'Wrong' to start a 'post hideous McMansions pics' thread? ;')

13 years ago

Is this the right forum for a McMansion Hall of Shame?

You know, post links to pic hosting sites, with headings such as "Don't Let This Happen to YOU"... lol.

Out of boredom, I've extended my nocturnal inline skating into new neighborhoods, only to be shocked--shocked I tell you--by the phenomenally ugly and out of scale monstrosities that were erected during the recent bubble. I make a note to return during daylight hours for photo-archival purposes... there really is something historic about all this... excess, eh?

"I'd a thunk" that our strict hurricane codes would somewhat limit how outlandish a structure could get, but alas, with enough concrete, rebar, bribes, and BAD TASTE, it appears the supposed "limit" is WAY out there!

Some of the worst are where 2 or even 3 normal house lots are scraped off to build one mega-death-star look-at-me "dwelling". The dark humor is often compounded by the inclusion of a tennis court WITH INADEQUATE LENGTH BEYOND THE BASELINE! i.e. you can scrape off 2 or 3 lots, but if each lot is only (buildable) 100' deep, that leaves you 10' short on each end of the court! No problem if playing with toddlers. I think the courts are just status props anyway, totally unused, otherwise I'd be seeing pompous peeps with chain-link-pattern bruising from smacking into the fence all the time, LOL.

SO... would such a thread be a valuable cautionary tale, and possible spur to become politically active, or... something less noble... a guilty pleasure, if you will? What say ye?

;')

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Comments (13)

enigmaquandry
13 years ago
Sounds like a good plan to me :) I wish my camera wasn't broken...
flgargoyle
13 years ago
My former boss had one built in CO during the peak of the housing boom. I don't have a picture of it (and wouldn't it post it, since I know him) so a description will have to do. The neighborhood consists of big boxes stuck on tiny lots. No trees- there wouldn't be room for them anyhow. Picture a 2 story box with no overhangs, few windows, and the windows are very small. Stuck on the front is a tiny porch- really just a cover for the entry door- with two fat columns holding it up. The subdivision is described as 'custom Craftsman-style homes from the $500's'. I guess the two fat columns make it 'Craftsman style'. Whoever designed these homes could NOT have ever seen a Craftsman home!

I guess building to a zero lot line is 'green', since it uses less land, but why build so big in the first place? His house is 3000 sq ft, plus a finished basement, so it's 4500 sq ft- for 3 people. That's 3 times the size of our more-than-adequate home. He showed me pictures during construction, and everything is code minimum. Stick construction with fiberglass batts for insulation- nothing else added. With the technology available today, there's no excuse for building such an energy-inefficient home- especially at that price point.

The interior is generic and sterile. It's got the obligatory granite-and-stainless kitchen. The 10' ceilings look odd with windows scaled for 8' ceilings. And popcorn ceilings! In a $600K house??

The sad thing to me is that this is what's passing for a custom home these days. Like many other facets of our society, housing is getting increasingly generic and uninteresting.
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Oh Scott, how frustrating your job sounds! It seems so many people have the attitude you've mentioned, and it seems to be getting worse. My husband and I don't even like being around mainstream society anymore. CCinTX, I will try to paint a picture with words about my old kitchen. I am going strictly by memory as my old pictures are still all packed away, and will be until we finish building our house. (One of these days I will learn how to put pictures and drawings on GardenWeb). It was aproxinately 16 feet by 16 feet (bare walls before adding cabinetry, etc.). It was basically a U-shape, but the left side of the "U" was a peninsula with base cabinets, and it was "pass through" style with uppers suspended between the kitchen wall and a stub wall near the entry to the kitchen. the peninsula was 8 feet long. We had an open floor plan, and though the pass through had been intended to be between the kitchen and a planned formal dining area, we opted to put our living room furniture in there. It had a window wall of about 10 or 12 feet of casement windows, with the same view of the countryside as the kitchen. So...basically a U-shape with the peninsula on the left, (which had stools up to it for additional seating from the living troom side), the stove, dishwasher, and sink on the center wall, and the refrigerator, pantry cabinet, and a built-in matching desk with (cookbook) bookcase above it on the other leg of the "U". I had room for a second refrigerator at the end of the desk. Fortunately it looked fine there. There was a six foot bank of connected casement windows over the sink, and we had a wonderful view of the countryside from it as well. The table fit in the center with plenty of room to walk around it, but when I mopped the floor I would have liked a little more room. The back wall of the main kitchen area was an additionl 6 ft. deep by the length of the kitchen laundry center. It contained the washer, dryer, utility sink, and hot water tank. I could fit laundry products on a shelf above the W&D, and (barely) fit a couple of laundry baskets. It worked but again, I would have liked a little more room in there, mostly in depth. The kitchen was not closed off from the rest of the house, and I had views out windows and sliding glass doors from front to back. Because of the peninsula the kitchen didn't just run randomly into the living area either. It had it's own identity. My cabinets were custom made by a local wood worker. It wasn't a fancy kitchen, but the materials used in it were beautiful and of high quality. I canned and froze hundreds of jars of food, and made millions of meals in there. When I had a party, we all ate in there. There was noise, much laughter, and some tears in there. There was life in that kitchen. My husband recently remarked that I never complained about that kitchen. If I were still in that house today, and could tweak things, I would have expanded the dimensions of the kitchen to 18 or 19 feet square (bare walls before cabinetry), and the laundry center would become a large food pantry. What I am planning in my new house will be very similar, but perhaps not exact. My sketches are very rough yet. I am allowing at least 19 foot by 19 foot area for the kitchen. One of my ideas is to have the U shape as in my old kitchen, with no uppers over the peninsula, to help separate the kitchen from the great room a bit, but still be open to it. I could extend the counter depth so that seating from the great room would be more comfortable, and it would have base cabinets. (We are not island or peninsula diners, but it comes in handy for grandkids). So the peninsula will be the left leg of the "U". The center leg of this "U" will have my stove, sink and dishwasher (8 feet of double hung windows over sink area, looking out at my woods). The right side of the U will have my refrigerator and a hutch for dishes. This will be followed by 8 ft. sliding glass doors, french style. I am hoping our table will line up well with the glass doors without blocking the side that opens. I may have to tweak the dimensions of the kitchen a bit if I decide to put a small work island with base cabinets in there as well. I could have the island and no peninsula, or the peninsula and no island. Maybe I can have both.....not sure yet. I may do the peninsula and then buy a Boos block island on casters so I can move it to a wall if it bugs me. Regardless, our table will be IN the kitchen, and near the large sliding glass doors. I am still working out the details of walk in pantry and laundry area, but they will be behind my whole kitchen work area and table. What I LOVED about having the peninsula near my stove was the 8 feet of counter it gave me to the left of my stove, going around the bend to the stove. I also had counter to the right side of the stove, and the sink was close by. Then there was more counter to the right of the sink, going around the bend to the refrigerator. All I had to do if I needed more work space was turn around to my kitchen table. I like having lots of counter adjoing a stove because it makes things not only convenient, but safer. I want an evolved "unfitted" look to the cabinetry. Like a few generations of family had lived there. Maybe some natural wood mixed with some milk painted pieces. Hutches rather than the standard lower and upper cabinets. Some glass fronts. I can't reach beyond the first shelf of an upper so why have many, or any at all. I am also planning on base drawyers and pull outs so I don't have to dig in the confines of cabinets while on my knees, and then haul a cast iron dutch oven up from there. In contrast, the house we sold 14 months ago had a kitchen arrangement a kitchen designer and architect cooked up. Gorgeous to look at. Helped sell the house. I HATED it. The refrigerator and stove were on one wall. Across from the stove and fridge, and several feet away, was my other cabinetry, and the sink in a shaped connected peninsula overlooking the great room. The kitchen was large, and everything was spread out. What exactly did I hate the most? I hated the marathons back and forth ACROSS the kitchen from stove to sink, refrigerator to sink, dishes to cabinet, and dishes to and from the table. People sat on the couch and watched me work. No one was in the kitchen with me. I felt like I was in the living room doing dishes. It was like a beautiful, cold, maiden. No soul. Like so many kitchens in the magazines these days. We started eating out more and more. The house we are building now has a soul to it already, and it's just the shell so far. We're still "drying" it in. We expect to have it finished by May and I can't wait. I have one other comment to make. The only thing kitchen magazines are good for is if you want to replicate having someone build a certain style hutch or cabinet, or you like a certain detail or window. I can pick all the kitchens apart now and 99% of the kitchens in magazines are totally disfunctional. Basically, reherse in your mind every little nuance you have for the way you like to cook. I slid my kitchen table back and forth in this mobile home to see what clearances I like between the table and counters, etc. I now know that if I have an island, I want 48 inches between it and a counter, and no more, and no less. I went through motions of how much room I like to have to lift a kettle of pasta and which direction I wanted to swing to the sink. Some people like to go left to right. Some like the opposite. See what you naturally gravitate to. How you like to unload a dishwasher and where you would like to put the dishes away, in a perfect world. It's a lot of work, and I will be so happy when it's done! Sandy
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You're welcome, enigma. I noticed there are now 3200+ comments to the original article. I don't want to tell anyone else how to build their home(s), or regulate size, style, etc., but it seems to me that to design a home in the vernacular would be best. We live in a rural area--no zoning laws, no permits for anything except septic systems, so anything goes. The houses are mostly older farmhouses, newer ranches and modular homes, and a few trailers parked on a relative's property. Within a half-mile of our house are 4 new builds, two of them on opposite corners, 1/4 mile from our driveway. Three of them are two-storey, 3000-3500sf brick homes with Palladian-type windows, and attached garages in the front. The homes are beautiful, well-built, I assume, because they were sub-contracted by the owners, built on land that was part of the original farm that we also live on, and not as tract-housing. One of the brick homes is on the corner of our road and a state highway, about 25 feet from the highway, with only enough back yard to support an aerator, and park a boat. It backs onto another lot of the same size, undeveloped, unmaintained and weedy. We are all surrounded by cultivated or grazed farm land. Personally, I would have spent more money on a larger lot or acreage, and less on the home, especially as they built after both of their children were grown. The new build across the highway is a modular cape, probably 1400sf, in the traditional style with a detached garage, and it looks much more 'at home' in it's surroundings. These are all nice folks, some we've known for years, all (save one) in roughly the same per-capita income bracket, but the brick homes are bordering on the McMansion status, to me, because they don't fit the feel of the area. The brick may have been chosen because of low-maintenance issues, but a farmhouse, even a 3500sf farmhouse, would look better, IMO. The land around us is currently leased for farming, but may eventually be a tract development--I've seen lots of cornfields developed, too.
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toomuchclass, you asked about the other homes on our street and in our neighborhood. We have quite a mix of architecture on our street. It's an old subdivision and some of the houses sit on 1/2 acre of land and have been there a lot of years. They are designed like ours in the old fashion Acadian style, but are about 4 times as large. LOL Some look like mini plantations. Just a few blocks away are a few full size plantation homes. The town we are moving too is close to the Mississippi river and the River Rd. as it's called is lined with some plantations from the 1800's. One of the most famous is just 1/2 mile from our house. It's a tourist attraction now. Then we have some newer homes that look like they belong in California, huge 2 story adobe's with palm trees lining the circular drive. Then we have the average 1 story ranch style. We even have a couple of gingerbread victorian styles. We are on the main street of the subdivision and some of the lots are quite large so that gives people the option of building really big if they want to. So it's quite a mix. I believe our house is most probably the smallest one though. There is a minimum sq. ft. required by the subdivisions covenant and we went with the minimum because we didn't want a huge house for the 2 of us. Just more to heat, cool and keep clean. There is no other that looks exactly like ours and I guess that's why people stop to compliment us on the style. Everyone comments on our unique roof. Today the young folks aren't looking to build this style of house so it's pretty unique to see one like it coming up in the subdivision. All the ones coming up are large California style houses/mansions. The house just next door to ours is a 2 story brick. I'm not even sure of the style, it's just a plain 2 story house. Directly across the street from us is a huge mansion of 2 stories with beautiful gardens that circle the entire property. Houses like that one surely won't hurt my property value. HA! HA! It's such a lovely scene to walk out my front door and see that house. Nothing like what I have to look at right now. Not pretty at all!!! An abandoned house, a victim of Katrina and no insurance.
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mama goose_gw zn6OH
13 years ago
Used to be, if you needed company, exercise, or fresh air, you went outside--talked to neighbors, took a walk (went inline skating :o), sat on the porch.

It seems that many of us have traded those 'old-fashioned' activities for the latest media equipment, memberships in air-conditioned gyms, and longer work hours to pay for it all. I'm including myself when I say 'we' can interact with any number of people, find any info we need, see pictures of (insert whatever you look at on line), all within the walls of our own air-conditioned homes.

Kids these days (LOL, I sound like my grandpa) would rather spend time playing electronic games on THEIR OWN computers and watching THEIR OWN TVs, than playing basketball in the driveway. They surely do not want to mow grass and rake leaves.

If no one plans to use a yard, why not incorporate that space into your home?

That's not my life-style or mind-set, but I can see it becoming more common. It must be--what else can you do when you live in a house with no yard?
lavender_lass
13 years ago
This is the same thing Sarah Susanka was talking about in the Not So Big House. Almost everyone who builds a house, has a limited budget. Therefore, you have a trade off between square footage and detail in your home. You can max your budget out on boxy square footage, or you can put in custom details and built-ins, trim work etc. with less square footage.

Most people in the small house forum would probably rather have a smaller home with better quality craftsmanship and detail work than a large box...or spend the extra money on a larger lot.

As for kids not playing outside...that's easy. Don't buy them their own computer, don't buy them their own TV and don't let them be on the Internet unsupervised. Take the video games away (if they have any) and toss them out in the backyard, when the weather is nice. Tell them is they want anything special, they'll have to earn some money and show them where the rake and the snow shovel are kept :)

My friend has two boys and that's been the way he and his wife have dealt with things, from the time the boys were very young.

They live in a fairly safe, blue collar neighborhood and know most of their neighbors, so when the boys were old enough, they started shoveling snow for a little extra money....but they had to do the three or four houses with elderly people FIRST and for FREE, then they could charge a few dollars for shoveling other peoples' walks. Their dad said "these people were there keeping on eye on you and watching out for you when you were little...it's time you returned the favor...and it's the right thing to do."
User
13 years ago
lavender lass, I like your friend's parenting! I "hired" a neighborhood boy to move some bricks and fill in some holes for me. It was going to take about 2 hours. I told him I'd pay him $20. He came over this weekend about 11:45 and worked about 30 minutes and said it was getting too hot to do anymore, and went home.
enigmaquandry
13 years ago
lavendar_lass, here here! I wish EVERYONE would raise their children that way...I was raised completely computer and TV free, movie nights were a huge deal, I made $1/week until high school as my allowance (which I wouldn't get unless I'd done my chores) and I had to use my imagination for everything (which plays a huge role in my creative process today). I have to admit, I would find it hard now to live without the internet (there is just a WEALTH of knowledge on here) but sometimes I wish I didn't have a TV anymore...

I think kids today that are spoiled and bratty often don't have any sense of accomplishment or joy because they don't create anything, they never have to problem solve or think for themselves without direct input from outside sources (video games, TV, internet etc.).

Sorry, just realized that was a bit of a tangent :) but McMansions certainly haven't helped with kids re-discovering the outside. ;) I could go on and on about children being CHILDREN, having an imagination and playing OUTSIDE!
User
13 years ago
I think the record holder for the most interest in the McMansion thingy is the Home Decorating forum. They have a whole lot more replies to that thread than we do.

We keep it pretty simple over here. IMHO anyway.
desertsteph
13 years ago
"Whoever designed these homes could NOT have ever seen a Craftsman home! "

doesn't Sandy know that person?

I agree on the kid raising. I wouldn't let my kids charge elderly people either. OUr neighbor used to plow our drive out for free when the kids were younger (a very, very long winding drive). since dd has lived back in that area she makes her dh plow out that guy's driveway now (he's elderly and in bad health).

flgargoyle - I could take some pics that'd probably pass for his house... we have lots like that out here.

I know lots of people don't want yard work anymore - they're too busy working or running kids in all directions.

I limited my kids on those activities. They could each do 1 thing at a time. that still kept me on the road most of the time! it's just too much to do. with all the conveniences we have you'd think we'd have more time these days. I guess we just cram to much into it tho.

my sister is always telling me to get stronger pain pills so I can do more. I don't want stronger pills - and I'm fairly content just puttering around on my land. that's why i bought it.
Shades_of_idaho
13 years ago
By Jay,"The interior is generic and sterile. It's got the obligatory granite-and-stainless kitchen. The 10' ceilings look odd with windows scaled for 8' ceilings. "

OH Never thought about how such a high ceiling would look odd with the standard windows. Of course. And now a days there it a height limit up from the floor a window sill can be. Interesting to think about Jay.

Now I will say my husband and I have discussed a silly dream about having a HUGE covered area with house and garage on either side. An area we did not have to really worry about weather. Where we could garden year round. Not really enclosed . Well the whole thing does not work in our area. I know to you all it probably sounds so weird. I do think these conversations come up in the middle of winter when there is three or four foot of snow on the ground on the flat and we are feeling the need to get out and move around. OK So maybe call it cabin fever.

AND when we had the hot spring there were green houses down by the main hot spring that were 60 foot wide by 90 foot long. So I guess this is what got us talking about the impossible enclosure. The hot water heated the green houses and air kept them ??Standing and the heat melted the snow so they did not cave in.

Actually there is an old almost totally closed up mall in Ontario,Oregon we can go to and walk all we want in the foyer. Many people do so.

chris
columbiasc
13 years ago
When I think about McMansions, I can't help but think about the grand daddy of all McMansions.....Biltmore Estate in Ashville, SC. Think about it. The largest private residence ever built. And how did that turn out? The original owner passed it down to his daughter and it almost immediately fell into dis-repair. It probably would have never survived if not for the efforts of the daughter's husband, a Brit at that! The only way it was saved was by turning it into a tourist attraction. Proving that big is nearly impossible to sustain, even for the wealthiest. Just a thought.

Scott
User
13 years ago
Shades, I understand where you are coming from about wanting to be outside during your long cold winters.

One thing I really liked about my visit (about 10 weeks years ago) was the underground buildings. They had a student union building at U of Mn that was underground. Then they were featuring such architecture and city planning in the school of architecture too. Boy it was interesting.

And there is a great advantage to geothermal energy, because it is the best chance of allowing you to do the things you describe. It is still fascinating to me. And why could you not do it....not an impossible thing to do.
Like my living roof and living walls. They will help keep the HEAT down here. Keep on thinking about it.

Thinking is a creative act. Love it!
fixizin
Original Author
13 years ago
@flgargoyle... a description will have to do. The neighborhood consists of big boxes stuck on tiny lots. No trees- there wouldn't be room for them anyhow. Picture a 2 story box with no overhangs, few windows, and the windows are very small. Stuck on the front is a tiny porch- really just a cover for the entry door- with two fat columns holding it up.
...
The interior is generic and sterile. It's got the obligatory granite-and-stainless kitchen. The 10' ceilings look odd with windows scaled for 8' ceilings.

NO need to post pics! You describe very well a CONTAGION I've seen in many metro areas west of the Mississippi... only the roofing color varies.

Having lived in Boulder, CO, and surrounds, I know that kind of schlock would NOT be permitted in City of Boulder proper, and there's no room in smaller-than-you'd-think Denver proper, but I'd be curious as to what outlying 'burb or unincorporated area it's in.

Truly it reflects a complete lack of sensible ordnances and codes, not to mention a complete lack of neighborhood pride and identity. Hopefully the alarming rate at which a lot of these developments turn to BLIGHT will give some local PTBs the spine to say "NO" in the future. I find it useful to show up at commission meetings and urge them in the right direction... and I find it SUPER-useful to invite at least one newspaper or TV reporter to the affair. ;')
emagineer
13 years ago
Fix, if you have been in the CO area during the 70s, remember the amount of homes built that ended up the "blight" as you mentioned? Aurora became a less than favorable place to live and at the time had the best mall around. It will be interesting what happens to all the large homes in so many housing areas built the last 10 years. Those are the ones which see a higher foreclosure. This is also a repeat of ovnput type=text name="realname" size=30>

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'Wrong' to start a 'post hideous McMansions pics' thread? ;')

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'Wrong' to start a 'post hideous McMansions pics' thread? ;')

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