Fries with that McMansion?

A new behemoth -- what does it say about us?

Today's blog is about something many in our affluent society can relate to -- McMansions. Now, much has been said about how these leviathan manses overshadow neighbors and destroy the character of quaint neighborhoods. I'm in general agreement with that complaint, but I'm actually more interested in the psyche of the typical McMansion purchaser. There are subdivisions in Frisco and McKinney where rows of new McMansions define the whole development -- not merely where a tear-down occurred. I'm too lazy to reach for the latest stats, but the average new house is something like 25% larger than a new home in 1970. At the same time, the average family occupying that house is one person less than in 1970.

I'm a person who has always enjoyed looking at new homes, be it a parade of homes, or a Sunday open house. To me, new homes are more exciting because they offer you all the latest technology and style features. Time was when a house was an inanimate object; now your house will conserve energy, watch for burglars, control sprinklers and heat hot tubs. Fancier ones may adjust your blinds and dim your lights. My only question is why do they need to be so ... incredibly huge? I went to the Frsico Parade of Homes last year, and the homes would all qualify as mansions. Even on relatively cheaper dirt, they were more than $350,000. Here are some of the Frisco features we lacked in 1970:

- home theater
- gift wrap room
- master bedroom sitting area
- master closet, size of small room (some w/ window and wall outlet)
- grand atrium foyers
- hallways that can double as bonus rooms
- laundry rooms with sink, counter, cabinets
- mud room, coming in from heated pool w/ stone & stainless bbq
- Ceilings ranging from 9 to 20 feet for dramatic effect

My own house was built in 1945, so I'm not even up to 1970 standards. My closets are tiny and my visitors must blunder right into my living room -- there is no foyer at all. Imagine the envy I feel toward Frisco. I would only use the gift wrap room one week out of the year -- probably no more wasteful than a 1970 formal living area that was reserved for the Christmas tree and the Avon lady. Even in 1970, we knew how to waste space. The atrium foyer would be useful to someone w/ a teenage daughter -- she can make a grande entrance on prom night. Otherwise, you're heating and cooling a dramatic zone for no special purpose. In fact, most of the above is more to impress than to provide basic comforts. If you entertain a whole lot, or have lots of house guests it might give you some payback. But otherwise, your house, like your giant SUV's, bespeaks an attitude of 'let the others drive a Kia'.

America has turned into a nation of Madame Pompadours and Marie Antoinettes. Who knows when we'll decide that heating and cooling an unused room w/ 20 foot ceilings is wasteful and impractical? I still want a new house some day -- I like the stainless appliances and birchwood cabinets. But I'll forego the features that befit a French autocrat headed for the guillotine. When the revolution comes, I can do w/out the dramatic space or the accompanying drama. I don't really think anyone's headed for a guillotine but my sense of Karma says that grandiosity has a price tag not always visible and not always affixed to the product.