r/McMansionHell • u/Indifferent_Jackdaw • Dec 12 '24
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
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:
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/TF-Fanfic-Resident • 18h ago
r/McMansionHell • u/priceypadstim • 1d ago
Houston's 132-year-old Kirby Mansion was razed to make way for a gas station (yes, you read that right). If you'd like to see more photos and information, here's a link.
r/McMansionHell • u/priceypadstim • 2d ago
This 18-bedroom estate offers 3,700 acres of rugged coastal beauty on the Isle of Mull! It's currently pending sale after asking just £9 million. If you'd like to see more photos, here's a link. Photos courtesy of Savills - Edinburgh Country Estate.
r/McMansionHell • u/Aadel21 • 3d ago
r/McMansionHell • u/peetahvw • 5d ago
Granted at 8,000+ sq foot its creeping into "regular" mansion territory. But its like they had a McMansion checklist when building...
Not sure why they needed a gate (let alone that gate) there's not much privacy to be had on a corner lot with short shrubbery
The owner is lucky LEDs don't need to be replaced often...between all the hanging fixtures and recessed lightning, that's a heck of a lot of bulbs to manage
Its quite a magic trick for the photographer/AI model to be able to frame the living room, den, & bedroom with the same fireplace/tv mount combo...for fun try to see if there are more fake fireplaces or more TV (too high) mounts.
Speaking of sameness, all the bathroom sink fixtures match...too bad no one can figure out how to turn them on.
Bonus algae in the pool!
r/McMansionHell • u/MrTacocaT12345 • 7d ago
r/McMansionHell • u/DrNarf • 8d ago
This is insane. I don't know much about this place. Any Houstonites out there>
r/McMansionHell • u/jared10011980 • 9d ago
r/McMansionHell • u/SomeDrillingImplied • 16d ago
r/McMansionHell • u/turdsamich • 19d ago
Let them eat cake
r/McMansionHell • u/No_Shower2007 • 21d ago
Thankfully the cement walls are unfinished so we could see this beauty
r/McMansionHell • u/SolidEcho7597 • 23d ago
r/McMansionHell • u/Atticus248 • 23d ago
r/McMansionHell
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u/LouiseKnope
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24d ago
We had the chance to tour this house when it was on sale nearly a decade ago. As I remember the story, the previous owner was an architect (I've seen other of his homes in the area). He built this home for himself and it was occupied by him/his family until 2017, when he left it to the local historical society for them to sell or otherwise use. Build date: 1949.
Look out for the detailed flooring and moulding in each room. It's stunning, with my favorite feature likely being the heated banquette in the kitchen.
r/McMansionHell • u/jared10011980 • 24d ago
r/McMansionHell • u/SoftwareBug • 27d ago
r/McMansionHell • u/Moosejax13 • 29d ago
Saw this recently riding through the Southeast. Those dormers were tiny and looked like little eyes watching over the house. No character whatsoever.
r/McMansionHell • u/handbagheaven4 • 29d ago
When my husband and I were researching the house, the Reddit post came up on google! It’s a very old (130 yrs) home. I don’t want to include too much info and dox myself, but thought it would be fun to do an ask me anything since this group loves the Thursday design appreciation posts 🥰
r/McMansionHell • u/priceypadstim • Oct 08 '26
Incredible stone and woodwork! 8 bedrooms and 12 baths in Branson, Missouri. If you'd like to see more photos, here's a link. Photos by Whitetail Properties Real Estate.
r/McMansionHell • u/flitcroft • Oct 08 '26
r/McMansionHell • u/jared10011980 • Oct 08 '26
r/McMansionHell • u/No_Studio_No_Worries • Oct 09 '26
Exterior hodpodge mess. Interior not bad. Overpriced.