This weekend, Mr. A and I went to a wierd thing called the Parade of Homes. It is where a number of local builders each build one house in a brand spanking new suburban subdivision to showcase their skills. At least that is what I THINK they were supposed to be doing. We decided to go because a) we were kid-free that day and b) I wanted to see if there were any new trends in houses I would want to encorporate into our house someday. (Someday WAY in the future when we finally buy the Forever House).
The houses ranged from 3,500 to over 5,500 square feet. Most of them had additional finished basement space also. Seriously, I have never seen such McMansion insanity.
Mom and Dad no longer just have a Master Bedroom, now they get a Master SUITE. In most houses, not only was the the master bath was bigger than the kids’ rooms, but the master closet (or CLOSETS!) were also usually bigger than normal bedrooms. One house had not one, not two, but THREE master closets. Why? How many clothes to people have now days?
In most of the homes, each and every bedroom had a bathroom. No longer will your children be inconvenienced by walking into the hallway OR by sharing a shower and toilet with a sibling. God forbid the should have to SHARE.
It also seemed as though these houses were designed so the people living in them would never, ever need to bump into each other accidentally. One house had a finished basement with a TV room, a bar/entertaining room with a TV and movie room, all in a row. Now, I love TV as much as the next person, but do you really need three TV viewing rooms all right next to each other? Another house had 7 bathrooms. SEVEN.
While I did see a few things that were interesting (my beloved dream of a soapstone island, outdoor space ideas, etc.), Mr. A and I generally walked away horrified by the waste and excess. I have never been so happy to come home to my little 1,800 square foot cottage. Not to mention how happy I am that I have only 2 bathrooms to clean.
Isn’t it awful? We moved from a city populated with older homes to a southern suburb filled with brand! spanking! new! houses in subdivisions. We are looked at like freaks when we look at model homes and reject some as too large – the realtors are quick to reassure us that they can work out the financing because they assume we think they are too expensive. And with all of the rooms and suites I’m usually very sad by the secondary bedrooms. My kids would end up in 10×10 boxes while we have this huge room – they will spend more time in their rooms as they get older than I spend in mine.
I only have one bathroom in my house and it IS TINY!
Well, it is an old house, built in 1914 and in those days people didn’t even have indoor toilets in the UK! The bathroom was obv. added by chopping the smaller bedroom in half.
We managed though!
I could not agree more, it’s ridiculous! Some people look at you as though you are nuts if you tell them you don’t WANT a house of that size. Really, I love my small, 1300 sq. feet home. It’s easy to maintain (financially and otherwise) and I feel more compelled to get out and experience the world instead of staying holed up in my ridiculous house.
I miss the charm of older homes. New houses, what they offer in amenities they lack in personality.
We are moving (or anyway trying to move, if we ever sell our house) from a large home to a smaller one. It has less to do with finances than with the waste of resources you describe. We have a huge finished basement we never use. But at least the kids share a bathroom!
We might be in the minority. I remember how horrified most women were when we let go of our big house (not huge…just bigger) and moved into a smaller one.
I too have issues w/ the waste of resources. W/ all the money spent on these huge houses (where most of the time three or four people live…so is not like they are housing several generations of people) smaller greener houses could be built (it’s expensive but if you scale the size of the houses down it’s doable)…problem is…manufacturers know damn well that their purchasing target prefers big, bigger and biggest…sigh…so sad.
We are back in a bigger house but will be renting it and getting a smaller one (husband’s future job will require we move…again!) and just about everyone I mention this to wonders “why?” – We happen to like smaller homes too and bumping into one another!LOL
I think that the house we bought last year sat on the market for a couple of months because the childrens’ bedrooms did not have attached bathrooms. Our home is relatively large and I guess in this size house, most people expect each room to have its own bathroom. My view is that as it is, the kids will have their own bedrooms, something I certainly didn’t have as a kid, that I want them to at least share a bathroom with each other!! I do love having a bathroom attached to the master bedroom though…that I’m not in a hurry to give up!lol Some of the houses we saw on our search were ridiculous though…some had elevators, 8+ bathrooms, ridiculously large and equipped spas and theaters, etc. etc. I love open houses though so always fun to see although I wouldn’t want to live in some of them.
I can’t imagine who they are marketing to here in our little corner of the world. Your house is WAY cuter than any cookie cutter monstrosity.
I always get grief from my family back in Kansas about the cost of housing here in the Northwest. I live in a smallish, 2 bathroom, 3 bedroom 1800 sq. foot home with no basement. My children share a large room and by next year, 3 kids will be in that room.
When I went home to Kansas, I looked at a row of open houses in my family’s neighborhood one day and they were as you describe. Every bedroom with an attached bathroom. The master with an attached “retreat” room. The kitchen with a hearth room. I observed that there are so many places just to SIT. TV room, movie room, family room, hearth room, retreat, loft, outside deck, outside patio, etc. I guess when you live in the Kansas suburbs, you need several nice places to SIT in your house because there is nothing else to DO in the whole city. Not too much motivation to go out besides going to Big Box stores and getting more stuff for your house.
Not that we don’t have these McMansions on the west coast, we do. But they are not the norm. Most people use their houses to sleep and then get out and enjoy the outdoors or city or culture or whatever. It is just a different mindset, I guess.
I’m sorry to say that my oldest brother builds those things not far from where y’all live. He may have even been responsible for one of those that you saw. Their own house has a master suite WING that is larger than the entire main floor of our house. Then there are 4 bedroom suites (bedroom, sitting room, bathroom), several large ‘common rooms’, a huge kitchen with (I think) 3 ovens and a fully finished basement with weight room, bar, tv room, extra bedroom and god only knows what else. Plus the outdoor space. Oh and did I mention all of their kids have already left home? Yeah. All that space and 2 people. Once I tried to engage him in a conversation about the “not so big house” idea – small, functional spaces with clean lines and renewable resources. He looked at me as if I had totally lost my mind (not the first time). Talk about depressing…..
WOW, or phew! Just thinking about how excessive and unreasonable these houses sound makes me tired (and depressed). Wow… Thanks for sharing…
I am too cautious to get a Mcmansion. The real estate meltdown, increasing energy costs, the hassle of taking care of more, the fact we end up in the same room most of the time regardless make me reluctant to go really big. Eventually as we start a family probably we will have to sell our little house and go somewhat larger, but not the mansions I see when I stroll around my neighborhood.
I have a student who lives in a house like that and he is a lonely little guy.