Houston McMansion (Victoria, Mart: fit in, appliances, houses)

[txdemo]

Good stuff:

Worst of McMansions

[houston-nomad]

That's the funniest thing I've read in a good while. And I read.

[detachable arm]

Ostentatious people with money rarely have good taste. I have seen much worse though. Not sure what the problem is with bronze. It beats chrome and brass any day. That or brushed nickel is what you find everywhere nowadays.

BTW the author of the article cannot afford that home.

[marksmu]

People throw the term McMansion around quite a bit....the average person has absolutely no clue what architectural elements are correct or incorrect...they just buy what the MPC builders spit out.

Most folks who use the term McMansion use it in a derogatory manner. I usually find that those who do use it to insult are usually upset about the fact that new construction is either 1) pricing them out of their own home due to increasing tax values or 2) lowering the value of their own by making it functionally obsolete. Many are just snobs.

I'd say that about 1/2 of 1% of the people who use the term McMansion have ANY clue at all about architecture....Im looking primarily at the majority of the people who buy in the Heights, or Montrose and then complain of the newer Victorian style homes...many of which are actually architecturally accurate, but larger than the surrounding properties. Are they generally large compared to the lot? Yes they are....but modern life styles want more space, and property in the loop is at a premium, so that is what you get. Not all homes referred to as a McMansion are McMansions.

I know that I built a home 2 years ago...I know NOTHING about architecture....I did hire an architect, who designed my home, and according to the website, its not a McMansion, but the ultra majority of folks who buy or build can not afford an architect and are just looking to build or buy a house that fits their lifestyle. Lots of builders we interviewed use home designers to draft plans, not architects...architects are expensive.

So the point of my comment is basically that the folks like the website author are usually just snobs...in her case, an east coast snob. Most are jealous, a few are serious architect buffs...but the majority of the folks are either bitter or jealous, or both.

[Ghost Town]

I see nothing wrong with this house (except property tax, probably).

[fitzy24]

Originally Posted by txdemo

Good stuff:

Worst of McMansions

I wouldn't consider that house a mcmansion. That's a nice house!

[PedroMartinez]

Originally Posted by marksmu

People throw the term McMansion around quite a bit....the average person has absolutely no clue what architectural elements are correct or incorrect...they just buy what the MPC builders spit out.

Most folks who use the term McMansion use it in a derogatory manner. I usually find that those who do use it to insult are usually upset about the fact that new construction is either 1) pricing them out of their own home due to increasing tax values or 2) lowering the value of their own by making it functionally obsolete. Many are just snobs.

I'd say that about 1/2 of 1% of the people who use the term McMansion have ANY clue at all about architecture....Im looking primarily at the majority of the people who buy in the Heights, or Montrose and then complain of the newer Victorian style homes...many of which are actually architecturally accurate, but larger than the surrounding properties. Are they generally large compared to the lot? Yes they are....but modern life styles want more space, and property in the loop is at a premium, so that is what you get. Not all homes referred to as a McMansion are McMansions.

I know that I built a home 2 years ago...I know NOTHING about architecture....I did hire an architect, who designed my home, and according to the website, its not a McMansion, but the ultra majority of folks who buy or build can not afford an architect and are just looking to build or buy a house that fits their lifestyle. Lots of builders we interviewed use home designers to draft plans, not architects...architects are expensive.

So the point of my comment is basically that the folks like the website author are usually just snobs...in her case, an east coast snob. Most are jealous, a few are serious architect buffs...but the majority of the folks are either bitter or jealous, or both.

Very good post.

I'd guess the term "McMansion" is used out of jealousy 92.32% of the time.

Another thing that amuses me is how quickly the home outraged will jump to, "It's made cheaply out of crappy materials" when they have no idea. They just see a photo of a newer large home (not owned by a celebrity) and make that automatic assumption.

I hear the home outraged crowd go on and on about all of Houston's MPCs with their cheaply constructed McMansions, yet I don't think I heard of a single one imploding when Hurricane Ike rolled through.

The site did contain some relatively funny things and proved that some people have different tastes than others.

[Liljo22]

I always thought a McMansion was in the older established neighborhoods when there tear down a smaller home and replace with one that doesn't fit in with the area.

[PedroMartinez]

Originally Posted by Liljo22

I always thought a McMansion was in the older established neighborhoods when there tear down a smaller home and replace with one that doesn't fit in with the area.

The home outraged will use the term for any number of reasons when they are outraged by a home.

[shortel]

Originally Posted by PedroMartinez

Another thing that amuses me is how quickly the home outraged will jump to, "It's made cheaply out of crappy materials" when they have no idea.

Most of those houses are built using cheap materials and shortcuts. The only part that has the expensive stuff is the stuff people see and touch. A lot of those houses are not structurally better then any other house. Expensive tile,counter tops,carpet, appliances,fixtures dont make a house built better. You can get better roof materials but those really dont cost most much more; they just dont use them because most people dont know the difference.

And yes the piano under the staircase I bet that is there for show and has never been played. It certainly wasnt put there by someone who cares about acoustics.