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How do you define 'McMansion'?

April 16, 2008 at 12:37AM


« The 'Mc,' of course, refers to McDonald's, the epitome of American blandness, predictability and poor taste. The 'Mansion' refers to size. These newer houses dwarf 'the little boxes all made out of ticky-tacky' of the suburban sprawl of previous generations. » --Roger Nieboer, Knife Lake Township
« An extra-large, multistoried, overpriced home on a postage stamp-sized lot. Created more for the purpose of making an impression than for making a home. » --Joyce Jacobson, Corcoran
« A McMansion is any house bigger than mine! » --Bob Peterson, Hutchinson, Minn.
« McMansions are mass-produced, oversized homes, where often the only difference between neighboring McMansions is the shade of beige or gray on the trim. They're most often in new development tracts in outer-tier suburbs, and it's essential that they have a multicar garage that invokes visitors to say 'nice garage,' instead of 'nice house.' » --Gary Caldwell, St. Paul
« I expect if the word 'McMansion' was around in the 1800s, the James J. Hill house would have been mislabeled that. Luckily, they are all just called Summit Avenue mansions. » --Dale Hlavka, Minneapolis
« I think any family of four living in a home more than 2,000 square feet is living in a McMansion, as the scale of the home is not one that creates a close-knit family. I grew up in a family of four, and we only had 1,300 square feet. It was easy enough to get away from family members, but you also didn't have cavernous spaces where you felt isolated. » --Jeff Zaayer, Inver Grove Heights
« To me, a McMansion is: a super-sized home; huge rooms; two-story foyer; a lot of roof; garage right up front; 'fancy' facade (usually fake brick) on front but vinyl siding on other sides; one side with no windows at all; located in a subdivision that describes what the area used to be like, but is no longer - Pine Grove, Deer's Run. » --Amanda Groebner, Rochester, Minn.
« I think a McMansion is roughly 5,000 square feet, and less than five years old. In other words, new and big! I don't see houses that have been updated, remodeled or restored ... as a McMansion. » --Christine McLaren, Plymouth
« I call them Meadow Mansions because so many of them are built out in the middle of nowhere. For the baby-boomer generation, it is the ultimate symbol of commercial success. Ironically, it seems most people can afford these only about the time their children have grown up and moved away so that they now have a 6,000-square-foot home for two people. » --Jeremy Powers, Fridley
« Basically [a McMansion] is designed to create a grand impression from the street through sheer volume, rather than being built thoughtfully for the surroundings and the inhabitants' actual living needs. It is important to differentiate between [McMansions] and houses that attempt to push the upper end of a neighborhood and so may at first look 'oversized' compared to others. » --Nathan Sonstegard, Minneapolis

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