McMansions x Suburban Sprawl = The Absolute Denegration of the American Landscape. Malled/Stripped (SubPrimed + Massed Produced)

eGADS!!!
*** You're really pulling out the soapbox for me - You must know that.***

They're too big, but not because it takes away from a neighborhood charm. The fact is we're running out of room as a species and huge houses are just an unneeded excess.

i dont see the problem with house sizes. If people want it and can afofrd it then why not.......

What ReverendZelda said.

My town is becoming filled with McMansions. The schools can only be made so big. Graduating classes are in the 600's now and it ridiculous. Nobody needs 6 bathrooms and 9 bedrooms.

Houses around my neighborhood are getting HUGE! I personally don't have a real issue with it, but I do miss that neighborhood charm with small or average size houses. I feel like my nice small town neighborhood is getting too crowded.

McMansions are horrible on just about every front - they're cookie cutter and boring, they're *ugly* (it's seriously incomprehensible to me why all these rich people seem to want hideous houses - Tudor styling with Greek columns in front and freakishly stooped roof lines and cheapo plastic siding with cheapo crank windows in the back) and the size just keeps getting more and more absurd (and wasteful!) I'm a big fan of the Sarah Susanka school of architectural thought: her "Not-So-Big" houses aren't necessarily that small, but they're beautifully planned and constructed, a real asset to any neighborhood, whether they're 900 square feet or 4000.

I can understand needing a big house if you have a big family. But since families are pretty small these days, and it's very rare that more than one generation is living in the home, I don't see the need to have such huge houses. I guess some people just like to show off or maybe feel more important if they have a McMansion.

Houses should be designed to fit the community and neighborhood they are in. If they are in a new suburban development and every house is a McMansion, it's not a big deal, but when you tear down a 1920s tiny bungalow and put up a towering modern town home, it shows little regard for neighbors and aesthetics.

I think people should buy what they want but I think all this stuff is just filling voids in peoples life. I live in 1000 square feet with my hubby and 2 daughters. We are happy as clams and esp when the electric bill comes.

OMG!! This is one of my HUGE (pun intended!) pet peeves as they are such a waste of our earth's resources and most likely they have 2 SUVs parked in the 3 car garage to trek through suburbia. ARGH! I hope that these houses float when all the icebergs melt

I've read somewhere that people's esires for big houses exemplify the real truth in society that there's too much excess propagated by cosumerism, materialism and the society's perverted ism---success means acquisition of things. Acquisition of stuff can be a status symbol --telling the whole wold "I am successful"--I have a big house, I have 2 SUV's, I have a nice big lawn and I have this all because I am successful. Actually, there is no problem with having big houses if you have a big family. But is there a point when there are only 3 people living on a 6 bedroom , 6000 sf -house?

This is a hug pet peeve for me. They're ugly, have no charm, a complete waste of natural resourses, and add to suburban sprawl. I cringe everytime I see a farm field turned into 3 houses.

The McMansion is pretty ridiculous, especially when the homeowners spend so much that they don't have enough money to even furnish the home. So ....dumb, really. I'll take my 1920's bungalow with all its charm (original hardwood floors and moldings, beautiful) and low energy costs and stay put. At least I have money left over for furniture and vacations.

I think it's rediculous how big houses are getting. Who needs all that useless space?

if they have the money and aren't harming anyone then whats the problem.

They are harming the environment. These monstrosities take up too much space. Pretty soon they'll be no more open land left.

I will just comment the photo of this article:
Why in the world are you building houses with wood? BLINK
I will never understand why not normal building materials like stone, bricks, concrete blocks, ferro reinforced concrete, something more solid and more fire-resist and hurricane-resist?

Performita - a lot of those options are not available to the average consumer, due to the cost. A better option would be to construct homes using the same materials that commerical buildings use, that being primarly metal.

I'm tired of these huge houses! The worst thing is that the larger houses seem to have smaller and smaller back yards.

I agree with those who say if you need that amount of space to accomodate a large family, then it's ok. But I personally think it's ridiculous to have 203942309482 rooms when only 2-3 people live in the house.

Yes I believe homes are getting to big but at the same time these homes actually add something to the landscape instead of the mundane production building we have embraced here in the midwest. Every house in every neighborhood looks exactly the same until you get to the bigger houses. I agree Studio524 suburban sprawl is a growing issue. Where I live there is no public transportation and the metropolitan area is so spread out it is absolutely necessary to have a car.

My husband is an architect and I think the sizes of new houses are outrageous. This one house he designed, the client's garage was more square feet that our house. That's insane.

i live in a quiet homey neighborhood near West Hollywood. People are tearing down quaint old houses and building monsters that fill the whole lot with house. they don't leave any outdoor space, no yard at all. it's a discrace.

redsugar - couldn't agree more!

I definitely live in the land of giants, and the worst part is that these hideous cookie cutter houses have no yard and cost over $2 million. Screw that crap.

The real problem, as other readers have mentioned, is that these homes take up too many resources--too much land, too many building products, and then when they're built, too much energy and water! Plus a lot of studies are coming out showing how the size of these homes actually erodes the family dynamic, so there are social ramifications as well!

For a really gorgeous take on modern, sustainable design, check out Living Homes: http://www.livinghomes.net/primer.html

They're the first house in the U.S. to get a LEED Platinum designation (that's dork speak for super environmental).

Redsugar and jmarc- I totally agree. We've been looking at new construction but what I constantly find is too huge homes on small lots with no garage or no driveway or no yard. The prices are OUTRAGEOUS (metro DC specifically) and you don't even get the basics. I refuse to look at houses like this. I don't want to worry about cleaning 5 bathrooms and 6 bedrooms!

I think the bigger a house is, the easier it is for people to avoid each other. The point of family is being together, extremely large houses are so impersonal and really take away from the sense of a "family".

Good call SpanishRose...also, building one of these monstro-houses means getting land which is really far away. I'd much rather be closer to the city than in a bigger house.

It just bugs me how on top of eachother these houses are. You look out right into your nieghbors window and the yards surrounding the house are so small, whats the point of having such a huge house on a tiny lot.

If my house has to be big I'd prefer something designed custom with modern architecture which is unique that doesn't look like all the rest of the cookie cutter homes. Big houses on small lots seem to be the trend nowadays and who wants to live 10 feet from their neighbors?

I agree with the majority to some extent, but I don't think that size is the answer to the problem of neighborhoods appearing generic or bland. As a resident of a suburban community, in which houses are all small-to-moderate in size, I still wouldn't deny that mine is a neighborhood completely lacking in character.

In my opinion, the problem is one of entire communities being planned well beforehand, with the same architect's cookie-cutter plans behind streets and streets of homes. If we wanted each house to look distinctive and different, we would need a more organic planning process.

I agree w/ redsugar. I hate it when they tear down quaint historic homes, but I don't have a problem with people building what they want in the appropriate neighborhood. Also, some people want a yard and others don't want to have the maintenance. I don't think one way is right or wrong.

not around san diego! they are building like crazy over here!!! the houses here have smaller rooms and no front yard and a small backyard... then, the streets they are on are so small, you have to make way to other cars when passing... i don't like it

I think it depends on where you live.
Where I am, new houses are not getting bigger they're getting smaller.

Ugh, you've touched a nerve with me here. I hate the houses that are being built now. So big, no one has lawns anymore and everyone's houses are on top of each other. There's just no space.

Yes they definitely are. Houses are becoming to spacey lately. They're nice to look at from the outside, but smaller houses are prettier on the inside.

The size of the house isn't what bothers me so much as the size of the yard. It is nearly impossible to find a new house with any sort of a yard up here in Washington. I saw someone mention that some people like yards, and some people don't... well, they should make some houses with big yards and some without! Not all without like I see up here. I want a place that my kids can go out and throw a ball, have a barbeque with friends, etc... not having a yard for them is sad.

I don't like this trend at all. Who actually need 15 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, 2 kitchens? I mean, it's dumb. Why do you need a showroom kitchen? If you want nice kitchen - clean. People want more, more and more and it's a downward spiral.

I think things should be realistic and not "look at me I have money" ... and than god, I don't live in the Boulder mess. I live about 20 minutes southeast.

I have mixed feelings about the larger houses being built today. While a lot of them are really ugly, I've seen some nice ones. As for more bedrooms than people argument, there are people who work at home (private business, teachers, etc.) and prefer to have a private study as opposed to the living room or kitchen. However, I do agree that the people who build the huge houses and never spend any time in them, or just have the rooms for the sake of having them are wasteful and it is excessive.

they tore down an old playhouse that did productions every summer and put up a development there with $750,000 homes and had the audacity to call it "playhouse village".

I think it's getting ridiculous.

However, it's a free country and a market-based economy, so these developers are filling a need.

It's the new american dream. A huge house on a golf course in a community that lacks individuality in any sense of the word.

KerryG I'm a HUGE fan of the "Not so big House" series also. I love the principle behind that. My BF and I are planning to use those books if we are ever lucky enough to get to design our own space.

some of them are so big and dont even look nice...im not a fan of the trend.

I think houses may be getting too big. You don't need a lot of space to have a nice house. If I had all that money I'd get a home large enough for my family and use the extra money to decorate it very nicely. Landscaping and interior decoration are not cheap and the money you save by building a smaller home could really come in handy to make the home you've always dreamed of.

I get sick of seeing all these new mansions and huge houses going up and wondering who can actually afford them. My husband and I are happy enough with our little house and little slice of land!

well in my old neighborhood all the houses are 3/1 maybe 3/2 and have a decnt backyard but now people are using their whole lot to make a home and two story as well! no wonder property taxes are going up! just because you have the money to build your dream home does not mean it should look like an eyesore with the older homes in your neighborhood- go outside of the city or into a community subdivision.

I have a friend who has 8 children and needs more space than the average family. I think if you have a large family, then go for it, but if you are using your house as a status symbol to boost your sagging ego, then you need to reevaluate. Not only are they wasteful (heating, cooling, maintenance, cleaning) but they also encourage people not to relate to each other. You can get lost in some of those places. I know that a lot of people are in serious debt to keep up that lifestyle. I'm sorry, but I'm just not impressed.

I'm all up for a big house... if you can honestly tell me that you use every room in it! Why have a formal dinning room if you only use it twice a year?