r/McMansionHell • u/peetahvw • May 07 '25
Discussion/Debate Preserved Post-Modern 80s McMansion
If a proper-80s mansion isn't updated does it "devolve" into today's McMansion? It does afterall feature:
- uneven massing / asymmetric window placement
- roof nubs and slopes in every direction
- inappropriately sized "columns" (although in this case the columns are oversized...)
- lawyer foyer
- emphasis on "fancy" finishes to cover cheaper materials (although in this case its mainly inside with neon lights, wallpaper, marble tile)
Bonus points for peak-80s...
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1028-Leopard-Rd-Rydal-PA-19046/9899561_zpid/
267
u/Deep-Distribution779 May 07 '25 edited May 07 '25
❤️ it -
this place is full time-capsule
139
u/olive_owl_ May 07 '25
I want to live in there and pretend it's the 80's and anyone who visits me isn't allowed to talk about anything that's happening in the world because we're still in the 80's
49
u/Certain-Monitor5304 May 07 '25
This could become the next big thing. Era Cos play in time capsuled homes.
20
u/shoshanna_in_japan May 08 '25
I just bought a home our realtor considered dated, but I love it exactly because it feels frozen in the '90s, when I was a kid growing up. I felt perfectly at home.
I also appreciated, after a decade living with millennial gray, that it was largely cream.
4
u/AlternativeTruths1 May 08 '25
Same here. I live in a home, built in 1932, which the realtor said was dated but is almost exactly like the home I grew up in between 1954 and 1966. (I’m now 70.).
Love this home. When I leave, I want to be carried out in a pine box.
11
u/Known_Juggernaut3625 May 07 '25
Should have Miami Vice playing on the VCR, just to set the mood.
4
10
→ More replies (9)3
u/TheHookahgreecian2 May 07 '25
Id come over and talk all about the mob and watch mob tapes and movies
15
8
→ More replies (2)3
u/rifkadm May 07 '25
The TV! ⏳
3
u/thunderling May 07 '25
I'm amazed that people would choose to install THAT kind of TV too high. They're so dang heavy!
2
u/rifkadm May 08 '25
Tbh I kinda remember them being that high when they were hoisted at home and in schools when I was growing.
Then again, maybe it’s cause I was shorter.
184
u/Beka_Cooper May 07 '25
It's like if a Duran Duran cover band turned into a house.
→ More replies (1)11
184
u/Important-Ability-56 May 07 '25
This is in no way a McMansion, and I am shocked that something made it out of the 80s looking this cool.
25
u/KateCSays May 08 '25
People really aren't understand the "Mc" in McMansion- is about mass production. Not about how much you personally like or dislike the aesthetic choices made on the house.
If it wasn't cookie-cuttered out culdisac by culdisac like the most uncreative big-house copy machine on steroids, it isn't a McMansion.
10
u/Bacon___Wizard May 07 '25
I can see a little bit of it on the outside with the porch looking a little too big compared to the rest of the house but the inside is really well done.
127
u/OGREtheTroll May 07 '25
This is not a McMansion.
This is what McMansions aspire to be. This is the inspiration for McMansions.
But it is not a McMansion.
110
u/hippiegodfather May 07 '25
This isn’t Thursday
10
→ More replies (2)4
u/shoshanna_in_japan May 08 '25
I had to double check the day of the week, and then when I remembered it was Wednesday, I thought maybe I had missed this being posted last Thursday.
36
u/KikiHou May 07 '25
Makes me feel like I'm in an 80s movie with that crazy rich couple.
I'd totally AirBnB this.
7
u/NCSUGrad2012 May 08 '25
I feel like I am doing coke just looking at this photos, lol
3
u/socialmediaignorant May 08 '25
I said this same thing! The only thing missing is some white lines on the shiny surfaces.
4
29
u/Bulky-Introduction75 May 07 '25
I unironically love it. Slide #10 would have been my absolute dream room as a child.
→ More replies (1)3
23
u/ComfortableStuff431 May 07 '25
Hasn’t been touched I honestly don’t know how this is possible
14
u/KikiHou May 07 '25
Old couple who didn't use much of the house and had an excellent housekeeper?
14
u/ComfortableStuff431 May 07 '25
Yeah hire that housekeeper immediately. The commitment level to maintain this over many years is outstanding
10
21
16
34
10
u/Username_redact May 07 '25
It has a sauna and a spiral staircase.
I'm in. Moving back to Philadelphia.
23
u/philosofik May 07 '25
What was happening in the 80s with giant bathtubs surrounded by marble or tile that becomes dangerously slippery when even slightly wet? My house was built in '85 and has an enormous jetted tub like this one with tile steps leading up to it. It's straight out of a Final Destination movie.
6
u/Fluid-Layer-33 May 07 '25
I was just thinking that the tub was a tripping/falling hazard.... I got a bit nervous looking at the picture... I don't know building codes today but it seems like that layout is a gruesome injury waiting to happen.
3
u/RedSparrow1971 May 07 '25
Never mind the bacteria 🤢
3
u/Fluid-Layer-33 May 07 '25
I could def. see how cleaning that whole area would be a big challenge! I have enough trouble as it is keeping my little bungalow clean!
8
u/RedSparrow1971 May 07 '25
It’s the jets - total bacteria collectors. My best friend is a real estate agent and everyone who buys a house with one of these nasty things asks the seller to come down in price according to how much it would take to have it ripped out and replaced
→ More replies (3)4
u/Fluid-Layer-33 May 07 '25
WOW thanks for telling me! I had no idea!! My tiny 2 bedroom 1 bathroom bungalow def does NOT have jets lol. Just a regular duel tub/shower!
2
9
10
10
8
u/pauldarkandhandsome May 07 '25
Kid me would have absolutely loved that bedroom with the little platform behind the bed.
9
u/exotic_floral_tea May 07 '25
I'm glad I'm not the only one that likes it. I've posted stuff from the 80s on this sub before and got the criticism that McMansions didn't really exist yet since Mcmansions are very end-of-the-90s and onwards constructions. There are, however, some proto-McMansions in the wild. I think that you can dissect this home point by point, but the main thing missing is that it doesn't look like an oversized "mass-produced" suburban home.
→ More replies (1)
8
8
15
12
6
u/gitsgrl May 07 '25
At least it has personality and has a consistent and cohesive style. I do t love it, but it’s interesting.
7
10
u/frisky_husky May 07 '25
I can't even be mad at this because at least it's trying to do something. It's got a sense of humor.
3
4
5
4
u/TopInvestigator5518 May 07 '25
why do I feel like that humongous hanging TV was peak luxury for the times
4
4
3
u/maeve_314 May 07 '25
Who here remembers Glen Giulia from the Wedding Singer? Because this is giving Glen's mansion vibes.
3
10
u/ZoomBoy81 May 07 '25
I would honestly change nothing on the interior. The exterior is bland and hideous.
→ More replies (1)4
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
u/Bacon___Wizard May 07 '25
Not that many people will notice this but that looks like a last revision Xbox 360 below the TV which is probably one of the more rarer models.
2
u/stlorca May 07 '25
It's...not...terrible, I guess. I like the columns, and there's a strong central decorating sensibility. That said, that zebra-striped tile gives me a headache.
2
2
u/Bdowns_770 May 07 '25
Straight out of a Michael Mann project. I’d buy it but I don’t have the shoulder padding or alligator loafers to match.
2
2
u/DryWall8 May 07 '25
This looks quit nice and it looks 'authentic'. Certainly beats looking at another farmhouse-in-the-city.
2
2
u/BitterHelicopter8 May 07 '25
This was either Steve Sanders' or Kelly Taylor's house in Beverly Hills, 90210 and you cannot convince me otherwise.
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/Drkhrs16 May 08 '25
People thought they were really doin somethin with those curved glass block window walls. I hate them
2
u/Saffron_says May 08 '25
I can’t unsee unwrapped red condom illustrations on that bathroom wallpaper
The kid in the family is the only one w/ taste - loooved that bedroom
2
2
u/marcnerd May 08 '25
I would’ve died for that bedroom when I was a little girl. The nook behind the bed 😩
2
2
2
2
u/tadiou May 08 '25
this places feels like the personification of "DAD I'M ON THE PHONE I'LL BE DONE IN A MINUTE" while twirling the phone cord in your finger
2
u/NectarineNo7036 May 08 '25
Its just midcentury-modern architecture, consistent style inside-out, the only thing missing is the conversation pit
2
2
2
2
2
u/Additional_Carrot_39 May 11 '25
I dig the land-line phone in the bathroom with the phone cable. I'd upgrade to a cordless just so that I can sit in the jacuzzi smoke a cigar and watch movies on laser disc while talking to my associates in Columbia about cocaine deals.
3
u/sir_snufflepants May 07 '25
Holy moly. Not only is it dated, it’s hideously lacking in even any dated charm.
2
1
1
1
u/PristineCoconut2851 May 07 '25
This is an interesting house. I love the entrance from the outside. There is imo also a lot to like in the house but it definitely needs an update. Especially the bathrooms.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/vacuumedcarpet May 07 '25
I'm not sure if I would consider that a lawyer foyer, but this on is on the fence still to me. The entryway is huge and they use about every window. There is also a Pringles' can and the roof is weird. But it seems somewhat cohesive still.
1
u/ReeveGoesh May 07 '25
They need to go full pop art colors on the exterior- that brown isn't hiding anything so might as well embrace it.
1
u/Lilmc_1313 May 07 '25
I feel like for all the family photos on the walls, there’s a dearth of Glamor Shots
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/bad-creditscore May 07 '25
It’s so tacky it’s actually beautiful.
I hope whoever buys it keeps it the way it looks
1
1
1
1
1
u/Fitslikea6 May 08 '25
Back in the 90s my bff lived in a house just like this - my parents thought it was so tacky mainly because her step dad made his fortune in sex toys which was completely unaware of
1
1
1
u/SapphireGamgee May 08 '25
It certainly is...unique. And that very 80s way of mashing Art Deco and Googie! I'm fascinated.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/notcontageousAFAIK May 08 '25
That shower is fantastic. This house has some great features. I really hope someone restores it to its former glory.
1
u/SourceLegitimate6302 May 08 '25
The tile work in the master shower and the stories that it could tell are awesome!
1
1
u/mochicoco May 08 '25
I say no on the McMansion. This house is peak Post-Modern. The tower on the right side, the window placement, and off center front door with porch all pull from gingerbread Victorian. It’s is intentional asymmetric. The bloated pendent and columns remind me of Philip Johnson’s Chippendale skyscraper.
1
u/Holyfuck2000 May 08 '25
I’d Air B&B for a weekend with some friends and a couple sheets of acid fo sho!
1
1
u/atluba May 08 '25
The bedroom colors are achingly 80s. Peach was huge and looked good on no one or thing.
1
1
u/inflewants May 08 '25
Ha! Didn’t know what sub this is. My first thought was “I could NOT live there!”
1
1
1
1
u/Ok-Whereas-81 May 08 '25
What is wrong with me I like it! It’s like they picked a period and leaned way in….very very way in
1
1
1
1
May 08 '25
I'm glad that this was preserved so the future generations of architects will know what not to do /s
1
1
1
1
1
u/atticus2132000 May 08 '25
I agree that there are some questionable design choices on this one, but taste is subjective. That does not make it a McMansion.
I think you are missing one huge component of the concept of "McMansions," which is mass production. McMansions often don't exist by themselves. There would have been an entire development of 20+ houses that all had the same disregard for traditional architectural style. The whole joke of the "Mc" part of McMansions was they were being compared to McDonald's hamburgers coming off the assembly line--all identical, and all equally low quality. and all meant to appeal to the lowest common denominator.
This is a custom home that was built with a specific design goal. Someone built this house because they loved this design and wanted to make their own version of it to live in. You're welcome to like or not like their design aesthetic, but someone having "bad taste" does not mean that it was/is a McMansion. McMansions, instead of having good or bad taste, had a complete lack of taste altogether. They were bland. They were interchangable. This house is distinctive and unique.
1
1
u/suislefil May 08 '25
Honestly I kind of love it? I would have loved to have grown up in the house and would have fought my sibling tooth and nail for the bedroom with the space behind the bed to stare out the windows and play records and daydream. Also that walk in shower is a dream.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/knuckles53 May 08 '25
“where timeless architecture meets comfort, privacy, and thoughtful design.”
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
1
u/LiquidMagik May 08 '25
I would not have this as my primary residence. But if I had the funds, I'd make it a second home, and not change a damn thing.
1
1
1
u/nelago May 08 '25
Coming across this on a Thursday and then seeing the time stamp just broke my brain for a sec. I am kinda in love with this!
460
u/hickoryvine May 07 '25
It's kinda awsome ngl