In a world where people are seemingly obsessed with tiny home living, some are still all about the flash and excess of McMansions.
Unfortunately, that desire to show off lavishness doesn’t always leave room for taste, as some of these overly large homes come with what some would call unique (or bizarre) designs.
One Redditor shared one such home in the r/McMansionHell subreddit, where they questioned, “What do we think of this ‘Victorian inspired’ in Indiana?”
Photo Credit: Reddit
They included a photo of a McMansion with approximately five chimneys, along with the home’s listing, which explained that the house was 14,150 square feet. Included in the house are eight bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, nine fireplaces (which explains all the chimneys), cathedral ceilings, and a courtyard.
“Straight out of a Scooby Doo episode,” another Reddit user commented.
One person snarked, “All that’s missing is the eye of Sauron atop the center tower.”
Although huge homes, such as this one, aren’t inherently harmful, and some homeowners specifically design them for sustainable living, more often these houses are built with space and showing off wealth in mind.
The architectural design of these homes often goes over the top, and the extravagant space, high ceilings, and extensive land use can consume a significant amount of construction materials and other resources, particularly when it comes to heating and cooling.
The massive amounts of energy required to run a home of this size mean more dirty energy is burned, releasing more heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere, further heating the planet and exacerbating already extreme weather. This energy consumption can also put a strain on the local grid, affecting others in the area.
However, McMansions can mitigate some of the pollution they create with sustainable design choices, such as heat pumps, energy-efficient appliances, the use of recycled materials in construction, and solar panels.
Solar panels alone are not only a fantastic way to reduce the amount of pollution created by homes, but also to bring down one’s electric bills to as low as $0 a month. EnergySage, a TCD-vetted source, offers a free online service that provides quotes from local installers, making it simple to find the most affordable home solar installation. This service can even save homeowners up to $10,000.
As for this shared listing, whoever built the home might have researched Victorian designs a bit further, as one Redditor commented, “Any resemblance between this and a Victorian is eluding me.”
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don’t miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.