline Redekopp and aired for two seasons after premiering in 2004 on Global.