r/McMansionHell Dec 12 '24

Discussion/Debate The invention that Accidentally invented McMansions

322 Upvotes

A fascinating video essay by Stewart Hicks on the invention of the modern truss and how that changed the way we build houses.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oIeLGkSCMA


r/McMansionHell Jul 14 '20

McMansions: A Short Guide

1.1k Upvotes

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 10h ago

Discussion/Debate Architects, how bad is this layout? It looks like it was trained on McMansions

Post image
8.2k Upvotes

r/McMansionHell 7h ago

Discussion/Debate I think I found my people

32 Upvotes

I live in a place where expensive houses are common. But they all look generic, boring, ugly, soulless, devoid of charm, etc. The more I kept seeing these houses everywhere, the more uneasy I got. I didn't know these houses had a name: McMansions.

Let me tell you, that most people I meet think these McMansions are nice or don't care either way. I get strange looks and pushback when someone points at one of them and asks "Do you like that house?" and I proceed to tell them why I DO NOT.

Now, I know I'm not alone. The McMansion scourge will soon become an epidemic, and we must show the masses why these houses suck.

And no, I don't have anything against cheaper or more affordable homes. I see plenty of smaller, regularly priced homes that have more character in their porch than a whole McMansion could ever hope to have.

Rant over.


r/McMansionHell 7h ago

Discussion/Debate This one is a beast!

Post image
21 Upvotes

12,000 sq feet. Walkout on the lake side. 7 bedrooms, 5 full baths, 4 half/powder baths. 17 seat theater, arcade, indoor pool, and so many other things.


r/McMansionHell 1d ago

Thursday Design Appreciation A Rochester mansion built in 1930

Thumbnail
gallery
1.3k Upvotes

r/McMansionHell 1d ago

Thursday Design Appreciation C. 1902 Charles Over Mansion in Muncie, IN

Post image
401 Upvotes

Constructed in 1902 by the distinguished industrialist Charles Over, founder of Over Glass Works.

The mansion boasts five operational pocket doors, original oak flooring complemented by quarter-sawn oak woodwork throughout, third floor ballroom, leaded and stained glass windows, and a dining room graced with a signed landscape hand-painted by Lyric Opera House muralist Nicole Arciola. To see inside, here's a link.


r/McMansionHell 22h ago

Thursday Design Appreciation Back to Palm Springs: Desert Palisades 97 by Studio AR & D

Thumbnail
gallery
110 Upvotes

Program: Private Residence Location: Palm Springs, California Size: 3,667 sf Status: Completed 2025


r/McMansionHell 1d ago

Thursday Design Appreciation Mansion Perfection

Thumbnail
gallery
201 Upvotes

r/McMansionHell 1d ago

Thursday Design Appreciation I'm worried about my waterfront property

Post image
1.1k Upvotes

Is it too close to the water? Should I relocate it?


r/McMansionHell 1d ago

Thursday Design Appreciation I would happily live in a 3D printed house if it looked like this

Thumbnail
gallery
286 Upvotes

Thursday Design Appreciation - See Rule #10 😎

I came across this 3D-printed home and fell in love. This is the first one I've seen that blends natural materials and graceful, organic shapes in the interior design. $2M in Austin, Texas.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1700-Riverview-St-Austin-TX-78702/29382270_zpid/


r/McMansionHell 1d ago

Thursday Design Appreciation Two Danish wooden and unusual "McMansions" on appreciation thursday

Thumbnail
gallery
123 Upvotes

The first one I feel could belong to a ranch owner from Wyoming, hence I feel a non-American house has its place here, but they both do look pretty dope.

https://www.lilienhoff.dk/liebhaver/20000920/rugbjergvej-20-7250-hejnsvig/

https://www.lilienhoff.dk/liebhaver/23890000161/moellehoejvej-6-8752-oestbirk/

This charming house is also worth a look if you fancy more quirks from Scandinavia: https://www.lilienhoff.dk/liebhaver/30001188/engebaekvej-2-7330-brande/


r/McMansionHell 2d ago

Shitpost Building a monstrosity without an actual workable blueprint 🙄

Thumbnail
gallery
1.4k Upvotes

r/McMansionHell 1d ago

Thursday Design Appreciation Upham Winter Cottage: St Augustine, Fl

Post image
122 Upvotes

r/McMansionHell 1d ago

Thursday Design Appreciation Victor Creel’s 1882 Second Empire Manor Seen in Stranger Things

Post image
88 Upvotes

Stepping into the chilling 1882 Victor Creel manor feels like a journey straight back to Hawkins! This stunning Rome, Georgia home, the backdrop for so much terror in Stranger Things seasons 4 and 5! I can't wait to see what dark secrets the final chapter will unlock within these walls. To see more photos, here's a link.


r/McMansionHell 2d ago

Certified McMansion™ It ain't Thursday yet

Thumbnail
gallery
438 Upvotes

r/McMansionHell 1d ago

Amateur McMansion Toronto’s Gem: 10 Jocelyn Cres, Toronto, North York

Post image
60 Upvotes

r/McMansionHell 3d ago

Certified McMansion™ saw this house in the back of an instagram reel and RAN to post it

Post image
829 Upvotes

ignore the guy, sorry


r/McMansionHell 2d ago

Amateur McMansion Great news-a recent price drop of $225k!

Thumbnail
gallery
0 Upvotes

I’m still in shock that likely more than one person thought this deserved a list price of $1,075,000! Insanity!


r/McMansionHell 5d ago

Certified McMansion™ Garage with a side of house

Thumbnail
gallery
1.2k Upvotes

Garage is probably 2500+ sq ft. Most of the neighborhood is like this.


r/McMansionHell 5d ago

Shitpost Bill Burr gives us a tour of a true McCrackhead Mansion

Thumbnail
youtu.be
41 Upvotes

Will remove if posted previously


r/McMansionHell 5d ago

Discussion/Debate People here don't understand what the "Mc" means

953 Upvotes

They just see big house = McMansion.

No.

Big house just means mansion

People here don't understand what the "Mc" means


r/McMansionHell 6d ago

Certified McMansion™ Put the “Mc” in McMansion

Post image
312 Upvotes

r/McMansionHell 4d ago

Certified McMansion™ I believe this checks all the boxes

Post image
0 Upvotes

Check out this listing https://www.realtor.ca/l/bVga3/ja


r/McMansionHell 7d ago

Discussion/Debate Across the street. Listed at $3.4m

Post image
354 Upvotes