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I have found that cookie cutter is what most people prefer and they like to be just like everyone else.
Please explain why each homeowner adds his or her own personal touches to the house: shutters, awnings, enclosed front porches, railings, trim color, siding color, door styles and colors ... I could go on.
If everyone wanted their houses to look alike, those houses would look exactly the same as they did the day they construction was completed.
I think this is often true... The insides of all the cookie cutter homes I've been in are even decorated similarly - same paint color palette, granite countertops, maple cabinetry, beige tile flooring, stainless appliances... Same chain store furnishings (e.g. IKEA, Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Target). Does everyone really want their house to look just like their neighbors?
I think for some it may be the most affordable way to have the newest thing with the same kind of features that are popular at the moment.
I guess I think differently. I'm more into character, design, and location than square footage. This also tends to be better for appreciation IMO. If I were spending, let's say, $500K on a home these would be my choices in the Chicago area...
#1. Smaller well-designed home with character in vibrant suburb close to cultural amenities and transit. I especially love older homes.
#2. Condo in a downtown, high rise with character in the city.
#3. A historic farmhouse with character in the country with acreage so I can commune with nature.
#4. A walkout townhome with character walkable to the beach and shopping.
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#99. A cookie cutter McMansion in a farflung cornfield that looks the same as everyone else's where I have to spend hours commuting to work (these are the typical cookie-cutter subdivisions in my area).
I also mean no offense. I just would be very unhappy living that way. I just like to surround myself with unique things, including my home. To each their own. I'm sure there are many reasons people like these homes, otherwise they wouldn't be so popular.
Please explain why each homeowner adds his or her own personal touches to the house: shutters, awnings, enclosed front porches, railings, trim color, siding color, door styles and colors ... I could go on.
If everyone wanted their houses to look alike, those houses would look exactly the same as they did the day they construction was completed.
Again, no offense (I know I am not being politically correct here), but if you have the exact same architectural design and layout as every other house in the neighborhood, the addition of a porch, sunroom, or different exterior colors can only do so much.
It seems insane to me that such a rational statement seems insane to you!
Does size trump style? Definitely if we are choosing between big and small. I spend a hell of a lot more time inside than out. Enough storage and room for a family will trump exterior appearance pretty much 100% of the time for me.
And when did this turn in to cookie cutter homes having no style or character? I thought this was about homes that all look alike. The impression I am getting from the people who don't want this is that if you took their house that has style and character and replicated it up and down the street they would all of a sudden not be so happy.
And it was certainly never about one of the choices being in some far flung area as one poster has now said. People are just making stuff up now.
Please explain why each homeowner adds his or her own personal touches to the house: shutters, awnings, enclosed front porches, railings, trim color, siding color, door styles and colors ... I could go on.
If everyone wanted their houses to look alike, those houses would look exactly the same as they did the day they construction was completed.
It doesn't change that they are all basically the same. No matter what you put in it or on it, tract homes have just a few basic models to choose from in any of those neighborhoods. To most people having a unique house isn't a priority. Doesn't make it a right or wrong way to be. Putting a roof over your head is necessity before it is anything else.
I guess I think differently. I'm more into character, design, and location than square footage. This also tends to be better for appreciation IMO. If I were spending, let's say, $500K on a home these would be my choices in the Chicago area...
#1. Smaller well-designed home with character in vibrant suburb close to cultural amenities and transit. I especially love older homes.
#2. Condo in a downtown, high rise with character in the city.
#3. A historic farmhouse with character in the country with acreage so I can commune with nature.
#4. A walkout townhome with character walkable to the beach and shopping.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#99. A cookie cutter McMansion in a farflung cornfield that looks the same as everyone else's where I have to spend hours commuting to work (these are the typical cookie-cutter subdivisions in my area).
I also mean no offense. I just would be very unhappy living that way. I just like to surround myself with unique things, including my home. To each their own. I'm sure there are many reasons people like these homes, otherwise they wouldn't be so popular.
Newer tract homes are not the best deal for getting more square footage anyhow.
Does size trump style? Definitely if we are choosing between big and small. I spend a hell of a lot more time inside than out. Enough storage and room for a family will trump exterior appearance pretty much 100% of the time for me.
And when did this turn in to cookie cutter homes having no style or character? I thought this was about homes that all look alike. The impression I am getting from the people who don't want this is that if you took their house that has style and character and replicated it up and down the street they would all of a sudden not be so happy.
And it was certainly never about one of the choices being in some far flung area as one poster has now said. People are just making stuff up now.
It is a to each his own thing. To some of us style does trump and there are other things to consider. Having a lot of room for your family is important to you, but for me my family is small. I don't have to have the biggest house I can afford. Iv' done the tract home thing and decided I didn't want another one when it was time to move. That said, any builder that would replicate my 1932 house originally made from used building materials during the depression, with its small closets, nooks and cranny add-ons in every direction and strange floor plan is crazy. A neighborhood of these would be a tough sell. I absolutely love this house, but it isn't what most people want.
#2. Condo in a downtown, high rise with character in the city.
#4. A walkout townhome with character walkable to the beach and shopping.
I just like to surround myself with unique things, including my home.
Right. Unique things. Like condos and townhouses.
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