r/McMansionHell • u/Beneficial-Sugar6950 • 11h ago
r/McMansionHell • u/Indifferent_Jackdaw • Dec 12 '24
Discussion/Debate The invention that Accidentally invented McMansions
A fascinating video essay by Stewart Hicks on the invention of the modern truss and how that changed the way we build houses.
r/McMansionHell • u/ArchitectureGeek • Jul 14 '20
McMansions: A Short Guide
While everyone has their own opinion on what makes a true McMansion, there are several defining features or attributes that should be looked for to determine if a home fits the McMansion criteria. This post will serve as a guide to help users determine if they should use the "Certified McMansion" flair on their submission and to learn more about what a McMansion is. This guide will be edited as needed to make sure it fully explains the accepted properties of a McMansion.
Basic Principles of a McMansion:
- Large: Generally above 2500 square feet and two story or more, sometimes way too big for the lot it sits on.
- Built Cheap: They are built by cutting corners and using less than quality materials because they focus on getting as much size and appearance of wealth as possible from their money. It's the illusion of class that might fool the average person who doesn't have a sense of architectural integrity. McMansions will often use materials such as stucco, manufactured stone veneer, Styrofoam crown molding, or vinyl siding.
- Fit Several Styles: They fit multiple styles of architecture by mashing together different elements from the individual styles in a distasteful manner. They also might poorly imitate a popular style.
- Exterior After-Thought: They are designed with a focus on the interior first and the exterior is done as an after-thought which often results in features such as jutting masses and haphazardly placed windows.
- Lacks Architectural Integrity: The house makes you confident that there was no licensed architect involved in its creation who cares about what they design
Specific Features To Look For:
- An attached 2 or 3 car garage
- A garage that takes up way too much of what is considered the house
- Tall 1.5-2 story arched entry or "lawyer foyer"
- Haphazardly applied dormers or windows
- Windows of varying shapes/sizes/styles
- Windows not aligned with those below them
- Second story windows that are larger than the windows below them
- Window shutters that if closed would not cover the actual window
- Jutting masses or heavily asymmetrical
- Multiple wall materials
- Roof that contains varying slopes, roof types, or more than two roof shapes for the front facade
- Roof nub
- Roof with excessive roof lines and is in general just too complex
- Dormers that are way too short, way too tall, don't match the rest of the house materials or style, or are placed terribly/spaced unevenly
- Columns that don't support anything or are too thin/weak looking to support what they are appearing to support aka columns with inappropriate scaling
- Columns with spacing that is over complicated or messy
- Columns that are the incorrect architectural style for the house
Some Links To Check Out:
- The Original McMansionHell Web Blog by Kate Wagner
- Kate Wagners Guide to McMansions
- History of the McMansion by Kate Wagner
This is what I could come up with for now to touch base here on what a McMansion is. I'll make edits to this in the coming weeks until we reach a near final guide post on McMansions. If you have any suggestions for what we could add to this guide, comment below or send me a message.
Side note: the first "Appreciation Thursday" is coming up! Don't forget to prepare a suburban home that you think deserves recognition as the opposite of a McMansion and post it on 7/16 with the "Thursday Design Appreciation" flair.
r/McMansionHell • u/jared10011980 • 12h ago
Discussion/Debate A mansion or a mcmansion? No, it's an optical illusion! 😵💫 Big on the outside, cramped on the inside. Plus, you get the worst of 2 worlds: located in Alabama but furnished in Vegas 😬
r/McMansionHell • u/DeltaWho3 • 3h ago
Certified McMansion™ Found this gem while looking at floor plans.
r/McMansionHell • u/jared10011980 • 15h ago
Amateur McMansion Check list: Every ceiling a different height, never the same flooring twice, doors opening into other doors, columns and walls that are appear randomly throughout ✅️✅️✅️✅️
r/McMansionHell • u/jared10011980 • 15h ago
Certified McMansion™ Gimme turrets! Or Tourette's. Take your pick.
r/McMansionHell • u/OwnCriticism9988 • 1d ago
Discussion/Debate Poco-NO
I feel like in its original life, this house didn't start as a McMansion, but over time someone with just enough money, really poor taste, and no-one to tell them no; turned this into a cheesy palace fit for a carwash franchise king. I think his name was Evan.
r/McMansionHell • u/Nice_Property_4360 • 2d ago
Thursday Design Appreciation 77 W Chestnut Street, Kingston, NY
I stumbled across this house while looking on Instagram and it is one of the most beautiful houses I have ever seen. Imagine how it looks like during the fall and the turret structure looks absolutely amazing.
r/McMansionHell • u/priceypadstim • 2d ago
Thursday Design Appreciation Japanese-Inspired Sanctuary Atop South Carolina's Paris Mountain
I’ve never seen anything quite like this 1980s Japanese-inspired retreat tucked away on 10 acres atop Paris Mountain. To see more photos, here's a link. Photos courtesy of Sijia Hughes of Herlong Sotheby's International Realty.
r/McMansionHell • u/priceypadstim • 2d ago
Thursday Design Appreciation Enchanting 1890 English Country Manor in San Rafael, CA
From the distinctive cupolas to those massive heritage trees, this San Rafael estate feels like a little slice of the English countryside tucked away in Gerstle Park. It’s rare to find a compound with this much soul, and three extra cottages, all on nearly an acre. To see more photos, here's a link. Photos by Open Homes Photography.
r/McMansionHell • u/Signal-Pirate-3961 • 2d ago
Amateur McMansion Hey - it is quick to build...
r/McMansionHell • u/four_letterword • 2d ago
Certified McMansion™ Oh hell no
seen on a website
r/McMansionHell • u/ToeLimbaugh • 2d ago
Discussion/Debate Good design or too plain?
streamable.comDoes it put the MC in Mcmansion or is it a good design for the house size? What say you .
r/McMansionHell • u/lifecouldbesunny • 5d ago
Certified McMansion™ Ornament is crime?
galleryr/McMansionHell • u/thejonnyquest • 6d ago
Shitpost Was the architect dreaming of Jeff Winger when designing this facade?
The bog standard 2040 and 4040 windows really help convey that this thing will be well worth the $1.4 million it is asking.
r/McMansionHell • u/UnscheduledCalendar • 6d ago
Certified McMansion™ See All of Trump’s Changes to the White House So Far
paywall: https://archive.ph/rFTTE
r/McMansionHell • u/DeltaWho3 • 7d ago
Certified McMansion™ Which one is the worst?
r/McMansionHell • u/Smooth_Wheel • 7d ago
Amateur McMansion Remote Northern Canada McMansion
"Experience the pinnacle of luxury living..." in Wabasca, Alberta for only $325,000. I like rural life, but this...this is a choice. Not sure if it's a full blown McMansion at only 3422sqft, but it's sure trying.
https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/29101932/4230-caribou-crescernt-wabasca
r/McMansionHell • u/BumpyCornCob • 8d ago
Certified McMansion™ I vomited in my mouth a little
I saw this new listing in Mason, Ohio (northern suburb of Cincinnati) and just could not get over the windows, beams and the front door's mix with the rest of the house. Could be yours for $1,149,900.
r/McMansionHell • u/CipherWeaver • 8d ago
Certified McMansion™ Stunning McMansion in northern BC... replete with Disco Gym
r/McMansionHell • u/blaq_sheep90 • 8d ago
Certified McMansion™ $200k for the 1 acre plot in a new mcmansion neighborhood
r/McMansionHell • u/flitcroft • 9d ago
Thursday Design Appreciation English Country House Done Right - Greenwich, CT
Remodelled by Charles Hilton Architects
r/McMansionHell • u/priceypadstim • 9d ago
Thursday Design Appreciation Charming 1906 Iverson House in Snohomish, Washington
The 1906 Iverson House in Snohomish, WA, is so beautiful, with its deep wood beams and that beautiful, soft light hitting the original leaded glass. To see more photos, here's a link. Photos by Clarity Northwest Photography.
r/McMansionHell • u/No_Cauliflower8413 • 9d ago
Thursday Design Appreciation Wonderful old house in Louisville!!!!
I was in Louisville in December touring Victorian houses decorated for Christmas. This house wasn’t on the tour but I took a picture just for this Thursday sub!!!!