We all know someone who has more money than brains. Whether they live across the street from you or they’re a famous billionaire business owner, you know the type. And just like wealth can’t buy you intelligence, it also can’t buy you taste.
We took a trip to the McMansion Hell subreddit and gathered some of their most atrocious photos below. These houses might be spacious and four times as expensive as your current home, but that doesn’t mean that they’re stylish or cozy. Enjoy scrolling through this list that might provide you with a new appreciation for your own humble abode, and be sure to upvote the houses that you can’t believe someone paid for!
#1 Sometimes You Gotta Wonder If These People Set Out To Make The Ugliest House Imaginable
The McMansion Hell subreddit was created on July 15, 2017, and it has become a sensation since then. The group has amassed an impressive 254K members, and there are photos pouring in every day shaming the worst houses that people come across in their travels.
To learn more about how this community started, we got in touch with one of the group’s moderators, Logan, who was kind enough to have a chat with We. He explained that the McMansion Hell subreddit was born out of the McMansion Hell Blog by Kate Wagner. “Kate is a genius,” the moderator shared.
#2 The Great Pyramids Of Texas
#3 When You Can’t Decide Which Tile Or Stone Pattern To Use, So You Use All Of Them
We also asked Logan if he’s partial to any photos that he’s seen shared in the subreddit. “There’s so many horrific monstrosities that it’s impossible to pick a favorite for me,” he says. “There’s definitely favorites of mine from our Thursday design appreciation days, like The Stahl House, and any Eichlers posted.”
And thankfully, the moderator shared that the group has some lovely members. “It’s a nice sub with a chill community, moderation duties are low-key.”
But it hasn’t changed Logan’s opinion on these massive homes. “I have not become a McMansion fan, and would not choose to live in one, but you never know where life will take you.”
#4 Bro… This Is Just Nuts! I Had To Post This!
#5 This Absurd Thing In Greenville, Sc
#6 Welcome To Gable City, Illinois
We were also lucky enough to get in touch with the McMansion expert herself, Kate Wagner, who created the McMansion Hell blog in 2016.
“McMansion Hell started in 2016 as a side project for me while I was in graduate school studying architectural acoustics,” Kate shared. “The idea came to me because I wanted to not only create social commentary around wealth and material culture in America but also find a way to merge humor with educational intent and architectural criticism.”
#7 I Present To You The Ugliest House In My Neighborhood: Modern Farmhouse Taco Bell
#8 Just… Fug
#9 Architecture Is My Passion
We also asked Kate what it’s been like to see her blog become so popular. “I’ve always been very surprised, thankful, and encouraged by the community and the support of the folks who enjoy my work, support it materially on Patreon, and use the blog as an empowered way of looking at the built environment,” she told We.
#10 This Absolute Unit Of A Mcmansion Just West Of Calgary
#11 I Drive By This House Under Construction, And It Screams Ugly Mcmansion To Me
#12 Sad Mcmansion
So how does Kate feel about these monstrous homes? “I personally feel that the McMansion is an architectural artifact of rising wealth inequality in the United States across the last five or so decades,” she shared. “The architecture of these houses and the choices made within represent not only questionable aesthetic taste but are testaments to a society in which a great many people suffer in order for very few of them to possess the wealth necessary to build such houses.”
#13 Sold For $4 Million Here In Schitts Creek, Ontario. I Hate It
#14 The Longer You Look The Worse It Gets
#15 Decisions Were Made, Most Of Them Terrible
But that doesn’t mean that these homes have no value. “As architecture, [these homes] are filled with fascinating statements of worth – architectural languages and ideas of wealth borrowed from other styles, other times, and other places with varying degrees of success in terms of execution – and projections of that worth onto the built environment,” Kate noted. “As objects, they have always fascinated me, and I have a soft spot for the elements of creativity and the ad hoc execution that goes into many of them. There is a certain whimsy to the McMansion, especially those from before the great recession.”
#16 Brick Home Demolished To Make Way For This New (And Frankly Ugly) Stone Facade Home
#17 I’m Still Kinda New Here, But I Think This Is A “Lawyer Foyer”
#18 Ridiculous Home For Sale In Niagara Falls, On
Finally, we asked the creator if she has any favorite McMansions that she’s ever come across. “For me, individual regions stay in my mind rather than individual houses. The best McMansions can be found in a number of hotspots, including the Chicago suburbs, the DC suburbs, Bergen County, NJ, and Denton County, TX,” she revealed. “I am always partial to McMansions styled to look like medieval castles, as I have a hobbyist’s interest in medieval architecture myself.”
But Kate says she rarely sees any McMansions that she would be willing to live in. “I really enjoy urban life and cannot drive, so the McMansion lifestyle has very little appeal to me personally. It would be nice to have a walk-in closet, however.”
#19 Is This A Mcmansion Or Just Ugly?
#20 Guy I Know Was Bragging That The Very Top Of The Roof On His Custom Build Home Was 72 Feet Tall
#21 Very Ugly Abandoned Mcmansion
Natalie Perri, Founder and CEO of Unraveling Architecture, has also written on her blog that she’s not a fan of McMansions. She explains that, not only are these homes often designed poorly with no regard for the environment, they can also put a strain on neighborhoods by “destroying the character of a community.” They can be 10,000 square feet or more, taking up an excessive amount of space and making homeowners around them feel like they’ve lost their sense of privacy.
#22 From A Distance, I Thought This House Was Under Construction. Then My Friend Said Nope, That’s How The Owner Designed It
#23 Guys, I Think I Found One!
#24 Everything’s Bigger In Texas!
Huge homes can also create problems when they block neighbors’ views, cast huge shadows, require an excessive amount of water and energy to run and have staff coming in and out at all hours. There might be gardeners in the yard every morning, cleaners coming through the home every other day and guests parking up and down the street while the homeowners are entertaining. These factors can all be significant nuisances for neighbors and even impact the resell value of all of the houses in a community.
#25 Hogwarts, But We Have It At Home (Privet Drive)
#26 Columns
#27 So What Do We Think Of This New Custom House? It’s Been Very Controversial On Local Facebook
We hope you’re enjoying scrolling through these photos of terrible homes, pandas. These pics just go to show that a bigger or fancier house will not necessarily make you happier! Keep upvoting the ones that you think should be demolished, and then, if you’d like to check out another We article featuring horrific homes, we’ve got you covered right here!
#28 Big Gate For This Residential Home
#29 One Of My All Time Favorite Homes
#30 What In The Boujie Is This Interior???
#31 Tudor Home In Piedmont, California
#32 I Think This House Needs Another Window
#33 8bd 10 Ba 17500 Sqft
#34 Is It Even A Mcmansion Without Proper Lighting?
#35 51 000 Square Foot Monstrosity In Utah
#36 This Modern Farmhouse Trend Is Getting Out Of Hand
#37 This Is Probably The Ugliest Home I’ve Ever Driven Past, Wish I Could See Inside
#38 Is This Your Dream House?
#39 That Roofline 😳 (Listed For $17m In Oklahoma City)
#40 $2.6 Million – First Thing That Comes To Mind?
#41 Maximizing The Western Vantage?
#42 Drive By This Daily And I Hate It Every Time
#43 Don’t Know If This Has Been Posted Before But Kiefer Castle In Oklahoma
#44 This Monstrosity Is In St. Louis. My Fiance Calls It The Bubble Wrap House
#45 This Abomination Lights Up The Whole Subdivision
#46 Poorly Decorated Early 2000’s Mcmansion
#47 “Party Mansion”, Oklahoma
#48 A 90s Mcmansion In A Sea Of Mcmansions
#49 My Mcmansion Monster
#50 I’d Love To See Their Pg&e Bill – Vineyard Heights, Fremont, Ca
#51 Built In 1908 And Beautifully Maintained
#52 $5m Home In Red Hook, NY
#53 Nice House
#54 Just Horrible
#55 $1.7 Million Dollar Home In Angier, Nc
#56 Horribly Staged 6 Bedroom, 6 Bath, 7k Sq Ft Abomination In Clinton Twp, Mi
#57 My Dream Home. Hesitant To Even Post In Case One Of You Rich Redditors Scoops It Up Before I Win The Lottery
#58 Old American Home
#59 Ronald McDonald’s House Of Horrors
#60 Rufus Wainwright’s Cottage In Laurel Canyon Hits The Market For $2.2 Million
#61 Banyan House, Carmel-By-The-Sea [1951 – Mark Mills]
#62 The More You Look, The Worse It Gets
#63 Hyde Park, Johannesburg, South Africa – R42 000 000
#64 Temple Of Wings, The Getty Family’s Greco-Roman Villa In Berkeley, California
#65 The John Ravenel House Charleston Sc 1848. Yours For Only $22,250,000
#66 A 1930s Home On 16 Acres For $350k
#67 You Won’t Know What Hit You When You Step Into This House… Evanston, Il
#68 This Will Make Some Of You Very, Very, Very Angry
