define McMansion (Vienna: house, schools, college)

[novajs]

I wouldn't call a 3500 sq ft custom built house on a tear down lot a McMansion, if it is truly custom built. To me McMansions are mass built large houses (3500 sq. ft plus) using average or cheap material on small lots.

[ICS67]

My favorite example of why, in many cases, McMansions are absolutely ridiculous: our friends' parents lived comfortably in a nice average-sized and well-built colonial in Vienna -- maybe 2,000 to at most 2,500 square feet -- and raised two children (now grown and moved away) there. When the parents came of retirement age, they decided to "simplify" life. So, they moved to the Belmont Country Club in Ashburn. Their new house? A McMansion of at least 4,000-4,500 square feet, situated the proverbial six feet away from their neighbor on either side. The house is so big that they basically live only on the ground floor. It's a 20 or 25 step climb to the upper floor (and the owners are now in their 70s) and the basement is unflinished but large enough to literally have a small bowling alley.

Now can somebody explain to me the sense in all this? I know to each their own, and the McMansion is nice enough, but why do two senior citizens need a 4,000+ square foot house?

[normie]

Originally Posted by ICS67

Now can somebody explain to me the sense in all this? I know to each their own, and the McMansion is nice enough, but why do two senior citizens need a 4,000+ square foot house?

How many shirts do you own? There are many people in this world who would look at your clothes and ask the same sort of questions. You only really need 3 shirts, you know. One to wear while you wash the other one, and one to keep especially nice for job interviews and important occasions.

Your answer will be that you have different uses for each shirt. And you appreciate variety.

That's the same answer your parents have for why they like having so many roms in their house. You don't always want to sit in the same chair every day. Sometimes you like looking out a different window. It's nice to start a jigsaw puzzle and leave it half finished for a week without needing the table for other purposes. It's nice to have room for when peope come to visit. Etc. Etc.

[normie]

Originally Posted by novajs

I wouldn't call a 3500 sq ft custom built house on a tear down lot a McMansion, if it is truly custom built. To me McMansions are mass built large houses (3500 sq. ft plus) using average or cheap material on small lots.

Hmmm... good points. I wonder what will happen over time, as the owners of these homes add moldings/fixtures and replace the cheap materials with better quality items. For example, this year many people in my neighborhood are taking advantage of the energy credit to replace the builder grade windows with top quality windows.

If a McMansion is all about cheap materials, will their houses be re-labelled? At what point does a house labelled a McMansion stop being one?

In 50 years' time, all these homes will have enough changes and additions, that they will (in essence) become custom built. Or at least partially custom built. It will be interesting to see how people feel about them by then.

[adolpho]

Maybe they moved to get away from the traffic.

[Yankeesfan]

Normie's on a roll ! She explained it all totally accurately.

[ACWhite]

Originally Posted by normie

Obviously, they buy it because they like the house or the neighborhood. Or both. Or, because they hate doing yard work.

I'm a person who has a fairly large piece of land. Believe me, right now I understand the meaning of townhouse envy. Yards are a lot of work.

Or value a short commute over the additional yard space.

[ACWhite]

Originally Posted by bmwguydc

One other problem with a McMansion is that is has a distinct inability to be tied to any one architectural movement. You will find Georgian doors, a Georgian window, with brick work that screams Federal, and add in a couple of faux wood extensions, or even some faux stone, to steal the style of an older home that has grown with the generations. Oh, and all of this is on a clear-cut 100' (max) lot where the bigger the window and/or door, completely disproportionate to the rest of the house, just screams "impressive!"

It's the attempt to emulate a house that has style and presence, using the thought that the bigger box is better, but why pay for quality when one can get quantity? There's also little regard as to how said structure relates to the land, and its neighbors, which may be the same house plan under alternate elevations 2, 5, and 7. In said structure, you will find "touches," of real mansions, but no plaster walls, intricate moldings that are proportional to the ceiling height, solid wood doors, etc.; rather, in the McMansion variety it's all vinyl, some granite (likely color enhanced), and masonite doors.

This is close to my thinking, too. The major characteristic I think of is that the owners chose quantity over quality. The buyers wanted "the most square footage for the money", rather than a house that would be large enough for their needs but which did not cut corners or use inferior materials or design or construction methods. But they want it to LOOK expensive to people who don't know better. The Wikipedia description is pretty good.

[ACWhite]

Originally Posted by ICS67

My favorite example of why, in many cases, McMansions are absolutely ridiculous: our friends' parents lived comfortably in a nice average-sized and well-built colonial in Vienna -- maybe 2,000 to at most 2,500 square feet -- and raised two children (now grown and moved away) there. When the parents came of retirement age, they decided to "simplify" life. So, they moved to the Belmont Country Club in Ashburn. Their new house? A McMansion of at least 4,000-4,500 square feet, situated the proverbial six feet away from their neighbor on either side. The house is so big that they basically live only on the ground floor. It's a 20 or 25 step climb to the upper floor (and the owners are now in their 70s) and the basement is unflinished but large enough to literally have a small bowling alley.

Now can somebody explain to me the sense in all this? I know to each their own, and the McMansion is nice enough, but why do two senior citizens need a 4,000+ square foot house?

Because (for what they might have considered to be the first time in their lives) they wanted to have plenty of space for when family and friends came to visit, to encourage the visits and to be able to really enjoy them?

[adolpho]

I wonder what % of their incomes go towards property taxes. I think more than 10% would be excessive.