Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To OP- I live in the city in a home I am sure you would love. I also do not like all of the above mentioned. Refused to leave the city, or get a larger home while sacrificing my style. All that said, I have many friends and family living in large homes (McMansion style) for their own reasons. I consider myself lucky to be able to get what I wanted. I also understand why others want something different- more kids- more yard- more from public schools.
I was wondering why you would post, in my opinion, a post that is all about what you hate... and very insulting to a lot of people. Many people in this area have no chioce if they want a house in a safe area, enough rooms for each kid, a yard, and a good public school. When I read your post, the first thought I had was this lady is not happy with her choices, and needs to put everyone else down to prove why her posibble smaller home is still better. Who cares so much about everyone else? I tell my husband what I hate in homes, but feel no need to post it. And have evryone else validate me. In fact, I just think you are an abnoxious b****.

Easy to answer...BTW, I live in the suburbs, don't ever go into DC.
The answer is that I would like to bring some sort of awareness. Maybe, people will start to take a closer look at details and start to ask the contractors to do it right, rather than big.

You make a lot of silly assumptions, like that our McMansion was not built "right" just because it's big. We took part in designing our house from the start. We worked with the builder to do things the way we wanted it...and for us, the "right" way. I also put in the contract that I had two times, once BEFORE the walls went up and once at the final walk-through that I could bring a contractor that I hired on the side to do the walk though and look for issues. This contractor was the contractor that my insurance company had assigned in my last home when I a major disaster that required about 75% of the house to be rebuilt. So, I hired that general contractor to come out, do the walk-throughs, flag anything that he thought needed to be addressed. He actually said that he was quite impressed with a lot of the workmanship. He told us to take photos of all of the walls before the drywall went up. He caught a handful of issues (all small), that he had the builder address, and they did. So, while you may not like a McMansion, just the fact that it *IS* a McMansion does not mean that it was built big and poorly. Some of us took special pains to get big and well built. The style of the house, whether big and modern, or small and artsy/with character dose not determine the quality of the construction. The two are completely independent. I've seen many a small hosue with "character" that have been poorly constructed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To OP- I live in the city in a home I am sure you would love. I also do not like all of the above mentioned. Refused to leave the city, or get a larger home while sacrificing my style. All that said, I have many friends and family living in large homes (McMansion style) for their own reasons. I consider myself lucky to be able to get what I wanted. I also understand why others want something different- more kids- more yard- more from public schools.
I was wondering why you would post, in my opinion, a post that is all about what you hate... and very insulting to a lot of people. Many people in this area have no chioce if they want a house in a safe area, enough rooms for each kid, a yard, and a good public school. When I read your post, the first thought I had was this lady is not happy with her choices, and needs to put everyone else down to prove why her posibble smaller home is still better. Who cares so much about everyone else? I tell my husband what I hate in homes, but feel no need to post it. And have evryone else validate me. In fact, I just think you are an abnoxious b****.

Easy to answer...BTW, I live in the suburbs, don't ever go into DC.
The answer is that I would like to bring some sort of awareness. Maybe, people will start to take a closer look at details and start to ask the contractors to do it right, rather than big.

To the poster one above, I agree with you. To the immediate PP, I would add that it's pretty obnoxious that you appointed yourself the arbiter of style and architectural rightness to the point where you would like to raise awareness about how things should be according to you. For every feature that you hate, there is a family for which it works. You are entitled to your opinion, not to remaking of the world in your mold.

Not so, on these forums each person usually adds their preferences. If I were a builder, I would read it. I am sure that there are formal surveys too.

Anonymous wrote:No they need to live independently, renting an apartment or room in a group house with other independent young people.

Geez -- this is why my sister's 24 y/o is happily working part time, living at home and spending every weekend partying. No motivation to grow up.

Well that's what your sister gets for enabling her daughter like that instead of charging her rent/assigning her a utility to pay for and setting a timetable for her to move out into her own place.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To OP- I live in the city in a home I am sure you would love. I also do not like all of the above mentioned. Refused to leave the city, or get a larger home while sacrificing my style. All that said, I have many friends and family living in large homes (McMansion style) for their own reasons. I consider myself lucky to be able to get what I wanted. I also understand why others want something different- more kids- more yard- more from public schools.
I was wondering why you would post, in my opinion, a post that is all about what you hate... and very insulting to a lot of people. Many people in this area have no chioce if they want a house in a safe area, enough rooms for each kid, a yard, and a good public school. When I read your post, the first thought I had was this lady is not happy with her choices, and needs to put everyone else down to prove why her posibble smaller home is still better. Who cares so much about everyone else? I tell my husband what I hate in homes, but feel no need to post it. And have evryone else validate me. In fact, I just think you are an abnoxious b****.

Easy to answer...BTW, I live in the suburbs, don't ever go into DC.
The answer is that I would like to bring some sort of awareness. Maybe, people will start to take a closer look at details and start to ask the contractors to do it right, rather than big.

To the poster one above, I agree with you. To the immediate PP, I would add that it's pretty obnoxious that you appointed yourself the arbiter of style and architectural rightness to the point where you would like to raise awareness about how things should be according to you. For every feature that you hate, there is a family for which it works. You are entitled to your opinion, not to remaking of the world in your mold.

Anonymous wrote:

Easy to answer...BTW, I live in the suburbs, don't ever go into DC.
The answer is that I would like to bring some sort of awareness. Maybe, people will start to take a closer look at details and start to ask the contractors to do it right, rather than big.

The only awareness that you are bringing to the table is of your own design preferences and insecurities.

You are not important enough to convince people to follow your lead. Sorry.

Anonymous wrote:No they need to live independently, renting an apartment or room in a group house with other independent young people.

Geez -- this is why my sister's 24 y/o is happily working part time, living at home and spending every weekend partying. No motivation to grow up.

agree.

Anonymous wrote:To OP- I live in the city in a home I am sure you would love. I also do not like all of the above mentioned. Refused to leave the city, or get a larger home while sacrificing my style. All that said, I have many friends and family living in large homes (McMansion style) for their own reasons. I consider myself lucky to be able to get what I wanted. I also understand why others want something different- more kids- more yard- more from public schools.
I was wondering why you would post, in my opinion, a post that is all about what you hate... and very insulting to a lot of people. Many people in this area have no chioce if they want a house in a safe area, enough rooms for each kid, a yard, and a good public school. When I read your post, the first thought I had was this lady is not happy with her choices, and needs to put everyone else down to prove why her posibble smaller home is still better. Who cares so much about everyone else? I tell my husband what I hate in homes, but feel no need to post it. And have evryone else validate me. In fact, I just think you are an abnoxious b****.

Easy to answer...BTW, I live in the suburbs, don't ever go into DC.
The answer is that I would like to bring some sort of awareness. Maybe, people will start to take a closer look at details and start to ask the contractors to do it right, rather than big.

To OP- I live in the city in a home I am sure you would love. I also do not like all of the above mentioned. Refused to leave the city, or get a larger home while sacrificing my style. All that said, I have many friends and family living in large homes (McMansion style) for their own reasons. I consider myself lucky to be able to get what I wanted. I also understand why others want something different- more kids- more yard- more from public schools.
I was wondering why you would post, in my opinion, a post that is all about what you hate... and very insulting to a lot of people. Many people in this area have no chioce if they want a house in a safe area, enough rooms for each kid, a yard, and a good public school. When I read your post, the first thought I had was this lady is not happy with her choices, and needs to put everyone else down to prove why her posibble smaller home is still better. Who cares so much about everyone else? I tell my husband what I hate in homes, but feel no need to post it. And have evryone else validate me. In fact, I just think you are an abnoxious b****.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure that most families want a two story entrance. The builders are doing less of that now because there is less demand for it. I for one do not want a MBR that dwarfs the rest of the bedrooms.

ditto. I see 2-story foyer and think that it is a waste of space and an energy suck. And it bugs me to no end when the Master bedroom is gigantic and the other bedrooms could double as closets.

It can seem like the children are an after thought...like "when you outgrow this tiny room, please leave".

No, it's that the children don't play in their bedrooms. No biggie. And I love my large master bedroom/sitting room combo.

What happens when they become teens, or god forbid, 22 year olds are living at home (gasp)? Those rooms are so tiny that no adult sized person could stay there. If I want to have my mother live with me, there are few homes wit good sized bedrooms other than the gargantuan MBR.

Make an inlaw suite in the basement with kitchen.

I guess if you want your "too infirm to live alone" elderly mother's stay to be brief, you can make her go up and down a flight of stairs several times a day in the hope that she falls and breaks her hip!

Anonymous wrote:Columns. I hate columns. Especially the ones that are two stories high. I really, really hate columns.

ITA! Hate the tiny ridiculous ones inside, hate the unbalanced ridiculous ones outside. Always expect the owner to walk out wearing a bed sheet that passes for a toga in front of his mish-mash wanna be Roman abode.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to hate split levels until I moved into one. And brick. And vinyl siding. Guess what? We weren't going to find a house we could afford in a neighborhood we liked around here that wasn't a rambler or split-level, and half-brick / half-vinyl.

Turns out split-levels are super functional. Who knew? And when I drive through my neighborhood these days, I think "what a nice place to live" instead of "these houses are all so ugly".

I still really hate the decorative glass plating on our front door though

Agree, this is the general consensus if you want to live in a good area and aren't a millionaire you will need to live in an older uglier house than a newer nice looking McMansion.

I agree about the livability of a split. When we moved to the area, I said no way did I want a split. Well, fell in love with my neighborhood and my brick split level (with fake shutters -- eek!). I find the split very livable, especially with kids. Not too many stairs up or down. Au Pair bedroom and bath on the lower level away from the rest of the family bedrooms for privacy (hers and ours), yet still on the street level so she has full windows, a legal exit and daylight. It couldn't be better.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the subliminal message I want to give. Once you are an adult, I expect you to go to college, and only come back to live with me while you are finding a job. I have no desire to make my kids so comfortable that they will never want to leave.

Gasp away.

I feel the same way, and I am the original closet-sized room poster. But I'm not specifically purchasing a house with dinky secondary rooms with that intent - I hope my kid understands that she needs to go to college and hopefully NOT come back after that. Not that I wouldn't let her, just hope that she thinks of it as a last resort.

And this has a lot to do with the real estate mess that we are in. Young people buying homes when they really needed to live at home longer and save more money before buying. It must be a cultural thing.

who said anything about buying a home right out of college? Renting is perfectly acceptable, as are roommates. There is a big middle ground here.

No they need to live independently, renting an apartment or room in a group house with other independent young people.

Geez -- this is why my sister's 24 y/o is happily working part time, living at home and spending every weekend partying. No motivation to grow up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the subliminal message I want to give. Once you are an adult, I expect you to go to college, and only come back to live with me while you are finding a job. I have no desire to make my kids so comfortable that they will never want to leave.

Gasp away.

I feel the same way, and I am the original closet-sized room poster. But I'm not specifically purchasing a house with dinky secondary rooms with that intent - I hope my kid understands that she needs to go to college and hopefully NOT come back after that. Not that I wouldn't let her, just hope that she thinks of it as a last resort.

And this has a lot to do with the real estate mess that we are in. Young people buying homes when they really needed to live at home longer and save more money before buying. It must be a cultural thing.

Anonymous wrote:This is the subliminal message I want to give. Once you are an adult, I expect you to go to college, and only come back to live with me while you are finding a job. I have no desire to make my kids so comfortable that they will never want to leave.

Gasp away.

I feel the same way, and I am the original closet-sized room poster. But I'm not specifically purchasing a house with dinky secondary rooms with that intent - I hope my kid understands that she needs to go to college and hopefully NOT come back after that. Not that I wouldn't let her, just hope that she thinks of it as a last resort.