Wednesday, April 17, 2013
TWO ALL BEEF PATTIES: Noting Isaac's reference to "McMansion," without overly telegraphing my own position on what that means, can I get a read on the collective wisdom of what our commentariat thinks that means. Is a "McMansion" a specific sort of architecture or zoning or is merely a catch-all criticism of large newly-built houses? Or is it something else?
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I have always thought of it as a reference to a development (or subdevelopment) of similar large, newly-built and (at least relatively) cheaply-built homes. Basically, the large home as a mass-produced commodity, rather than the large home as a well-crafted, individualized residence.
ReplyDeleteI would add to that that I usually think of "McMansion" as all of that and on a lot that's too small for it, proportionally speaking. That may just be me, though.
ReplyDeleteI have a very specific kind of house in mind when someone says McMansion. It's an overly large house without any real character in a development with other overly large houses without any real character--open floor plan, kitchens and baths with all the bells and whistles, "great room" (whatever that is), bathroom to bedroom ratio is close to 1:1.
ReplyDeleteI think it's also a bit of a swipe against the people who buy McMansions--who must have the largest, best, most up-to-date houses, as they double their commute from the suburbs in gas-guzzlng SUVs.
Confirming this. The main characteristic of a McMansion is too much house on too little land.
ReplyDeleteI'd agree with a lot of that. It's a house that's meant to LOOK impressive rather than actually BE impressive.
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Agree, but I don't just use it for a development. We use it to mean houses like this that are out of character for a neighborhood of smaller houses, as opposed to expansions that stay in character with the neighborhood stylistically and aren't too huge for the lot. We've got McMansions mixed in with the Capes and Colonials in our neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteSomething ate my post... anyhow, I agree; specific type of house, usually with cheap neoclassical elements (columns, etc.) and huge doors. And a gigantic 3 or 4 car garage along the front of the house (not behind).
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Big doors, the two-story foyer, the "great room."
ReplyDeleteYes. The "extends very close to the end of the lot" is a key component of the "McMansion" idea.
ReplyDeleteMost of this resonates. I would say that a McMansion stands in the same relation to an actual mansion as a Quarter Pounder with Cheese to an actual hamburger. Ingredients, packaging, craftsmanship, location, and taste are all implicated.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the above and would only add that I tend to assume the quality of the building/furnishings/finishing does not live up to the pretentions of the house.
ReplyDeleteI agree in that I use the term in reference to similar houses/monstrosities that are grouped together. I've never heard of someone referring to a single home that is an outlier in an otherwise normal neighborhood as a "McMansion."
ReplyDeletesmall lot, large house in the suburbs. See also Executive homes
ReplyDeletelarge house on a small lot in the suburbs. See also Executive homes
ReplyDeleteapologies if this is a double. I think I screwed up the captcha on the first one and it disappeared.
Thanks, all. I have seen a tendency, out here in the Bay Area, for people to use the term to mean, in effect, "a house one square foot larger than I think someone should own" or "a large house which is unimaginatively furnished." I very much think the basic term has to do with house-to-lot size more than anything.
ReplyDeleteNothing particularly brought this up, but it's a good word that's of late being watered down to mean very very little.
The architecture can vary--back in my hometown of Nashville they tend to be red brick structures while out here in LA McMansions tend to be Southwestern-style--but I agree on the houses being too big for the lot that looks similar to the other houses around it, in a suburban area.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the furniture is either characterless and mass-produced, or it looks like the owners are trying way too hard to look ritzy.
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I think pfrduke is right about the basic concept - the home as commodity. That's what usually leads to all of the other stuff -- the square footage bloat relative to lot size (because the former is margin-positive and the latter is margin-negative); the rooms with the ridiculous status-conscious names (great room; grand foyer; master suite); the faux-antique design elements (columns, pediments-lite) that are pasted on incoherently to convey luxury and permanence. You don't need any one or all of those elements (all you need is the luxury home as a mass-produced commodity), but they're probably all present.
ReplyDeleteI do not, by the way, think that all overlarge homes are McMansions. A custom-designed home may be hideous, but there is a difference between a hideous mansion and a McMansion. And, frankly, there are mass-produced homes that also don't count. There are some pretty awesome prefabricated homes that feel (and are) customized for the buyers in ways that spec-built developer mansions are not. Also, "out of character for the neighborhood" may be bad (or may not), but I don't think of that as a defining, or even common, characteristic.
Another definition would be "the houses that the people live in on Cougar Town." I love that show, but I don't think I would be friends with those people.
ReplyDelete