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McMansion
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McMansion is a pejorative term coined by New York environmentalist Jay Westervelt to describe a particular type of housing that is constructed in an assembly line fashion reminiscent of food production at McDonald's fast food restaurants. The term is one of many McWords.
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McMansion is a pejorative term coined by New York environmentalist Jay Westervelt to describe a particular type of housing that is constructed in an assembly line fashion reminiscent of food production at McDonald's fast food restaurants. The term is one of many McWords. A McMansion often denotes a home with a larger footprint than a median home, an indistinct architectural style similar to others nearby, and is often located in a newer, larger subdivision or replaces an existing, smaller structure in an older neighborhood.
A McMansion is a house with a floor area of between in size, often on small lots (the house itself often covering a larger portion of the land than the yard in a more conventional design), in homogeneous communities that are often produced by a developer. Although they are generally large homes, they are mass produced and are not of the caliber of a mansion. Their cost places them in the purchasing range of the upper middle class segment of the population.
The "stunt word" McMansion first appeared in the San Diego Union-Tribune in 1990; it later appeared in the Los Angeles Times and New York Times in 1998.
Origins
Starting in the U.S. stock market boom years of the 1980s, the houses now known as McMansions were a new concept intended to fill a gap between the modest suburban tract home and the upscale custom homes found in gated, waterfront, or golf course communities. Subdivisions comprising McMansions have been developed around such communities, while others are built in pre-existing neighborhoods, either in empty lots or as replacements for torn-down structures.
It has been suggested that their popularity may not be purely based on consumer desires. Adjusted for inflation, in terms of square footage and features, a house in 2006 cost about the same to build as a house in 1970. Therefore, in order to increase profit margins over previous years, builders need to build more expensive houses (more features and square footage) on the same tracts.
Characteristics
McMansions vary greatly in their appearance and layout. While many of the following features are often found among these types of houses, they are not all required in order for a house to be considered a McMansion.
Common features
- Lack of porches: Housing from prior generations, when air conditioning was less common, often had a large porch to escape the daytime heat. Most McMansions eschew porches as being too costly to add because they increase the lot footprint without adding to the total square footage of the house. Moreover, porches create a transitional space between the private (house) and public (street), generally unwelcome in the privacy-oriented culture of the suburbs.
- Formal entrances: Many homes provide a focus for the front elevation such as a grandiose porch or portico.
- Interior: Usually traditional in layout, with reception rooms and kitchen on the ground floor, and sleeping accommodation on the upper floor. The now requisite master bedroom suite is a combination of sleeping area, closets, and private bath. Tertiary rooms, such as studies and game rooms, are usually present. There may be an "in-law" or "en suite" room, consisting of a room with closet and private bath located in the house.
- Floor plans: Large rooms, often in the form of an atrium-style hall which extends upwards through the height of the house and which features a striking staircase, or alternately a "great room" is a highly used feature in construction. The great room is often tall as well and may have a "cathedral" ceiling following the pitch of the roof line, a balcony that serves as part of the upstairs hallway, or both. The great room generally takes one of two forms: it is either an open-plan space that incorporates several uses, or a formal drawing room-style reception area. In the latter case, a formal dining room is often found as a complement.
- Features include: Kitchens, which are generously sized and contain high-tech appliances and features, such as built-in refrigerators with panels that match the kitchen cabinets, multi-burner (5+) professional style ranges, granite counter tops, multiple ovens, or specialized wine-storage refrigerators.
Other characterizations
Many middle-class families have taken on increasing mortgage debt to finance these more luxurious houses.
Developers that sell such homes generally reject the pejorative use of the term "McMansion". They counter criticism by pointing out that they build what people want, they sell quickly, and that they use less land for these dwellings, conserving expensive building lots. "We call them luxury move-up homes," says Rob Parahus, a developer.
Criticism
Size
Even in affluent locations which already have a ready assortment of large houses, the construction of what seems to be too large a house on an existing lot will often draw the ire of neighbors and other local residents. In 2006, for example, a recently built house in Kirkland, WA (an affluent suburb on Seattle's Eastside) stood four feet (1.2 m) away from the neighboring home.
While the average American family has shrunk in size, the average American home has grown. In 1974, the average American single-family home was 1,695 square feet (157 m²); in 2004 it had increased to 2,349 square feet (218 m²). The average family size, on the other hand, has fallen from 3.1 people in 1974 to 2.6 people in 2004.
The larger amount of space in a McMansion means that much of the home's volume is not used as much or as efficiently as the space in a smaller house. Rooms often go infrequently used; this is particularly the case with great rooms and formal dining rooms.
The large, numerous windows that are sometimes used in the great room can result in buildings that are much more expensive to cool and heat, especially if the house has been designed without consideration for its orientation relative to seasonal sun paths or without proper insulation. Large rooms, especially those with high ceilings, are frequently more expensive to heat.
The extra space in a McMansion allows for new and unique uses for rooms in the home. One anomalous report describes a room solely for the family dog, with a special dog shower. The large number of rooms, along with their vastness, sometimes leads critics to complain of conspicuous consumption in furnishing them.
Further reading
- Bernstein, Fred A. The New York Times, October 2, 2005.
- Fletcher, June. . The Wall Street Journal, June 16, 2006.
- Leinberger, Christopher B. The Atlantic Monthly, March 2008.
- Rybczynski, Witold. Slate.com, January 4, 2006
External links
- —Photographs of McMansions in one neighborhood.
- , including the tall hallway with chandelier, Boston.com.
- —Resource for home owners in historic neighborhoods where McMansionism is a threat.
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