[quote=CA renter][quote=eavesdropper]
CAR, wish I had your faith, but I fear that if most of the citizenry started to design their own houses, it would be worse than what most of the big developers are doing.
They’d have to start a new magazine: “Architectural InDIGESTion” (yeah, I know…that’s really bad. But it’s late in the day here in the east).
Yes, I try to have faith in my fellow (wo)man. 🙂
There are lots of beautiful custom homes in some of the older neighborhoods. Wouldn’t it be great if we could get back to those standards again?[/quote]
It’s amazing, isn’t it? That huge mirror makes the vanity look like doll furniture. My person fave was this one:
I’m not even sure what the hell that IS! Looks like a giant chess piece. What really impressed me are the mold lines in the resin. After all, if you’re going to pay for quality, you want it to be in clear evidence.
And I confess to having my head turned (or was it my stomach) by the cherub on the floor in front of the fireplace: the creative use of a variety of metal finishes does it for me.
Don’t know if any Piggs are “fans” of the Bravo TV “Housewives” series, but these are pix from the short-term home of New Jersey-residing, dinner table-flipping, Medusa-like serpent-haired Teresa Giuduce. While she was conducting her new home tour for the less-fortunate members of her show’s audience, news reports were appearing that she and her husband were in bankruptcy court, having dropped $11 million in the previous year (on an income of $16,000/month, some of which was provided by relatives). Thus, your chance at getting some of the prized Giuduce booty for your own little slice of New Jersey.
Yes, CAR, there are some really great older custom homes out there. Here in the east, we have some going back to the 1700s. But it was criminal seeing what people were doing to them in the 90s and early aughts. Armed with HELOCS, they replaced hand-planed chestnut siding with vinyl, ripped out wide-plank heart-pine floors in favor of Brazilian cherry, put fake “Craftsman-style” facades on Victorians, and any number of heartbreaking “improvements.
They changed the character of entire cities here. Bethesda was a lovely near-DC suburb with large shade trees and other lush foliage, and loads of lovely tasteful family homes built between 1900 and 1960. Many were considered generously-sized for their day (2000+ square feet), and were balanced with their lot size (1/4 acre to 1 acre).
Bethesda has always been an in-demand area, not only because of its aesthetics, but because of its proximity to both DC and to large government installations like the NIH and Bethesda Naval Hospital. In the 90s, however, people started snatching up existing homes, and deciding that an additional 2500 sq ft wing would not be adequate for a family of four, they began to tear down the Victorians and the Craftsmans, the center-hall colonials and the mid-century ranchers. In their places rose McMansion monstrosities of 7000 and 8000 sf. Some houses that had boasted expansive tree-shaded front and back lawns, suddenly had room for only a few limited-growth shrubs in front. Lovely stone and brick facades were replaced with garage doors that fronted parking for 4 or 5 oversized vehicles, with lots of blacktop for overflow. Homes that had been a couple hundred feet apart from each other now had windows that permitted homeowners to see what their neighbor was cooking for dinner.
Many Bethesda residents were concerned about the changes to the character of their neighborhoods, but found little responsiveness to their pleas for restraint. Comparing aerial photos of these neighborhoods today with those of 1980 is shocking and saddening. In the meantime, many of these McMansions are on the market, and finding buyers for them is no easy task.
I have to laugh (or cry!) at the interpretation of architectural terms these days. I’m sorry, but nothing over 2000 sf should be termed a “cottage”. Here’s an excerpt from the website of a builder in the DC area:
“The Craftsman lifestyle offers friendly streetscapes and sensible, ecologically oriented homes that nurture families.” Not sure how you accomplish “friendly streetscapes” when you stuff a 5400 sf “bungalow” onto a 8300 sf lot. Sounds like more of a “bungalot” to me.
These architectural philosophers go on to say, “The antithesis of the “McMansion”, Arts & Crafts Builders’ homes are deliberately smaller, very comfortable inside and extremely efficient, cozy, and energy efficient. They are luxury homes but not in terms of size.” Pardon me, but when did 4000 or 5000 sf become “cozy”?
Some additional pearls of wisdom: “Mutt and Jeff decided from the start that they would not sacrifice quality for size. They committed themselves to building a comparatively smaller home (3,500 to 4,500 sqft) in order to deliver a higher quality product overall. The homes they build are luxury homes due to their superior components and finishes.”
These guys have actually built some of the better-looking structures – but keep in mind that everything is relative……There have always been ugly and tasteless homes out there. Lots of them. The difference is that they were smaller, and typically build on appropriately-sized lots. Nowadays you’ve got builders erecting 14 or 15 5,000 sf McMansions on 2.5 acres. There are several areas of gorgeous pristine rolling pastureland near where I live where they’ve done this, and these little mini-developments are made even more prominent and garish by the large amounts of open acreage around them. Many houses are still in the process of being built while their next door neighbors are in short sale proceedings.
