If You Hate McMansions, You'll Love This Blog
"McMansion Hell" is on a mission to talk about the fundamentals of design... while politely roasting over-the-top real estate.
Chas Everitt International Property Group, a member of Luxury Portfolio International
Kate Wagner loves architecture: the good and even the downright tacky. In July 2016 she started the blog “McMansion Hell;” it was a place to commiserate with fellow McMansion haters, point out design flaws and mock totally unnecessary opulence. By August, it was viral.
To date, the blog has featured more than 200 McMansions which Wagner dissects in funny graphics and explains design that’s not integrated. She also pokes fun at incredibly ridiculous features such as a bedroom dresser that’s been “Strawberry Short-caked” or a kitchen where Wagner points out “real wealth is having a pot filler and two tea kettles and choosing to use a Keurig anyway.”
Macdonald Real Estate Group Inc., a member of Luxury Portfolio International
The first question people ask Wagner is why she hates McMansions so much. But she doesn’t. “If I really hated McMansions, I would have burnt out on this a long time ago,” she said. “I think they’re really interesting. I think they tell us a lot about the culture.”
"McMansion Hell" isn’t about bashing the 1% and there’s no hate on big real estate. Wagner just wants to get the conversation going on design. She started the blog to teach people how to be their own critic. “As they’re reading, I hope people feel that they have their own agency to be their own architecture critic,” she said. “I love to give people the vocabulary and agency so people can feel like they can talk about houses. I want to encourage people to take the reins and talk about the world around them.”
Ebby Halliday Realtors, a member of Luxury Portfolio International
Not sure you know the difference between a mansion and a McMansion? Wagner does a really good job of breaking down design and discussing the 101 fundamentals. She said a telltale sign of a McMansion is that “the house looks like a collage of different materials.” Sometimes it’s conflicting design styles. And sometimes it’s architecture that just looks wonky like the windows don’t match or molding just abruptly ends. But of all the atrocities of McMansions, her biggest pet peeve is rooflines. “The roof lines really get me,” she said. “Multiple pitches and ridges and gables. I call it roofline soup on the blog.”
Ebby Halliday Realtors, a member of Luxury Portfolio International
With so much time spent looking at McMansions, we asked Wagner what her favorite style is and what would be her ideal home. And, unlike McMansions, she wants a home with history and roots. Wagner would love to be in a historic neighborhood, ideally in a first-generation suburb built for streetcar access. “I would live outside of Chicago in Oak Park,” she said. “And I would live in a Craftsman house with a main gable and then a little gable tucked in the portico.”
Clean design. No roofline soup.