All this talk about McMansions (fit in, house, landscaping)

[Chella]

Makes me laugh. I would love to know what a McMansion looks like.
Is it where people add to there existing home?
Or is it a home being built somewhere that just doesn't fit in or belong.
I'm curious.

Because I see many home in nice areas that are HUGE but don't consider them McMansions. However when someone attempts to build a monstrousity in an area that just doesn't account for a large home that is understandable.

What about ranch homes that are built up?

I have a friend who lives in Old Westbury that recently did that and it's gorgeous, certainly not a McMansion.

[dreamofmonterey]

Originally Posted by Chella

Makes me laugh. I would love to know what a McMansion looks like.
Is it where people add to there existing home?
Or is it a home being built somewhere that just doesn't fit in or belong.
I'm curious.

Because I see many home in nice areas that are HUGE but don't consider them McMansions. However when someone attempts to build a monstrousity in an area that just doesn't account for a large home that is understandable.

What about ranch homes that are built up?

I have a friend who lives in Old Westbury that recently did that and it's gorgeous, certainly not a McMansion.

IMO a McMansion is relative- It looks fine if you are on 1 acre. In Massapequa or Queens it looks like the above ----UGLY.

sunny

[Jason_Els]

Voila!

• Generic
• No architectural integrity
• Makes no attempt to be adapted to its environment. Might see the same house on Miami Beach as you'd see in Anchorage.
• Pads its apparent size by using fake dormers to make viewers think there's a third floor when there isn't even an attic.
• Pads its apparent size even more by making the garage appear to be a livable room.
• Love Canal landscaping scheme
• Has speciously named spaces like, gathering room, keeping room, great room, second bonus room, and, au pair's hovel.

"I didn't know Samantha wore a Wonderbra! Why the nerve..."
"Get away from that window Gladys!"



Which house fits its lot? Hmmmm

[garmin239]

Also, a "mcmansion" is built horribly. The quality of these homes are garbage. Many of them have problems within a few years of being built.

[dreamofmonterey]

Originally Posted by Jason_Els

Voila!

• Generic
• No architectural integrity
• Makes no attempt to be adapted to its environment. Might see the same house on Miami Beach as you'd see in Anchorage.
• Pads its apparent size by using fake dormers to make viewers think there's a third floor when there isn't even an attic.
• Pads its apparent size even more by making the garage appear to be a livable room.
• Love Canal landscaping scheme
• Has speciously named spaces like, gathering room, keeping room, great room, second bonus room, and, au pair's hovel.

"I didn't know Samantha wore a Wonderbra! Why the nerve..."
"Get away from that window Gladys!"



Which house fits its lot? Hmmmm

Thanks Jason_els. Yuck look at that lot size (or lack thereof) the worst I have seen is on LI- 3-4 stories- and the lot is half the size of my living room!-who originated these?

there are many standing empty right now in NC and parts of FL----



sunny

[Joe L]

My I add every cut of wood to build thes POS is 4 feet or 8 feet and at 45 degrees or 90 degrees to make them go up as fast and cheap as possible.
All the same "peel and slap on cheap "architectural" roofing.
...friggan Gross!
"spit"

-Joe

[Dedalus]

One popped up like a mushroom right next door to me. It's stood vacant for about a year now.

It's my sincere hope that the ninny who built it is going broke.

[KellyFG]

here on LI people have zero respect or understanding of architecture. 20 years ago everyone took their colonials and made them in "contemporaries", then 10 years ago people made their mid-century homes into "victorians",
now its ranches into "post moderns".
People on LI love vinyl siding & hideous PVC fences, its the land of crappy unrealistic architecture & plastic homes. YUK.
In 100 years people will look back & say "what the hell were these Long Island people thinking?"
your friend in old westbury(I know who you mean) built a monster, they can get away with it in that area of excessivness. If she would have left her ranch alone, I'm sure her kids would have gotten mocked at school.
However McMansions are more like the 4,000 sq ft things that pop up in the middle of existing older subdivisions on smaller lots.
At least the homes east of riverhead are mostly built with more esthetic materials like cedar.

[anonymous]

"McMansion is a pejorative term for a particular style of housing of that, as its name suggests, is both large like a mansion and relatively cheap and ubiquitous like McDonald's fast food restaurants. McMansion is used as a pejorative term because they are seen to be characterized by traditional features without an understanding of those styles' underlying logic and purpose..." - Wikipedia

"A modern house built on a large and imposing scale, but regarded as ostentatious and lacking architectural integrity" - Oxford English Dictionary

It's basically conspicuous consumption: People want the house that looks the most expensive, not the house that is the most functional or livable. It is a house that, if built correctly, few people could afford. So they cut corners in lot size, materials, construction, etc and they duplicate the same house over and over and over.

Something else funny, from wikipedia:
A common practice is to employ references to Europe, particularly place names and the British peerage system, to convey an upscale, exclusive atmosphere. Some social critics say that this is a manifestation of Anglophilia and snob appeal. These neighborhoods tend to have names like "Coventry", "Barrington", "Manorcliff", or "Knightsgate".

Italian and Mediterranean names have become en vogue recently, likely due to the increased popularity of Mediterranean architectural styles in America. Developers often build entire neighborhoods of practically identical stucco-and-tile edifices, and cement the theme by christening the developments "Siena", "Terra Bella", and other appellations that intend to invoke an exotic charm.

Regional variations occur on these themes. In the South, many developers create an upscale atmosphere through references to the plantation lifestyle of the antebellum South, i.e. "Plantation Creek", "Belle Terrace", "Oakhurst" or the like.

[BlueWillowPlate]

A couple things I think of in relation to McMansions:
Front-loaded 3-5 car garages
Humungous homes on small lots

It's basically conspicuous consumption: People want the house that looks the most expensive, not the house that is the most functional or livable. It is a house that, if built correctly, few people could afford. So they cut corners in lot size, materials, construction, etc and they duplicate the same house over and over and over.

Yes.