Death of the McMansion? (Huntington, Levittown: appointed, credit, new house)

[ClarkStreetKid]

Wide roads twist and turn past uninspired, slightly different mutations of the same plan;

Ever been to Clark Street?

[totallyfrazzled]

I agree with Crooks about the dearth of new-construction options for seniors/Boomers/empty-nesters. It seems like anything new is either (a) a big post-modern or (b) a tickytacky little box.

IMHO the McMansions will still be built but on a "spot" or "custom" basis, not a development. I'm using the term "development" to mean a group of 10 or more homes built together, as opposed to a spot-builder who puts up 3, 4 or 5 homes on a newly created cul-de-sac or dead-end street as we saw last summer over in St James. (Still on the market, btw)

And there will always be those who buy a small older home, knock it down, and replace it with a McMansion.

So in those two senses, no I don't think the McMansion is (or is likely to be) dead. But things like the Smith Haven Mall area development? Hopefully, RIP. (who in their right mind would want that location anyway, unless a shopaholic?!)

[MikefromCT]

If you guys on LI think McMansions have spiraled out of control, you should see Connecticut. In the past 20 years CT lost more acerage to development than any other US state, the vast majority of that open space has been turned into lawns. The town I grew up in is painful to look at now: where farms and fields once stood have been replaced by monstrous, hulking houses perched on hills, just begging for a lightning strike, with puny, newly planted trees that bend in the wind. There's nothing unique to differentiate one house from another except their numbers. Worse yet, in some of the more affluent towns of Fairfield County, like New Canaan, newcomers are buying these nice, iconic, contemporary style houses and knocking them down in favor of cookie-cutter McMansions. Horrible.

If this McMansion trend is coming to an end, I welcome it. I have nothing against luxury housing. There's plenty of it in my town - but the houses here are actual mansions - lots of large, old colonials and Tudors from the early 20th century, lots of large bungalows, etc. The styles of the houses may be the same, but no two houses are exactly alike, it's not assembly-line housing like you see today that's so awful. Large, luxury houses are here, and they're here to stay. But I think the way they're going to be built in the future - in terms of size and style - are going to be very, very different than what you see today. For one thing, the younger generation graduating college is deep in debt, and I don't see how the majority be able to afford this glut of large houses much longer. The current housing crisis will also bring the McMansion epidemic to a halt. It might not have happened yet, but it's going to - and the ripple effect from all the foreclosures, bankruptcies and banking scandals is going to be huge a few years from now.

[Chrisk327]

Take out the ornate part and your describing everywhere on LI. Homes on top of each other, most almost idential whether it be in levittstyle, general capes, or terra-wonders.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big fan of those huge wonders with double entryways, but when you start talking about fake stone, vinyl siding and stainless steel apliances it seems that the pot is calling the kettle black, maybe not you per se, but LI.

Look anywhere and pretty much all but the really high end is clad in vinyl, has a builder grade everything with some crown put up by someone who did some side work. The McMansions may not be the nicest of styles, but I wouldn't say there is much on LI that is worth saving or pointing to as the "right" way to do it.

[totallyfrazzled]

Originally Posted by Chrisk327

Look anywhere and pretty much all but the really high end is clad in vinyl

Or worse yet, that most esthetically offensive hybrid: The brick front combined with horizontal-strip vinyl siding on the sides and back....

I understand the cost-compromise factor, really I do, but IMHO any house looks best if the outer cladding is the same all the way around. If you're doing vinyl, do all vinyl. If you're doing brick, do all brick ($$$$$ I know). The only houses I've seen where the combo doesn't look ridiculous are the ones where there is brick in the entrance area, especially if there's a front porch, and the rest of the house is either cedar shake or painted wood shakes. For some reason those seem to just blend with the brick better than the more typical dutchlap vinyl horizontal strips.

[dman72]

Originally Posted by Chrisk327

Take out the ornate part and your describing everywhere on LI. Homes on top of each other, most almost idential whether it be in levittstyle, general capes, or terra-wonders.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big fan of those huge wonders with double entryways, but when you start talking about fake stone, vinyl siding and stainless steel apliances it seems that the pot is calling the kettle black, maybe not you per se, but LI.

Look anywhere and pretty much all but the really high end is clad in vinyl, has a builder grade everything with some crown put up by someone who did some side work. The McMansions may not be the nicest of styles, but I wouldn't say there is much on LI that is worth saving or pointing to as the "right" way to do it.

A lot of truth to this. There are hundreds of cookie cutter developments on LI that were built from 1945-1975 that are ugly as sin. I don't think when they were being built anyone thought they had any character, and they don't. Giant tracts in Holbrook (New England Village) are just as offensive as the McMansion colonies, if not more. But, if you live here and you want to buy a house, character costs a premium.

[S.I.B.]

Originally Posted by Chrisk327

Take out the ornate part and your describing everywhere on LI. Homes on top of each other, most almost idential whether it be in levittstyle, general capes, or terra-wonders.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big fan of those huge wonders with double entryways, but when you start talking about fake stone, vinyl siding and stainless steel apliances it seems that the pot is calling the kettle black, maybe not you per se, but LI.

Look anywhere and pretty much all but the really high end is clad in vinyl, has a builder grade everything with some crown put up by someone who did some side work. The McMansions may not be the nicest of styles, but I wouldn't say there is much on LI that is worth saving or pointing to as the "right" way to do it.

good point. A town like Levittown is romanticized and looked upon with all this nostaglia while McManions are mocked and criticized. Maybe it's just the "everything was better in my day" crowd...or maybe people just hate the rich.

[totallyfrazzled]

Originally Posted by S.I.B.

A town like Levittown is romanticized and looked upon with all this nostalgia

I have to admit, I've never before heard the word "romanticized" in connection with Levittown ... and I grew up right next to it, in East Meadow (which was the same format: street after street of row up on row of identical capes and upended-shoebox-shaped colonials).

Also, just because I grew up in a Levittown setting doesn't mean I would ever want to live in one again. I hate cookycutter-house neighborhoods, and I'm sure it's exactly because that's what I grew up in. All clones, no privacy, and houses within spitting distance of each other. Nope, no Levitt-nostalgia for this Baby Boomer.

[Crookhaven]

Originally Posted by totallyfrazzled

Or worse yet, that most esthetically offensive hybrid: The brick front combined with horizontal-strip vinyl siding on the sides and back....

I understand the cost-compromise factor, really I do, but IMHO any house looks best if the outer cladding is the same all the way around. If you're doing vinyl, do all vinyl. If you're doing brick, do all brick ($$$$$ I know). The only houses I've seen where the combo doesn't look ridiculous are the ones where there is brick in the entrance area, especially if there's a front porch, and the rest of the house is either cedar shake or painted wood shakes. For some reason those seem to just blend with the brick better than the more typical dutchlap vinyl horizontal strips.

Or even worse ...the dreaded Fucco.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/long-...hat-fucco.html

[Crookhaven]

Originally Posted by totallyfrazzled

I have to admit, I've never before heard the word "romanticized" in connection with Levittown ... and I grew up right next to it, in East Meadow (which was the same format: street after street of row up on row of identical capes and upended-shoebox-shaped colonials).

Also, just because I grew up in a Levittown setting doesn't mean I would ever want to live in one again. I hate cookycutter-house neighborhoods, and I'm sure it's exactly because that's what I grew up in. All clones, no privacy, and houses within spitting distance of each other. Nope, no Levitt-nostalgia for this Baby Boomer.

I have.

In the era of smaller families and bigger homes....bring back Levittown.

Were almost out of land and no one can afford to start out here.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/long-...f-starter.html

We need to build em small ....with room to expand later.

crooks