Big and Serviceable is the New Home Motto
Though we have this image of families from yesteryear living in large Victorian-style houses, the truth is that homes across the developed world are getting larger on average than they’ve ever been. In Australia the average home size has increased nearly 40% in just the past two decades, to an average of approximately 2,450 square feet. The numbers are similar in the U.S, where the average home sits at around 2,343 square feet, a jump of over 50% in the last 35 years.
These rates are not so much a result of houses across the income barrier getting progressively larger, but main houses in the upper tier getting much larger. 3,000 square feet new homes are now considered on the smallish side, with 5,000 to 8,000 being the norm. Whereas old style large homes were all quite unique from each other, this new crop of large, mini mansions are now dubbed McMansions, for their cookie cutter design and assembly line style production, often being crammed together closer than these homes would’ve been in the past.
The average house now has four or more bedrooms, despite the average family size in developed countries dropping drastically in the past 50 years. These large homes inevitably also get filled with larger everything. Larger appliances, multiple heating and cooling systems, professional-grade stoves and fridges, larger sofas, etc are just the beginning.
It’s all about interior space with these houses, which is their main selling point. You may find yourself feeling claustrophobic after being in one of these behemoths and then returning to a smaller home. The ceilings tower and the rooms are massive, with large walk-in closets, tons of large windows, wide hallways, etc. If the human race evolves to the point where we’re all eight feet tall with massive wingspans, these homes will not need to be renovated to accommodate them one inch.
A home of this size will all but surely be the most expensive item you’ll ever purchase, and therefore needs a good deal of thought but into it beforehand. This begins with the neighbour, and not only the way the neighbourhood is now, but the way it’s expected to be in ten, twenty or more years when you’re looking for a debt consolidation equity loan.
If you’re building a new custom home, you should certainly look into incorporating energy efficient designs into the home. Proper insulation, lighting, and heating and cooling systems will all play a major role in your utilities bill. You may also wish to give the house a more complete feel by having the brick or stucco facades that only face the front of most McMansions encircle your entire home. It’s small touches like these that make a home unique and valuable.
Freud would be aghast at our preoccupation and obsession with size, but it’s undeniable that we do love things bigger and more extravagant as we can get it, regardless of need or worth. This trend will surely continue in the years to come, at least until we eventually run out of land and are forced to cram into tiny apartments and sleep in containers like the Japanese.
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