McMansion or not?

[yerfdog]

Originally Posted by CommercialDoc

This one looks like professional office space, like a small law firm or a doctor might practice there. Something about the shape of the windows, roofline, and porch.

 

[arced]

Originally Posted by CommercialDoc

Can someone tell me why all McMansions have those inserts in the windows make it look like there's a bunch of small windows instead of one large pane? Is it merely a bad simulation of ol' timey windows? Is there any practical purpose behind it?

 

[CommercialDoc]

Originally Posted by Dakota rube

All the houses in CD's post are McMansions. They are on tiny lots, in a new "upscale" development in some ******* suburb. There are probably 6 floorplans to choose from, with three or four exteriors for each. It's like Celebration, Florida.

All ******* smoke and mirrors.

I didn't mean to make it a mystery. The neighborhood is in Pittsburgh. Here is a link:

http://www.summersetatfrickpark.com/

 

[CHenry]

Originally Posted by arced

Can someone tell me why all McMansions have those inserts in the windows make it look like there's a bunch of small windows instead of one large pane? Is it merely a bad simulation of ol' timey windows? Is there any practical purpose behind it?

It is done for style, to keep the appearance of the windows in whatever style the rest of the house has and to save money (not saying the house pictured looks particularly of a period, it seems a bad jumble of styles.)

Real muntined windows are a lot more expensive than the fake ones. Each separate pane is a sealed unit seated in the wooden frame of the sash and muntins. They are used in restoration of historic properties and in the highest-end of period-authentic new home construction.

 

[Huntsman]

Originally Posted by StephenHero

I have a habit of knocking on my interior brick walls. Sometimes I'll ask people where I can get fake bricks like theirs. They're always caught off guard. Losers.
Dividing interior from interior spaces, not interior from exterior, right?

 

[Biscotti]

Originally Posted by StephenHero

I left the church because I didn't want to associate with people that went HERE to find God. As if He would ever step inside such a *************?

I learned to drive in the parking lot of this church.

 

[HEARTLESS-531]

That looks like the house on the cover of 'WHAT NOT TO BUILD'. I learned a ton by reading that book. Heavyon the pictures and Barneyed down for me just enuffff.

Originally Posted by BBSLM

I found this post very interesting and informative. Can anyone recommend a book(s) that covers various architectural styles and their features, etc?

 

[BBSLM]

Originally Posted by HEARTLESS-531

That looks like the house on the cover of 'WHAT NOT TO BUILD'. I learned a ton by reading that book. Heavyon the pictures and Barneyed down for me just enuffff.

Thanks. this looks like what I am looking for.

Im also interested in more historic, i guess 'classical', architecture. I took a class in college that covered all the different styles in depth, but I wasnt really interested in learning about them back then.

 

[StephenHero]

Originally Posted by Huntsman

Dividing interior from interior spaces, not interior from exterior, right?

I didn't mean to say my walls. I meant when I go to Olive Garden or something.

 

[venessian]

Originally Posted by mordecai

?

No. Not at all.

They had Opus Reticulatum, etc.; we have veneer, etc. Nothing "dishonest" about either.

But this thread sure is all over the place....

 

[venessian]

Originally Posted by StephenHero

I didn't mean to say my walls. I meant when I go to Olive Garden or something.

So you mean you actually like Fake Italianate???

 

[Connemara]

My house will be made of either brick or stone. No ifs, ands, or buts.

 

[mordecai]

Originally Posted by venessian

No. Not at all.

They had Opus Reticulatum, etc.; we have veneer, etc. Nothing "dishonest" about either.


But this thread sure is all over the place....

i don't really see a valid comparison there, but need to bone up on my vitruvius. which one of his ten books was about faux-siding?

 

[venessian]

Originally Posted by mordecai

i don't really see a valid comparison there, but need to bone up on my vitruvius. which one of his ten books was about faux-siding?

Oops, is your pic of faux brick? I thought it was of (real) brick veneer. Different animal then.

 

[arced]

I was thinking this thread would die, but since it hasn't, I've decided to confess.

I live in a McMansion. There, I said it. I'd post a picture to prove it, but it looks like every other one, so what's the point. It's a house on steroids with those weird, stupid details such as those silly brass outdoor sconces (I know someone here knows the correct word) tacked on the side, the fake muntined windows (thanks for the new vocabulary!), fake Candyland shutters, etc. It's an impressive house, in that it's constantly trying to impress the casual viewer (large scale, granite in the kitchen, hardwood floors, etc.). Maybe the best adjective might be simply "more". The house seems designed by a committee. Everything is a safe choice of options that have supposedly worked for others. The layout works, but especially when I'm driving around and seeing dozens of other examples of the same house, I feel like I've achieved the (generic) "American Dream." That said, my kids like it. It's easy to live in.

Nonetheless, it's lost probably a third of its "value" since it was built six years ago. Plus, it's prematurely aging and parts of it seem kinda run-down already. I can't imagine this house lasting another 80 years (especially since it was built on backfill on wetlands and the foundation has already sunk enough to put in a couple cracks).

So happy were renting. I feel sorry for my landlord whose trying to sell it (and it probably underwater). I have trouble imagining the future of this house. The McMansion's greatest appeal seems to be when new. Does anyone know how they're performing on the market?

Overall, it's a weird experience. We'll be moving out soon (after about a year). It is easy to live in, but we'd never want to own it. It's too much, it's cheaply built, and it's not us. I feel I'm living in a Kenneth Cole house. I constantly have the urge to apologize for the house because most people are very impressed by the house. I do feel like I'm living in the setting of the American Dream, and it's off-putting. Still, we've learned a lot living here. It's our first time living in a house built in this century. The higher ceilings and big windows (even if fake muntined) make for a pleasant living environment. We'll look for that if we ever buy.

Should this be in the DT confessions thread? Anyone else want to confess? There's got to be others.