Zillow & the McMansion blog scuffle

[Mergath]

For Quill,

 

My grandparents had a boatslip on this lake across from this house.  As a kid I watched it being constructed while we played at the lake and dreamed of living in it. And hey, it's for sale right now.  Just gotta scrape together a cool $7.8.

 

It looks and sounds romantic, but many of the people in the neighborhood were not please because it is quite a...dramatic...house compared to most in the neighborhood (which is contrary to the way the article portrays the attitude about it).  Weatherby lake itself is a really small lake, so the house REALLY stands out.  And I remember hearing at one point that it was sort of sliding towards the lake so they had to do some fortification.

 

Anyway, it's a neat place.  I think some of my more adventurous relatives did some "self-touring" of the construction site. And the guy did not cheap out on the construction in anyway, so I don't think it falls into the McMansion category even if it is ostentatious.

 

Yeah, I would definitely classify that one as a full-blown mansion. The energy footprint of something like that makes me cringe, but I prefer it to most of the McMansions I've seen. Though people who want to build something like that really should do it on an appropriate-sized lot. If you can't get a big enough lakefront lot to build the home you want, don't buy on a lake. Put in a private pond on a lot somewhere else.

[extendedforecast]

I'm not sure that I would say they are a matter of opinion. Her tone is kind of snarky, for sure.

 

But a lot of what she points out is objectively poor construction, shoddy materials, and even bad design can be more than just opinion. And there is some really interesting historical information about the history of domestic architecture.

It's one thing to critique architectural design. She makes fun of personal design choices like fabrics, furniture, art, etc.

[Mergath]

It's one thing to critique architectural design. She makes fun of personal design choices like fabrics, furniture, art, etc.

 

It seems to me that she makes fun of design choices that are impersonal and look like they were ordered straight from HGTV. Things that no one really loves, but that some people think you have to have to sell a house or to show off to guests. And she makes fun of the really, really outdated stuff, which I think is fair game if someone is trying to sell a house for seven figures. I've never seen a house on there that looked like it was filled with beloved, hand-picked items that took a lifetime to collect.

 

Plus, I crack up every time I see something labeled "an art." :lol:

[eternalsummer]

What I would like is to buy a 70-100 year old house (or one constructed in Exactly The Same Way), in a very particular layout to which I am partial, with two stories and a total sq ft of about 1600-2000, in either a neighborhood with 1/2 acre or right outside a smallish but not dying city with 10 acres, at northern Missouri prices but actually located in Colorado, ideally neither the Western Slope nor the Front Range nor all the way up in the ski towns.

 

Total cost, less than $200,000.  Okay, fairy godmother, go!

 

The very last thing I want, after only maybe a tiny apartment in the inner city of a crime-ridden metropolis, is a McMansion.

[AMJ]

Yeah, what is it with houses having a crazy amount of bathrooms now? Occasionally when I'm bored I look through real estate listings, and there are a ridiculous number of houses that are five bedrooms/six (or more!) bathrooms. Who in their right mind wants six bathrooms???

 

 

Part of it could be "where do we need a toilet and sink" combined with "as long as we are putting a toilet and sink here why not another shower or tub, too, since it's eating up enough space anyway?"

 

I have sketched out a floor plan for an airplane bungalow I think I would actually like to build (though I would need to work with an architect to make it a viable reality).  The master is on the ground floor, as is another room just off the master that is intended to be my office but could also be a nursery for very young children (so neither a wakeful child nor a tending parent must navigate stairs in the middle of their groggy night).  I originally designed in a spacious half-bath (because I'm also planning for accessibility should my knees continue to deteriorate), and since there's an odd bit left over I'm looking at the plan again to see if I can fit a tub in there, too.  A low tub with handheld shower in that bathroom can be handy for bathing small children staying in that nursery/office, and that bathroom can also be the don't-come-in-any-further-take-a-shower-now spot for muddy dogs or people coming in the back door.

 

In my perusals of house plans I have found that often when a house seems to have an excessive number of bathrooms it is because of the areas they are trying to service.  Many houses planned with plenty of entertaining space fit in extra restroom facilities so there are more than one accessible to guests without the guests having to progress to the more private sections of the house.  Some have room suites complete with their own bathrooms for the sake of additional adults also living in the house or visiting.  

 

Basically the number of bathrooms corresponds to the level of privacy desired regarding certain spaces of the house.  The more one wishes to keep company out of certain areas the more one needs to be sure adequate facilities are placed elsewhere.

[AMJ]

What I would like is to buy a 70-100 year old house (or one constructed in Exactly The Same Way), in a very particular layout to which I am partial, with two stories and a total sq ft of about 1600-2000, in either a neighborhood with 1/2 acre or right outside a smallish but not dying city with 10 acres, at northern Missouri prices but actually located in Colorado, ideally neither the Western Slope nor the Front Range nor all the way up in the ski towns.

 

Total cost, less than $200,000.  Okay, fairy godmother, go!

 

The very last thing I want, after only maybe a tiny apartment in the inner city of a crime-ridden metropolis, is a McMansion.

 

 

Look at the small towns on or east of Highway 85, on the plains of Colorado.

[Guest]

Honestly, most new construction is hideous. Around here, they buy corn fields and then plop row after row of treeless, identical houses down. The houses all have giant garage doors that take up the entire front, front doors set waaaay back (why? shouldn't your front door welcome guests?), two-story entries with so fancy lights in the window and brick only on the front. From the backyards, they all look like beige siding-covered boxes. But people buy them left and right so what do I know??

[Guest]

What I would like is to buy a 70-100 year old house (or one constructed in Exactly The Same Way), in a very particular layout to which I am partial, with two stories and a total sq ft of about 1600-2000, in either a neighborhood with 1/2 acre or right outside a smallish but not dying city with 10 acres, at northern Missouri prices but actually located in Colorado, ideally neither the Western Slope nor the Front Range nor all the way up in the ski towns.

 

Total cost, less than $200,000. Okay, fairy godmother, go!

 

The very last thing I want, after only maybe a tiny apartment in the inner city of a crime-ridden metropolis, is a McMansion.

My wants are similar, except there has to be at least one turret room only accessibly by small people, one hidden room, and one passageway for cats. Plus a two-story library with a set of rolling library ladders and a balcony reading nook.

[brehon]

My wants are similar, except there has to be at least one turret room only accessibly by small people, one hidden room, and one passageway for cats. Plus a two-story library with a set of rolling library ladders and a balcony reading nook.

Although I have a favorite architectural style, truly my only dream requirement is the 2 story library (minimum) with the rolling ladders. Bonus points for a nice secluded nook with a tea kettle and a snack stash.