McMansion

Houses being too big for the lots they are on and the families that are in them, how could anyone not agree with that? The article hits on a number of things that have changed the housing market, the biggest one probably being the industry wanting to profit. The neighborhood I grew-up in has around 60 feet between each other and most of the “older” style neighborhoods are the same. When the empty lots nearby started to fill-in in late 1990 the houses only had about 20 feet between them and some of them had even less than that. They looked bigger, but when you actually went inside it was easy to see that there was so much space that was unusable, the size was comparable to an older house like mine. As McGuigan mentioned the amount of energy used to heat or cool and the empty space is ludicrous, vaulted ceilings may look nice, but are such a waste in so many ways. The yards were tiny compared to what I grew-up with too; they could hardly be used to toss a ball or Frisbee around. These large houses take away what is good about home, the coziness, the usability, and the recreation outside.

There are a few things that I don’t agree with. She mentions what kids draw when they are asked to draw a house. I think that the large reason they draw what they do is because that is what they see in books as they grow older, and the basic shape of a house is square/rectangular with a more or less triangle roof. I don’t think that there is much correlation with what houses look like in real life. The other one, she says houses should reflect “who we are and the time we live in”. Maybe I am misreading it or not quite understanding what she is really trying to say, but that comment is outright stupid to me. Very few people will stay in on house for their entire life, how are they going to sell it when it is so personalized? Earlier in her article she talks about the climate and geographical area, so shouldn’t that shape what the house is like more than the personal “feeling”? There are reasons for flat and pitched roof tops, you don’t want it flat if you are expecting lots of precipitation, and it probably isn’t a good idea to have an A-frame when the temperature is going to be high.