pantsonfire
Drama Llama
Take a step back, evaluate what is important, and enjoy your life with those who you love.
Posts: 6,284 
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Post by pantsonfire on Jul 14, 2022 1:25:47 GMT
^^^ sure feels like TMI to me :/ ETA for clarity (I'm talking about the last post on the previous page). And yes, I'm aware that it is public information. Yeah, it kind of crossed a boundary for me too. I used to read this chatty message board about YT bloggers and some of the posters went all out with info about a few I watch here and there. Made me sick to my stomach that they shared so many private details. And yes, I know the old saying...you put yourself out there blah blah blah. But still... |
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Post by joblackford on Jul 14, 2022 1:35:24 GMT
Just took a look at the link 950nancy sent. How did you find that this house is connected to the H family?! A couple of observations— I can’t imagine wanting to live in a house that size. Just cleaning it would be a deal breaker for me. Why, in a new house that size, is luggage stored in the mechanical room? Wouldn’t you think there’d be a better space to store luggage? The room sizes, though large, seem to be a better scale than the house miss wannabe designer planned in the previous house. Anyway, thanks for the link. Interesting to see how others choose to live. Like in one of the 4(?) walk in closets? maybe in the skiwear closet? or one of the 2 garages bigger than my house? You would think... but maybe the owners were staging them there while the house was for sale, for stash and dash cleaning during showings, or something like that. The cleaning was what I was thinking about too, but I guess when you live in a House of a Certain Caliber you don't worry about how much your cleaning person has to do. My thoughts went to how much echo there would be with so many hard surfaces and such high ceilings. Especially as Gennifer mentioned with big family groups gathering in the kitchen, dining and living rooms, and kids running around the open upstairs spaces. That would drive me crazy. Tall ceilings are impressive, not cozy and comfortable. I would sooner live in the basement, just like I would've preferred to live in her guest house at the old address. I like this house, it has some nice features. |
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Post by refugeepea on Jul 14, 2022 3:32:53 GMT
I thought the entrance art was supposed to represent the crucifixion of Jesus, Gestas and Dismas. Often, the cross with Jesus which is always in the middle is depicted larger than the other two... My brain just immediately went there because of the heavy Mormon presence in Utah, go figure! Mormons avoid imagery with crosses. I have heard in recent years, they aren't as weird about it. I don't know, rules constantly change.
Love being able to ask someone with local knowledge some questions (if you don't mind)... I was checking the climate for Eden and wondering how hard it'd be on someone who'd lived near Peoria for two decades. I guess they'll be able to afford the heating bill for those really tall ceilings so they'll be at least living comfortably inside but her days of going on long walks and treks once November hits are over, right? How long does snowy winter last over there? I'm not that far away, but at a lower elevation, and away from mountains. I wouldn't handle it very well.
I’ve mentioned this before (but maybe not on this thread) but my house is about the same size, and it isn’t actually that uncommon here in Utah. Frankly, many of us have big families, and a lot live nearby. If I get together with just my parents, siblings, and their kids, we easily have 50+ people. My husband’s side is smaller, but still 40+. And this month, alone, I have two get-togethers with my family and one with DH’s, plus another small one with a few of my nieces and nephews… only around 15 for that one. Yeah, I agree. Big homes are quite common here. Also, depending where you live, it can be extremely boring. As mentioned above, that winter blues is a real thing. I'd love a craft room, library, office, movie room.... and the list goes on and on. Personally, I can't travel much, so yeah I'd love for my home to be bigger. With real estate prices going out of control, I know quite a few people who have their adult children living with them while they save up to buy a home.
It can get really uncomfortable in my mom's house. We are probably at the 40+ mark and it's a typical 70's ranch that is maybe 2200 sq feet.
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Post by sleepingbooty on Jul 14, 2022 16:09:40 GMT
Everybody's talking about storage and ceiling heights but are we just going to not mention the terrible floor plan? A place this big has the master bedroom immediately adjacent to the family/living room on the main floor? Are we not using all that McMansion space available to us to create privacy and clear demarcations between common living spaces and bedrooms?  Americans, tell me, is there some secret shortage of architects in your country? What is going on? These are multi-million dollar places. |
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Post by honeypea on Jul 14, 2022 16:44:35 GMT
Americans, tell me, is there some secret shortage of architects in your country? What is going on? These are multi-million dollar places. DIY blogs have been an interest of mine for ages. From what I’ve observed, the more McMansion-y the house, the worse the floor plans get. I’ve seen so many truly WTF layouts. I mean, it really takes a special talent to utilize space so inefficiently as they are prone to do. |
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Post by sleepingbooty on Jul 14, 2022 17:15:38 GMT
Americans, tell me, is there some secret shortage of architects in your country? What is going on? These are multi-million dollar places. DIY blogs have been an interest of mine for ages. From what I’ve observed, the more McMansion-y the house, the worse the floor plans get. I’ve seen so many truly WTF layouts. I mean, it really takes a special talent to utilize space so inefficiently as they are prone to do. Maybe it's a weird rich people flex I don't get because I'm a pleb? "Make it inefficient and incomprehensible to the masses! The moe money, the less rational. Ha, that will show 'em!" |
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Post by Linda on Jul 14, 2022 17:26:57 GMT
I think in some cases - the average person is either buying a already-built house or at most, doing minor (mainly cosmetic) changes to a standard floor plan -but the core design and floorplan is put together by an architect. But the McMansions - people are giving a LOT of their own input not just for the flooring/paint etc...but the design features and the floorplan and they aren't necessarily ...well educated on what works together design-wise (you see many McMansions where they've picked and chosen pieces from many different styles of architecture) or what works well from a practical floor-plan/layout aspect.
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Post by scrappyem on Jul 14, 2022 17:53:26 GMT
I think in some cases - the average person is either buying a already-built house or at most, doing minor (mainly cosmetic) changes to a standard floor plan -but the core design and floorplan is put together by an architect. But the McMansions - people are giving a LOT of their own input not just for the flooring/paint etc...but the design features and the floorplan and they aren't necessarily ...well educated on what works together design-wise (you see many McMansions where they've picked and chosen pieces from many different styles of architecture) or what works well from a practical floor-plan/layout aspect. 100% agree. Having been recently in the housing market, the terrible layouts are everywhere, but it feels like especially in that $1.5-2.5 million range. It's like people are too cheap to hire an actual architect and think they have taste. And to be fair, maybe they do, but there's a reason to hire a professional. I also couldn't get over how cheaply built most of the homes we saw were, even at the very tippy-top of our budget. With all that and the rising interest rates, I was very, very grateful we could drop out and rent a house from family (which is it's own huge privilege). I'm so thankful not to be house poor again in some awful, over priced house. Our tiny rental gets better every day. |
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Post by Linda on Jul 14, 2022 18:08:15 GMT
I'm so thankful not to be house poor again in some awful, over priced house. I am likewise glad that we bought right BEFORE the market went up and out of control - and that we were able to find a house built in 1980 that had NOT had the floorplan altered - with the exception of our living room (and I'm not quite sure how to improve a small room with doors on ALL four wall plus a fireplace and window) the floorplan is very practical and we were deliberately not lookiung for an open/grand room type layout. That said...we are NO WHERE near the million dollar range |
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Post by kmage on Jul 14, 2022 18:19:23 GMT
House of a Certain Caliber This will stay with me until the end of time.  |
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Molly
Junior Member
Posts: 92
Feb 8, 2021 22:49:39 GMT
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Post by Molly on Jul 14, 2022 22:20:07 GMT
Everybody's talking about storage and ceiling heights but are we just going to not mention the terrible floor plan? A place this big has the master bedroom immediately adjacent to the family/living room on the main floor? Are we not using all that McMansion space available to us to create privacy and clear demarcations between common living spaces and bedrooms? Americans, tell me, is there some secret shortage of architects in your country? What is going on? These are multi-million dollar places. I have no answers to this one. It is a good question/observation. I don’t think there’s a lack of architects. I think it matters more to some folks “how it looks” rather than “how it functions. There are many “house hunting” and “home do-over” tv shows. A common comment is “this is so great for entertaining”. We do our fair share of “entertaining”—friends and family over for dinner frequently. But the majority of time in our home is spent preparing family meals, laundry, kids’ school activities, family activities, movie nights, our individual hobbies/activities—gardening, quilting, etc. when we have guests, we might add a leaf or two to our table and pull out some extra chairs. But having frequent guests doesn’t require us to have massive spaces. It gets crowded perhaps, but it is doable. And we aren’t spending extra $$$ to heat/AC space that we do not need most of the time. I’m able to clean our home myself in a reasonable amount of time. Taxes and insurance costs are related to home size. I know it a personal preference as far as aesthetics, but homes like the Higgins’ last two seem severe—hard surfaces, large open spaces/stairways. It could be a corporate office. It’s great that there is a closet for winter gear, but it’s a bedroom closet. In a location where winter is around for many months, why not include a room for storage of winter gear. Off the garage would be convenient. And yes. The layout is odd. First floor master suite is nice, but directly off the living space, given the size of the house, seems weird. If I had that much money to spend on a home I’d want the day to day needs considered. I’m glad I’m in a well thought out home. I wouldn’t trade for anything. Guess I’m just not interested in a House of a Certain Caliber. 🙃 |
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Gennifer
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,241
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Post by Gennifer on Jul 14, 2022 22:44:51 GMT
Well, we’ve never built a house, so we are always just working on renovating what we got. And our master bedroom is right off the living room, but, to be honest, it’s probably the least-used common area in our house. (We tend to congregate in the sunroom or the family room, instead.)
I don’t run in fancy circles, though… Very few people I know get to use an architect. I can count on one hand the number I know that built a custom house, rather than choosing from a couple of floorplan options the builder has prechosen.
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Post by Linda on Jul 15, 2022 1:45:57 GMT
And our master bedroom is right off the living room, but, to be honest, it’s probably the least-used common area in our house ours is also - there's a short hallway (maybe 6ft long) leading from the living room to the bedroom - there's actually a second master upstairs but one of the selling points for us was that there was a ground floor bedroom/full bath because I have some mobility issues (and we're not getting any younger). And like you - the living room isn't a big gathering spot - it's where the TV is but DH is the main TV person. |
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Gennifer
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,241
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Post by Gennifer on Jul 15, 2022 2:08:11 GMT
And our master bedroom is right off the living room, but, to be honest, it’s probably the least-used common area in our house ours is also - there's a short hallway (maybe 6ft long) leading from the living room to the bedroom - there's actually a second master upstairs but one of the selling points for us was that there was a ground floor bedroom/full bath because I have some mobility issues (and we're not getting any younger). And like you - the living room isn't a big gathering spot - it's where the TV is but DH is the main TV person. Yeah, a main level master was so much more important to us than having a lot of separation from our living space. And we wanted our bedroom away from the kids’ bedrooms, which is how we ended up next to the living room. |
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craftymom101
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,798
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Post by craftymom101 on Jul 15, 2022 19:25:08 GMT
Everybody's talking about storage and ceiling heights but are we just going to not mention the terrible floor plan? A place this big has the master bedroom immediately adjacent to the family/living room on the main floor? Are we not using all that McMansion space available to us to create privacy and clear demarcations between common living spaces and bedrooms? Americans, tell me, is there some secret shortage of architects in your country? What is going on? These are multi-million dollar places. Having a master bedroom adjacent to the living room is a Florida thing, too, and it drives me CRAZY! In our first house the door to the bedroom was right next to our living room couch. In my current house, the door to the master suite is between the living room and kitchen. Up north, where I’m from, that would never be accepted! I hate most Florida floor plans because of this. |
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craftymom101
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,798
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Post by craftymom101 on Jul 15, 2022 19:26:44 GMT
Everybody's talking about storage and ceiling heights but are we just going to not mention the terrible floor plan? A place this big has the master bedroom immediately adjacent to the family/living room on the main floor? Are we not using all that McMansion space available to us to create privacy and clear demarcations between common living spaces and bedrooms? Americans, tell me, is there some secret shortage of architects in your country? What is going on? These are multi-million dollar places. These are builder spec homes, not homes built by true architects. Visit mcmansionhell.com for more truly terribly constructed homes. (This website is a rabbit hole for me 😂). |
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Molly
Junior Member
Posts: 92
Feb 8, 2021 22:49:39 GMT
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Post by Molly on Jul 15, 2022 20:49:48 GMT
Just went down McMansion hell rabbit hole. Oh my goodness. Had no idea!
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gb2015
Full Member
Posts: 164
May 5, 2020 13:29:23 GMT
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Post by gb2015 on Jul 15, 2022 20:58:30 GMT
Okay, I just checked it out. Wow, wow, wow.
I guess the main thing that I find bizarre about homes like this (and maybe someone with a larger house can answer this question because I mean it totally earnestly) --- I don't understand how people SEE each other when there are four living rooms, two kitchens/food making spaces, ten thousand bathrooms, etc. etc. Like, it seems like it would be wayyy less likely to have more casual interactions in your home, you know?
Maybe that's a dumb thought, but it's always my first one when I see GIANT houses. Like, what's the point?
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Post by sleepingbooty on Jul 15, 2022 21:21:53 GMT
Having a master bedroom adjacent to the living room is a Florida thing, too, and it drives me CRAZY! In our first house the door to the bedroom was right next to our living room couch. In my current house, the door to the master suite is between the living room and kitchen. Up north, where I’m from, that would never be accepted! I hate most Florida floor plans because of this. Interesting to read that this is such a regional thing! I had no idea. Now, look, I'm not judging anyone living in a place with a living room-adjacent bedroom and that's actually my own case (I live in a 40m²/430 sf apartment: there's no space to waste on hallways). But if you make that choice while designing an expensive and extra large home, I'm judging. Hard.  Visit mcmansionhell.com for more truly terribly constructed homes. (This website is a rabbit hole for me 😂). Oh gods and goddesses, why? I've just spent 20 minutes on there and had to drag myself away (yep, it's 100% rabbit hole material, confirmed). The freakin' roof configurations on most of these alone are bonkers. The country that gave us Frank Lloyd Wright, Phillip Johnson and Jeanne Gang... |
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craftymom101
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,798
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Post by craftymom101 on Jul 16, 2022 0:11:17 GMT
sleepingbooty the commentary on each ugly McMansion usually leaves me in fits of laughter. 😂 The “an art”, “nub”, and “lawyer foyer” comments are great, but all of her comments are hilarious. I’m always amazed that the people who build these houses, and presumably spend millions on a mortgage, don’t use an architect or interior decorator! I have friends… middle and upper-middle class friends… who hire interior decorators for (usually) the main living spaces so everything coordinates. These homes all feel so disjointed and uncomfortable. I love that our home feels warm and cozy! We have a new beautiful couch arriving in October and I can’t wait to replace our much loved (and very worn) couch with our new, beautiful couch. Anyway, sorry for the tangent. 😆
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Post by scrappintoee on Jul 16, 2022 0:41:18 GMT
McMansion hell is hilarrrrious! This guy is SO FUNNY!  " I'll bet Matt Damon will visit and never appreciate the air conditioning vents."
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Molly
Junior Member
Posts: 92
Feb 8, 2021 22:49:39 GMT
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Post by Molly on Jul 16, 2022 1:04:20 GMT
I'm not judging anyone living in a place with a living room-adjacent bedroom and that's actually my own case (I live in a 40m²/430 sf apartment: there's no space to waste on hallways). But if you make that choice while designing an expensive and extra large home, I'm judging. Hard. Visit mcmansionhell.com for more truly terribly constructed homes. (This website is a rabbit hole for me 😂). Oh gods and goddesses, why? I've just spent 20 minutes on there and had to drag myself away (yep, it's 100% rabbit hole material, confirmed). The freakin' roof configurations on most of these alone are bonkers. The country that gave us Frank Lloyd Wright, Phillip Johnson and Jeanne Gang... [/quote] My thoughts exactly regarding the bedroom off the main living space. When spending So.Much.Money why not create a hallway/vestibule to the master bedroom space? We live in a condo in the city and, like you said, not an inch to spare. BUT, it is beautifully laid out, every inch is functional and lovely. It’s easy to close the door to our master bedroom/bath area. |
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Post by joblackford on Jul 16, 2022 4:25:15 GMT
Okay, I just checked it out. Wow, wow, wow. I guess the main thing that I find bizarre about homes like this (and maybe someone with a larger house can answer this question because I mean it totally earnestly) --- I don't understand how people SEE each other when there are four living rooms, two kitchens/food making spaces, ten thousand bathrooms, etc. etc. Like, it seems like it would be wayyy less likely to have more casual interactions in your home, you know? Maybe that's a dumb thought, but it's always my first one when I see GIANT houses. Like, what's the point? I agree with this completely. A long time ago I watched one of those PBS Frontier House shows (I think it was Frontier, might've been another pioneer-ish word, I watched a lot of these shows!) and the rich family bitched and moaned endlessly about living in a tiny cabin and working their butts off while "starving" on a diet of beans. (They actually brought in the medics to check the dad and told him he'd never been so strong and healthy in his life, but he was convinced he was starving to death). The most fascinating thing was that by the end they had settled in and the kids were really happy, and the family got really close and connected. But then they went home to the massive Mailbu Mansion they had built while away reality-roughing it. In the epilogue the most common thing each member of the family said, including the teenagers, was how they never saw each other, how lonely they felt. I always wondered if they stayed in that house, massive status symbol that it was, or if they did something to recapture what they had learned while living a different way. |
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Post by scrappintoee on Jul 16, 2022 5:00:28 GMT
sleepingbooty and others outside the U.S. who may not be able to watch the youtube vid I posted....here he is on Instagram " For 4.5 million dollars, Kanye's home should come with a fridge...
unless he's planning to borrow Kim's fridge across the street."
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd9S039DLJT
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Post by scrappintoee on Jul 16, 2022 5:16:34 GMT
each member of the family said, including the teenagers, was how they never saw each other, how lonely they felt. I always wondered if they stayed in that house, massive status symbol that it was, or if they did something to recapture what they had learned while living a different way. So interesting! I also wonder if they ended up moving? I've never wanted a McMansion, and that is one great example of why. I loved those shows, too. There was a family that replicated the early 1900's. The teenage daughters were HORRIFIED at the lack of their usual menstrual supplies, how backbreaking it was to do laundry by hand, etc. etc. At the time, I had nieces and nephews in their teens. I hated how much they took for granted and complained about their VERY easy, modern lives, so I encouraged them to watch the series.  P.S. our friends have a McMansion, and aren't pretentious or weird about it in any way. They'd never say things like BH did.....i.e....when our "documenting GURU", wrapping paper dancer said that the house numbers at regular stores like Home Depot or Lowe's weren't SPECIAL enough and that she required CUSTOM-made. I can totally appreciate wanting some things to be of "high caliber" and cu$tom-made, but this was just BH's house numbers! I'd bet the "lowly" stores have some very nice ones! |
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Post by 950nancy on Jul 17, 2022 17:49:03 GMT
I found that the newer homes have the main bedroom on the main level and it is close to public areas. People want one level living for most of the main rooms and that means the master suite is generally close to the living room or kitchen. We purchased a house built in the late 80s and the bedrooms are upstairs.
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Post by Margie on Jul 17, 2022 18:11:27 GMT
Seven years ago we had a difficult time selling my then-new husband's two-story home because all the bedrooms were upstairs. Most buyers were looking for at least one bedroom downstairs for their aging parents, which I thought was an interesting sign of the times. My one-story home, however, had three solid offers one day after the "For Sale" sign went up. We purchased a one-story home because now we're the "aging parents."  |
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Gennifer
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,241
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Post by Gennifer on Jul 17, 2022 18:16:00 GMT
When we bought this house, I was in my late-thirties. Even then, I was looking for a main-level master, because we anticipate this will be our forever home.
My house was custom designed by an architect, and we have the original blueprints of multiple iterations. Not one has a hallway or vestibule into the master, which would have been nice. I wonder if it’s because it was being designed in the 90’s, when main-level masters were just starting to really become a thing in multi-level houses. Then again, the couple that built our house were aging empty-nesters, so it might have been as simple as the fact that they didn’t have to worry about kids/communal noise on a regular basis.
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caangel
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,734
Location: So Cal
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Post by caangel on Jul 17, 2022 18:56:15 GMT
The one story homes in my neighborhood go for more $$$$ per square footage than the 2 stories.
We originally had a one story 3 bed/2 bath. Our footprint is kind of the z Tetris shape standing on end.On the first floor one side is (now) the entry, dining room, kitchen and great room. Then a hallway next the the stairs in the middle of the two "sides". We turned one of the original bedrooms into the garage entry and mud/laundry room. We still have the original master bed/bath and a guest bed and guest bath. Upstairs is just over the half of the house with the garage and other bedrooms/laundry. We have a second (main) master bed/bath, loft, 2 bedrooms and a bathroom.
My DH who is a residential structural engineer did all our plans, with my input 😉.
We specifically kept the downstairs bedrooms as they could be used as an in law suit if needed or an option for us of we stay here that long. We kept those original bathrooms but will be redoing them soon and will be designing them for aging in place as much as possible.
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Post by sleepingbooty on Jul 17, 2022 21:28:16 GMT
So, I thought it'd be interesting to share what a 2.4 million budget buys in my nook of the world. Plenty of older properties (17th, 18th and 19th century) and small vineyards. I decided to go hunting for something recent-ish to make a better comparison to BH's home and perhaps homes in the US in general and to look for the same-ish amount of bedrooms. Unfortunately, many of the recent built luxury estate with larger footprint on the coast here are significantly over 2.4 million (there were plenty of luxury 2.4 million apartment units, however) but I searched and I found this contemporary home countryside, in Gordes, quite a bit removed from the Mediterranean sealine where I am but closer to the lower Alps so more along BH's mountainside life (no heavy snow or super duper cold winters in Gordes though!). Gordes is a nice town albeit larger than Eden. It is very close to the Luberon UNESCO Global Geopark which offers great opportunities for walking and trekking and is very well-protected. It's a world biosphere site. I feel like I got as close as possible to Becky's new lifestyle with my local find. So, here we go... Exhibit A why you freakin' hire an architect at this budget and let her/him lead the way instead of imposing how the space must be laid out (they know best, let them do their work) (photos in spoiler tag): Specs: 250 m²/2691 sf (quite a bit smaller than Becky's home) (land also looks quite a bit smaller than what Becky has with her new property) 4 bedrooms with master bedroom with en suite on the ground floor (since you guys all were discussing this feature, I made sure I found a home with one - now who wants to buy it and invite me over to use the pool? ) Semi-basement level with home cinema room and a gym Underfloor heating with heat pump all through the house (hence the ceramic tiles with the wood finish look) Lift/elevator 11 x 6 m/36 ft x 20 ft pool with electric cover |
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