Latest news with #McMansions
Buzz Feed
09-07-2025
- General
- Buzz Feed
19 Outdated Home Design Trends Better Than Modern Ones
We recently wrote a post where the BuzzFeed Community told us the outdated home design trends that should come back, and it started a huge discussion. In the comments, even more readers shared the older home design trends that they think are better than modern-day trends, and I had no idea some of these existed. Here's what they had to say: "I miss the detached garage. When the garage is attached, it's so ugly right up front. Most people use it for storage, and the cars end up outside anyway." "A big, open front porch." "Window treatments! They keep rooms warmer in winter, cooler in summer, and prevent furnishings from fading due to harsh sunlight. Also, it helps with acoustics, especially in high ceiling spaces, AND looks better than the black mirrors bare glass turns into at night." "Crown molding, baseboards, and wainscoting. There's something so beautiful about a finished house with attention to detail done with competent craftsmanship. It feels luxe, warm, inviting, and you know, like a home. The whole minimalist, sterile trends in 'pick your shade of beige or gray' are tiresome and always remind me of a doctor's or dentist's office." "Stovetop against a wall. The stovetop on the kitchen island is a total dealbreaker for me. Who wants a hot, dangerous surface where you put the mail and groceries, or serve the kids snacks after school?" "Covered porches or garden rooms. Add good seating to make a cozy space to hang out and read or to do something crafty, like draw, paint, knit, play a tabletop game, etc., that doesn't require an internet connection!" "Regular bathroom sinks, not elevated or square. And faucets, what was wrong with them? Now, especially in the kitchen, you need to play with one handle up and down and turn it sideways to open and close and get the right amount and temperature, and it's not always fun." "Small, but sturdy, brick bungalow-style homes that are affordable for young people. Builders want to build McMansions that prevent young families from entering the housing market. With families becoming smaller, the need for huge homes is wasteful." "I think mirrored closet doors in the bedroom are awesome. Great for dressing and making a room appear larger and brighter." "Wood, unpainted kitchen cabinets. No matter how well and professionally your cabinets are painted, they will chip or scratch. Wood cabinets can be refinished. If you like a light kitchen, go with birch; if you like dark, stain your wood, but don't paint it." "Laundry chutes and utility sinks! When we started our family, we moved to a 100-year-old house in the country. Instead of adding a trendy, expensive great room with cathedral ceilings, etc., we converted an enclosed back porch into a mudroom, pantry, laundry room, and first-floor 3/4 bath. I was much more interested in having a lavatory and laundry on the first floor for kiddos, as I would soon be potty training. We also added a laundry chute to our second-story bath, which was a great choice! The laundry chute dropped clothes right into a tall hamper on the washing machine. Kids entered the tub, and their dirty clothes or linens went straight to the laundry room. Simple and efficient!" "Less home design than functionality, but not every kid needs their own room. If I hadn't shared a room with my sister (who is four years older), we wouldn't have been as close as we were growing up. It cemented our bond for life. Not every kid needs to have their own 'primary bedroom.'" "Tile or linoleum on the floor. Water on the floor is a constant in the kitchen. Wood and water don't mix well. True, you can replace the wood planks that are affected, but they will never look original because the rest of your floor will have acquired 'patina.'" "Bring back broom closets. These closets can store upright vacuums, brooms, dustpans, mops, or shifters. Without these closets, the laundry room is overloaded with stuff." "Colorful kitchen cabinets. I'm so over everyone's all-white kitchens. My hubby made my cupboards. He refaced mine with pine and made them look like old barn doors. I stained them, painted a dark green, then painted a burgundy, and then sanded all the edges for a worn look. Best part is when one of the kids slopped food down them (kids all slop), and I had to scrub them, if I took off paint, it blended in and added to the worn look." "Fold-out ironing boards. Yes, I iron my clothes and find it relaxing while listening to an audiobook or podcast. But lugging out the ironing board is a pain!" "A kitchen with a door. Even with a range hood, the smell in an open kitchen goes everywhere. The smoke detector in the hallway sounds the alarm when I cook bacon. When I have guests for dinner, I want to be able to hide my mess in the kitchen." "I woke up one day, and it was a major no-no to have a desk in the kitchen. Had one when remodeled in 2003, and every kitchen before that. Then, they disappeared when we moved to a new construction house in 2019. They are so convenient and provide a place to sit and phone chat, keep mail, keys, notepads, pens, pencils, a small tool drawer, and cabinets below for pet supplies and trash bags. I always had a large built-in desk and two upper and lower cabinets to match the kitchen cabinets. Very convenient! However, I do love the large pantries that took their place. I want both, please!" And finally... "A real foyer. My old apartment had a real foyer with space for a bench to remove your shoes, a little coat closet, a table to put your keys/mail, and a mirror for last-minute makeup checks." What other "outdated" home design trends should be brought back and why? Tell us in the comments, or if you prefer to remain anonymous, you can use the form below.
Perth Now
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Octavia Spencer is returning for Ma 2
'Ma 2' is in development with Octavia Spencer returning to the title role. The 55-year-old actress has been announced for the upcoming sequel, which will see her reprise her role as the eponymous killer from the original 2019 thriller. Blumhouse Productions founder and CEO Jason Blum has confirmed plans for the follow-up, and heaped praise on her "iconic performance" in the first film. He said in a statement: "'Ma' has proven to be a social phenomenon since its release in 2019, with fans eagerly embracing the film and Octavia's iconic performance as Ma. "Ma likes to say 'don't make me drink alone,' so we're thrilled Octavia will join us again for a second round.' As of yet, development on the project is in its early stages, with no release date set or director attached. In the 2019 movie - which was helmed by 'The Help' director Tate Taylor - a group of high school students struck up an unlikely friend with Octavia's Sue Ann Ellington. The lonely veterinarian - with a wild party animal streak - let the teens party in her basement, but their intergenerational friendship soon took a sinister and violent twist when their bond started to cool off. Taylor previously revealed he was keen to continue his longstanding film partnership with his friend Spencer, and back in 2021 there were already talks for a sequel. He told Entertainment Weekly: "Can you believe how much 'Ma' lives on? Isn't that just crazy? "I don't think we thought 'Ma' was going to have this afterlife as this cult thing, and I think it's worth discussing [a sequel]. "I know Octavia would do it, that's why I purposely left her death ambiguous!" Although Ma's death is implied, it's never shown on screen, and Taylor had already given plenty of thought to how she could return. He said: "My idea is that she's moved to another town, and she has open houses in another city and kills people in the open house. "I think she'd be a real estate agent in the Pacific Northwest, and just murder white people looking at McMansions. That's as far as I've gotten!" Meanwhile, Spencer - who has been friends with the filmmaker for around 30 years - previously opened up about the "mutual trust" they share. She told website 'Hey U Guys': "Tate and I met as PAs in Mississippi on 'A Time To Kill'. When we moved out here we became roommates but I worked on everything, all of his short films. "The only film I didn't work on with him was 'A Girl On The Train'. So we've worked together a lot more than people know. "When you have someone who has your best interest at heart and its mutual we trust each other, he trusts me as an actor, I trust him as a director and writer. I feel fortunate that I get to have that type of work collaboration."
Axios
28-04-2025
- General
- Axios
Preserve plan advances for Buckhead's hidden forest
A 30-acre Buckhead forest that Atlanta photographer and arts patron Lucinda Bunnen turned into a sanctuary is on its way to becoming a public nature preserve. Why it matters: Buckhead is one of the fastest-developing parts of the city but has surprisingly few accessible parks. There's nothing within 20 miles like the property — an older forest with ample acreage, a weaving waterway and rich biodiversity. Driving the news: The Conservation Fund, a nonprofit that buys and holds green spaces for future public parks, purchased the property late last year for roughly $13.5 million. It is raising an additional $2.4 million through the summer to prepare the land to turn over to the city. Catch up quick: In the late 1950s, Lucinda and her husband, Bob, an oral surgeon, purchased the house designed by noted Atlanta architect Cecil Alexander. Over the following decades, the mid-century modern house and the dense woods became a refuge for Bunnen, her children, their kids (concrete moldings of their footprints are placed throughout the property) and the arts community. Fun fact: Bunnen, who died in 2022, started creating a hilly two-mile perimeter trail after being arrested for walking her dog off its leash at the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. She hiked the path daily — sometimes twice a day — into her 90s, her son Robb, the oldest of the Bunnen's three children, told Axios. "It was everything to her. It was a rite of passage if you got invited over to walk the property with mom." What they're saying:"We were thrilled we didn't have to endure 12 McMansions going up," Robb said. Follow the money: Stacy Funderburke of The Conservation Fund told Axios the city chipped in $5 million from its Tree Trust Fund to buy the property. That money comes from fees that people pay to remove large trees inside the city limits. Buckhead has contributed significantly to the fund, according to Funderburke, but has few options for investment on the level of the Bunnen property. Private donors contributed $6 million, Funderburke said, and many neighbors and arts groups have rallied to support. What's next: Potential plans include renovating the sprawling home to become an arts center and retreat, an environmental education hub or guest lodging for visiting dignitaries, Robb said. TCF could hand off the property to the city as early as this summer or fall, Funderburke said, with city-led community planning sessions following. The big picture: "This was her spiritual place," Robb said. "She would be the most ecstatic person in the world to think the city bought the property to create the Lucinda Bunnen Nature Preserve.
San Francisco Chronicle
28-04-2025
- Health
- San Francisco Chronicle
Letters: Enjoy California's beaches? You can thank the state Coastal Commission
To my fellow Californians, the California Coastal Commission plays a vital role in protecting the West Coast fishing industry and the state's coastal communities from displacement caused by nonwater-dependent development — think T-shirt shops, waterfront condos and extravagant shoreside McMansions. Attacking the California Coastal Commission because you erected a 70-foot flagpole on a spectacular section of coast, all without a permit, like Donald Trump once did, or if you're SpaceX, and you decided to violate the terms of your permit by exceeding the number of rockets you agreed to launch, it is not the commission's fault. Its role is to enforce the rules, not to permit violations. Is the Coastal Commission process perfect? No. Could it be improved? Absolutely, and with thoughtful consideration, it can be done. If you are a commercial fisherman coming into a California port and still have a place to tie up your boat, sell your fish or buy supplies, thank the Coastal Commission for preserving working waterfronts. Ken Bates, Eureka Research cuts shortsighted Regarding 'California researchers stunned by Trump's $312 million in grant cuts: 'No warning' ' (California, April 25): As a scientist and citizen, I was enraged to read about the cuts to research in California. Rubbing salt in the wound, I am a 44-year-old who just recovered from a case of shingles; fortunately, it was mild and treatable. There is a shingles vaccine, but it is currently only available for people 50 or over. I see that a recently terminated research project was a UCSF study investigating the ability of a shingles vaccine to prevent blindness. Now we'll never know if the benefits of the shingles vaccine are greater than anticipated and whether its use should be expanded. Zack Subin, San Francisco Fund foster care advocates Foster Care Awareness Month is in May, and I want to share the importance of the work of San Francisco CASA and the critical nature of the state funding our Legislature is considering. Court Appointed Special Advocates are dedicated, trained volunteers who advocate for children in San Francisco's foster care system. These young people have been removed from their homes, and they become our community's responsibility. CASAs provide consistency and facilitate the services young people need to thrive during a time fraught with uncertainty. San Francisco CASA provides vital support to our state, court and social workers, even though our federal support has been cut to zero, and most of our funding is private. As an example, we helped the state reach an additional 127 youth with its foster youth tax credit this year by providing free tax assistance. That is why it is critical that we also receive state general fund support to recruit, train and supervise more CASAs to serve our youth. CASAs set San Francisco's children up for success so that they have every opportunity to live healthy and fulfilling lives. Kate Durham, executive director, San Francisco CASA Add car safety tools There have been two horrific car accidents during the past few months in Marin County and Alameda County that claimed the lives of seven teenagers and injured several others. In both crashes, courageous bystanders who tried to extricate the victims were held back by fire, locked doors and windows they could not break. It is heart-wrenching to think that the victims — some of whom succumbed to the fire — could have lived or suffered fewer injuries if rescuers were able to remove them from the burning vehicles faster. Commercial vehicles in California are required to be equipped with a fire extinguisher. The same should be required for private vehicles, and drivers should also add a flashlight and a certified window breaker/seatbelt cutter tool (and not the cheap kind). It is a small investment that can and will save lives. Jahan Byrne, Richmond
San Francisco Chronicle
23-04-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Here's how the size of homes built in the Bay Area has changed over the past 120 years
For decades, newly constructed homes in California were getting bigger and bigger. Not anymore. Statewide, homes built in the 2020s are about 2,150 square feet, down slightly from a peak of 2,340 in the 2000s, according to data provided by real estate company Zillow. The tide against increasingly bigger homes turned sooner in some places than others, including in much of the Bay Area, where construction has slowed in recent decades. The median square footage of a San Francisco home built in the 2020s is about 1,510. That's a steep drop from the city's median of 2,050 square feet in the 2010s. And it's much smaller than homes in San Jose, where newly built homes have continued to grow to a new record median of 2,560 square feet. Zillow's estimates, based on the homes for which the company has square footage and year-built data, are of finished square footage, which don't include garages or unfinished basements. The data is also based on the homes' square footage as of April 2025, meaning older homes that have been remodeled and expanded will have their newer square footage reflected in the medians. Newly built Bay Area homes larger than about 2,000 square feet became much more common starting in the 1980s, Zillow's data indicates, especially in Silicon Valley, Marin County and East Bay suburbs. Homes built around the turn of the millennium were often some of the largest, a trend mirrored in the rest of California. Even in cities where homes were already relatively large, properties expanded even more. The median size of a home built in Atherton, an ultra-wealthy suburb in Silicon Valley, was 'just' 3,100 square feet in the 1950s — one of the largest of any California ZIP code in Zillow's data with at least 50 homes built that decade. Now, that median has more than doubled, exceeding 7,000 square feet. The historically growing size of homes, and the shrinking seen in recent years, is a trend seen across the U.S. But it's not one that has a ready explanation, especially since some cities — including San Jose — are still seeing homes get bigger. One factor is the former popularity of ' McMansions.' The large, amenity-rich homes accommodated the desire of homeowners for more space at a time when the country's homeownership rate was reaching record peaks. But after the Great Recession hit, builders made homes somewhat smaller for a time. Demand for more affordable 'starter homes' has also pushed the size of new construction down in some areas, while interest in larger spaces during the pandemic had the opposite effect in others. Other, more specific factors are also likely at play in the Bay Area, though it's difficult to parse out what's exactly going on without more detailed data, said Issi Romem, a fellow at the UC Berkeley Terner Center for Housing Innovation. He speculated that San Francisco is seeing smaller homes this decade because the city is building more multifamily units, especially condos, which tend to be smaller than single-family homes. That's also occurring in San Jose and Oakland, Romem added, but those cities may also be seeing a countervailing force, as larger home-building projects replace older buildings with newer, larger structures, a practice that is less common in San Francisco where lot space is more limited.
