3 ms·

I’m not sure there is anything objectively bad about these designs. Does it affect the utility of the house? Or is there some inherent ugliness that comes with

I’m not sure there is anything objectively bad about these designs. Does it affect the utility of the house? Or is there some inherent ugliness that comes with affordable and popular things?

balaga01 3y ago
> Or is there some inherent ugliness that comes with affordable and popular things? I would question both of these adjectives, where I live, "affordable" is sub-400'000 USD and "popular" is a 3-bedroom terraced house. I would use expensive and extravagant instead.
- markisus 3y ago
  I realize that calling any type of mansion affordable seems out of touch. I was commenting on the relative expense of some of these design components. The prefix “Mc” evokes McDonald’s. The post pokes fun at a statue of a maid, because the owners could not afford to hire true maids. From the site, I assume that a McMansion is like a mansion, but made with cheaper components and without the taste and class that comes with an elite upbringing.
  - denton-scratch 3y ago
    An "elite" upbringing doesn't confer taste and class.
  - rsynnott 3y ago
    > From the site, I assume that a McMansion is like a mansion, but made with cheaper components and without the taste and class that comes with an elite upbringing. General consensus on definition seems to be "very large house, not designed by an architect, cheap construction". So they are both expensive (because they're really, really big) but also, well, cheaper than something that big done properly. On the 'elite upbringing' thing, well, ever seen photos of the interiors of Donald Trump's houses? An elite upbringing does not necessarily imply taste.
munchler 3y ago
I think a lot of these bloated houses are extremely impractical to actually live in. For example, I live across the street from a McMansion that I fondly call “The Hotel”. It has an ornate front entrance on the main street that the owners never use. It might as well be sealed shut. Instead, they enter and exit through the basement garage, or by walking down a rickety set of stairs from their kitchen to the side street where several of their many cars are kept. Watch out for the boat parked in the driveway!
- ghaff 3y ago
  At least in New England, it's a bit of a joke how many houses have "formal" entrances (not necessarily elaborate but obviously designed to be the house's entrance) but everyone just uses the kitchen/mudroom/garage.
  - apocalyptic0n3 3y ago
    Isn't that how it is with most homes with garages, both with and without ornate front entrances? In most cases, the occupants of that house will rarely enter through the front door. Even in cases where they park in the driveway/street, they often will enter through the garage because entering a code or using a remote control is easier than using a key on the front door.
rsynnott 3y ago
> Does it affect the utility of the house? They're generally very large and of low-quality construction, making them expensive to heat, cool, and maintain, for little upside. They're also generally kind of impractical; you end up with either way too many rooms, or impractically _big_ rooms. There's an element of subjectivity to the aesthetics, obviously, but I don't think you'll find many people who'll see most of the examples on that site and go "that looks good actually".

I’m not sure there is anything objectively bad about these designs. Does it affect the utility of the house? Or is there some inherent ugliness that comes with affordable and popular things?

balaga01 3y ago

> Or is there some inherent ugliness that comes with affordable and popular things? I would question both of these adjectives, where I live, "affordable" is sub-400'000 USD and "popular" is a 3-bedroom terraced house. I would use expensive and extravagant instead.

markisus 3y ago
I realize that calling any type of mansion affordable seems out of touch. I was commenting on the relative expense of some of these design components. The prefix “Mc” evokes McDonald’s. The post pokes fun at a statue of a maid, because the owners could not afford to hire true maids. From the site, I assume that a McMansion is like a mansion, but made with cheaper components and without the taste and class that comes with an elite upbringing.
- denton-scratch 3y ago
  An "elite" upbringing doesn't confer taste and class.
- rsynnott 3y ago
  > From the site, I assume that a McMansion is like a mansion, but made with cheaper components and without the taste and class that comes with an elite upbringing. General consensus on definition seems to be "very large house, not designed by an architect, cheap construction". So they are both expensive (because they're really, really big) but also, well, cheaper than something that big done properly. On the 'elite upbringing' thing, well, ever seen photos of the interiors of Donald Trump's houses? An elite upbringing does not necessarily imply taste.

munchler 3y ago

I think a lot of these bloated houses are extremely impractical to actually live in. For example, I live across the street from a McMansion that I fondly call “The Hotel”. It has an ornate front entrance on the main street that the owners never use. It might as well be sealed shut. Instead, they enter and exit through the basement garage, or by walking down a rickety set of stairs from their kitchen to the side street where several of their many cars are kept. Watch out for the boat parked in the driveway!

ghaff 3y ago
At least in New England, it's a bit of a joke how many houses have "formal" entrances (not necessarily elaborate but obviously designed to be the house's entrance) but everyone just uses the kitchen/mudroom/garage.
- apocalyptic0n3 3y ago
  Isn't that how it is with most homes with garages, both with and without ornate front entrances? In most cases, the occupants of that house will rarely enter through the front door. Even in cases where they park in the driveway/street, they often will enter through the garage because entering a code or using a remote control is easier than using a key on the front door.

rsynnott 3y ago

> Does it affect the utility of the house? They're generally very large and of low-quality construction, making them expensive to heat, cool, and maintain, for little upside. They're also generally kind of impractical; you end up with either way too many rooms, or impractically _big_ rooms. There's an element of subjectivity to the aesthetics, obviously, but I don't think you'll find many people who'll see most of the examples on that site and go "that looks good actually".