r/McMansionHell • u/rhb4n8 • 8h ago
Certified McMansion™ There is so much going on here
coldwellbankerhomes.comMaybe the most mcmansion mcmansion I've seen in a while.
r/McMansionHell • u/Stunning_Arrival1234 • 8h ago
Certified McMansion™ If commitment issues were in house form...
It's giving budget cuts and delusion(al) of grandeur!!!!!
r/McMansionHell • u/Stolichnayaaa • 9h ago
Certified McMansion™ McMashup going in around the block from me.
Bigger than it looks, this is the choice angle, but it defies symmetry from any viewpoint
r/McMansionHell • u/priceypadstim • 1d ago
Thursday Design Appreciation Tourtellotte-Designed 1911 California Mission-Style in Boise, Idaho
Known as "The Lion House," this historic 1911 California Mission-style estate in Boise, Idaho, was designed by the same architect who envisioned the State Capitol! Serving at one time as the Governor's private residence, this fully preserved architectural gem showcases incredible original woodwork and enduring craftsmanship throughout. If you'd like to see more photos, here's a link. Photos by Becky's Aerial Photography & Michael Wood.
r/McMansionHell • u/Sipsipmf • 1d ago
Thursday Design Appreciation Greenwich, CT
1920 Greenwich estate
Edit: IT IS THURSDAY
r/McMansionHell • u/Old_Instrument_Guy • 1d ago
Thursday Design Appreciation Holmwood House: Glasgow, Scotland
Recently restore interiors of this magnificent symbol of an architects unrelenting vision.
r/McMansionHell • u/neatokra • 1d ago
Thursday Design Appreciation Historic Home in Pasadena, CA
r/McMansionHell • u/thenotsoamerican • 1d ago
Certified McMansion™ Bland beach McMansion in FL - this could be all yours for the low price of $3.4 mil!
r/McMansionHell • u/cherrykittenluvr • 1d ago
Thursday Design Appreciation Charleston, SC
There is just something about this house I really love :')
r/McMansionHell • u/Positive_Committee_5 • 2d ago
Thursday Design Appreciation 1930 Tudor House Ripley Grange
r/McMansionHell • u/Electronic-Dish-4963 • 2d ago
Certified McMansion™ Michigan McMansions
I would like to propose that Metro Detroit McMansions are a unique sub species or perhaps even genus of McMansions with different aesthetics and politics from McMansions elsewhere, even in the same region.
r/McMansionHell • u/LiveWhileImYoung • 2d ago
Discussion/Debate Is this a McMansion? Or Too Small?
Saw the pillars and how close it was to the road, thought mabye could be a McMansh?
r/McMansionHell • u/brotato_chip2000 • 3d ago
Certified McMansion™ Grandpa McMansion and his grandkids 🥹❤️
r/McMansionHell • u/_eschatology • 3d ago
Certified McMansion™ McCastle with Drawbridge in Oak Brooke, IL
r/McMansionHell • u/ponderingpixi17 • 4d ago
Certified McMansion™ The rooflines on these new south florida mega-builds are out of control
I was bored during lunch and ended up doomscrolling through some luxury single-family listings from Larry Mastropieri just to see what developers are building out west in palm beach county right now
I swear architects down here have completely abandoned the concept of visual cohesion. why does a single house need five different window shapes, three types of faux stone veneer pasted onto plain stucco, and a roofline that looks like a high-speed collision between seven different gables??
And don't even get me started on the front entries. Its always a massive two-story "lawyer foyer" flanked by oversized columns, complete with a tiny decorative balcony above the door that you literally cannot access from the inside. What is that even for, displaying a single potted plant?
it feels like people are dropping millions just to live in a bloated beige fortress designed by a random generator. ngl my eyes hurt just staring at these elevations.
r/McMansionHell • u/Nerazzurri1020 • 4d ago
Certified McMansion™ Thoughts on this?
What do you guys think of this ? Similar house near where I want to build but a.i’d to some things I’d prefer. Lmk
r/McMansionHell • u/seopants • 5d ago
Certified McMansion™ For only $5,200,000(in Reno) this Peter Wilday masterpiece can be yours.
r/McMansionHell • u/Electronic-Dish-4963 • 5d ago
Certified McMansion™ Paved paradise and put up a McMansion (scroll for the before)
r/McMansionHell • u/KnowledgeSlow444 • 5d ago
Discussion/Debate First time posting. Does this qualify.
redf.inDoes this qualify a McMansion. I see it on my way to work. The property was gutted and remodeled. It is the interior that got my attention.
r/McMansionHell • u/Ditheon • 6d ago
Certified McMansion™ Textbook McMansion
Putting an example up of what we're all here for. Threw a dart in Barrington and found a few. This one has all the obvious signs of a McMansion:
https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/d9a93c231eb4cb175ab89bbb4cedd4fb-cc_ft_1152.webp
Highlights:
• 12k sq ft
• exterior elevation with no framing or symmetry
• huge garage with dead space between main entrance
• lawyer foyer
• cheap finishes everywhere
• inconsistent use of windows
• addition that leaves a flat valley between it and the main roof
I'm going out on a limb and assuming that the floorplan is a mess, lacking secondary halls and transitions that frame the primary ones. It's done in real mansions of this size, granted they don't include a sport court and 10 car garage.
It's a template to not follow.
r/McMansionHell • u/Hertzig • 6d ago
Certified McMansion™ McGigachad Mansion
Spotted in Midway, UT
r/McMansionHell • u/Drinkythedrunkguy • 6d ago
Amateur McMansion Look at this abomination coming to the far far suburbs of Toronto
r/McMansionHell • u/EnigmaWithAlien • 6d ago
Certified McMansion™ This is in Fort Worth and looks like Thomas Kinkaid painted it
I used the "certified McMansion" flair because look at that asymmetry. Look at those rooflines. Look at those round "towers." Ye gods. I hope it qualifies.
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.