Just a little house I'm working on....

[Internal Combustion]

I think that building something that extravagant, regardless of how much money you have, is in poor taste right now. There are tons of people who can't afford a roof over their head along with two quarries at all let alone 40k square feet on 20k acres.

Income disparity? What income disparity?

Oh, and gaudy pyramid house is gaudy (and ugly).

Not true. Housing prices are at around their 2007-08 levels and current interest rates for mortgages are 3.6%-historically low. In fact, there's never been a better time to try and put a roof over their head. The issue is that people are stupid and spend themselves into oblivion, which is a new phenomenon (the Post carter recession people didn't do that), taking loans for stuff on speculation, interest only mortgages etc. A lot of the recent poor did it to themselves.

And this guy WON the american dream. If you don't like it, invent a product everyone uses and then do something else with your money. Instead, don't be bitter. It gets society nowhere.

[barry2952]

I find it humorous that some of the very people that complain about how he uses his money are the first to clamor about the government telling them what they can do with theirs.

[ModernMaven]

40,000 sf for two people is.... extreme. That is an office building size. Even if the dude had six kids, that is waaay more than anyone needs to live.

I mean, just considering the energy required to heat and cool this place once it is complete, let alone the energy and resources going in to its construction. I find it funny that someone would construct a behemoth like this and allot for a place to 'watch bald eagles.' If he was so into the environment, he wouldnt be building a house this big. And just because it has state of the art systems, an energy hog is still an energy hog at this size. It's like a hybrid Yukon.

Not jelly either. I just don't get it. I am of the mind that you because you can, doesn't mean you should. Not a fan.

[kenny301]

While housing prices are at a low and there are good deals to be had, people without jobs can't buy houses. People who declared bankruptcy because of job loss don't have the credit to get financing, and people who are paying down credit debt they accrued trying to stay afloat on one, or zero, incomes for extended periods of time can't afford to buy. It is very hard for people, even ones who can afford houses, to get loans right now due to high down payment requirements. A lot of the increased activity in the housing marked is due to people refinancing.


I think that people should be able to buy whatever they want if they can afford it. All I am saying is that it might not be in the best taste to drive "a few Cadillacs" like Romney's wife or put a house up like this one right now.

(sorry for the shameless Romney bash)

[2.0T_Convert]

I think that people should be able to buy whatever they want if they can afford it. All I am saying is that it might not be in the best taste to drive "a few Cadillacs" like Romney's wife or put a house up like this one right now.

(sorry for the shameless Romney bash)

Nothing shameful about it. If you or your hubby are seeking a job that depends on the whims of voting massess then you had damn well better watch what you say/do/spend.

[Jack-the-Tripper]

Wow, that looks miserable to live in. Tacky decor, terrible lighting, and low ceilings. Not to mention zero resale value

Yes, this must be the worst interior ever..... and living in a pyramid......aren't pyramids tombs?

[Fritz27]

While housing prices are at a low and there are good deals to be had, people without jobs can't buy houses. People who declared bankruptcy because of job loss don't have the credit to get financing, and people who are paying down credit debt they accrued trying to stay afloat on one, or zero, incomes for extended periods of time can't afford to buy. It is very hard for people, even ones who can afford houses, to get loans right now due to high down payment requirements. A lot of the increased activity in the housing marked is due to people refinancing.


I think that people should be able to buy whatever they want if they can afford it. All I am saying is that it might not be in the best taste to drive "a few Cadillacs" like Romney's wife or put a house up like this one right now.

(sorry for the shameless Romney bash)

At least building a behemoth like that will provide jobs for a decent amount of people for like a year.

Aside from a realtor making 3% commission, what would the economic impact be if he bought a 1500 square foot house in the middle of generic suburbia?

[GeoffD]

I think it'd be funny, if you didn't have hired people to dust and stuff to see the trails that would develop in the dust through such a huge house.

If you've got two people only, what's the point here, besides "My house is bigger than yours"?
They have massive numbers of guests? Host absurd parties? I get some reasons. But when you say it's just the two of them...it can't really be true, it's designed for many multiples of that.
Not only that, but some big businessman, for example, couldn't possibly live in the place very often if it's out side of the city very far...or do those folk just work from home?

Go walk around Newport, Rhode Island some time. The China Trade rich started building mansions there in 1850. At the turn of the century, the NYC rich like the Vanderbilts, Astors and Wideners showed up and built even bigger. It's what rich people do.

The Newport scene was somewhat different from somebody building a massive house on a huge tract of land. In Newport, it was a social scene where everyone visited each other and entertained their less fortunate NYC friends who came up on the train to escape the summer heat. A mansion in eastern Washington is more like George Vanderbilt's Biltmore in Asheville, NC. Personally, I think that's kind of bizarre. If you actually live in the mansion, you're basically a hermit with a staff of dozens to keep the place going. It's not like your friends are going to pop in for dinner.

[osiris]

At least building a behemoth like that will provide jobs for a decent amount of people for like a year.

A house this size is going to be a couple of year project in most cases, and will provide work at good wages for hundreds of people during that time, virtually all of which will go to local tradespeople and small business. Building this house is better economic stimulus than throwing millions at Wall St or flagging Fortune 500 corporations.

[barry2952]

A house this size is going to be a couple of year project in most cases, and will provide work at good wages for hundreds of people during that time, virtually all of which will go to local tradespeople and small business. Building this house is better economic stimulus than throwing millions at Wall St or flagging Fortune 500 corporations.

[Chris Stack]

Not how I'd spend my cash if I had it, but I've certainly got no beef with it. 6 kitchens seems ridiculous, but so does 3 cars to some people. Different strokes.

[Air-over-water]

At least building a behemoth like that will provide jobs for a decent amount of people for like a year.

What about this though?

He bought a rock quarry in Montana and closed it down so he could have all the rock to himself.

What about the people that lost their jobs at the quarry?

[barry2952]

What about the people that lost their jobs at the quarry?

Seems pretty simple to me. If there's demand for quarried product another will open, or reopen. There are thousands of abandoned quarries across the US.

[shadylurker]

No. I can't say where it is but let's say it's in the Pacific NW.

Then we want our lake back.

[Cousin Eddie]

Then we want our lake back.

You can't BUY a lake? Nobody owns the damn lake. It's a pond if it's private other wise it's public domain. WTF? buy a lake.

I do take-offs for homes in my line of work (along with engineered flooring layouts). That house would be a 6 month project and an absolute nightmare. Some of the 6,000-8,000 sq.ft homes i've worked on have been pain in the ass enough.

[VdubChaos]

I just don't get it.

Same here. It would be so creepy just being in such a big house.

[TErak66]

It's awesome, though I also don't get it. It's to much. I would end up living in like 3 rooms. I'd go years without seeing the other half of the house.

[TheDarkEnergist]

I hate you people.

[Ubel GLI]

Houses are largely just rich people e-peens. No one here would do it because they can't.
Being that rich is a totally different mindset for most.

[Turbio!]

That's not a house, that's a small village with hallways built between all the buildings.

[sjt1985]

Houses are largely just rich people e-peens. No one here would do it because they can't.
Being that rich is a totally different mindset for most.

Exactly, its easy for me to be generous with piles of money I'll never have, but I'd like to think I would be.

[six_banger]

cot dam. serious crib. moar pics.

[A.Wilder]

just gonna let the kids ride their big wheels around the house

[White Jetta]

That pyramid house was hideous. I liked how they kept showing one area only to go back to see that horror a second time, like i didn't get enough of it before. Could have been executed so much better.

[Chris Stack]

Houses are largely just rich people e-peens. No one here would do it because they can't.
Being that rich is a totally different mindset for most.

That's true. It's easy to sit here and say I don't aspire to have a massive house, a mini giraffe, a Rolls Phantom, or a toliet made of gold because I can't currently have those things. But if all I had to do to get them was ask for them and sign the check....maybe I'd want them?

[synthsis]

But if all I had to do to get them was ask for them and sign the check....maybe I'd want them?

I can safely say that no matter how much money I had, I'd never want something like this. I'm a vintage architecture and design snob. I'd be happy with an Eichler in NorCal near SanFran full of original Mid-Century/Danish Mod furniture. I have no need for 6 kitchens, I can only eat out of one at a time anyhow.

[barry2952]

The Detroit area is host to a large Arab population. Anyone who has traveled Telegraph Road in West Bloomfield will attest to the size of the gigantic homes alongside the 8-lane divided highway. Believe me, this is not cheap property. It is not unusual for a number of families, and generations, to be living under one roof with virtually separate quarters with separate kitchens.

So, If you divide 40,000 square feet by 6 kitchens you get 6,666.666 square feet per abode. That's still friggin' huge.

[NWarty]

40,000 sq-ft floor plan. Six (6) kitchens. Outdoor shower area so the guy can watch bald eagles nesting. He bought the lake and about 20,000 acres around the lake. Three boat docks each with a hot tub. Full copper roofing and siding. Metal structure. He bought a rock quarry in Montana and closed it down so he could have all the rock to himself. He bought a marble quarry in Italy so he could have all the marble to himself. Money is no object. Just him and his wife will live there. Self-made billionaire.

I'm working on the lighting and shade control system for the home.

Lake Couer d'alene?

[Mtl-Marc]

edit: Poor people be mad in this thread

More pictures!

[synthsis]

So, If you divide 40,000 square feet by 6 kitchens you get 6,666.666 square feet per abode. That's still friggin' huge.

yea, but the OP said this was for a guy and his wife, not some massive multi-generational family.

[Ubel GLI]

That's true. It's easy to sit here and say I don't aspire to have a massive house, a mini giraffe, a Rolls Phantom, or a toliet made of gold because I can't currently have those things. But if all I had to do to get them was ask for them and sign the check....maybe I'd want them?

Yup. Most uber rich people I know also have the mentality that they earned all their money so they deserve the best. Sometimes thats true, sometimes its not. Either way that leads to extravagant purchases. I like to think I'd give a ton away too but then I start making exceptions, like just enough to be comfortable and have A nice garage, then the garage expands, then there's maintenance costs, then your wife probably wants a bunch of **** too. Its a slippery slope. I would want a mini zoo filled with mini animals though.
/richpeopleproblems

[Code-7]

To a poor person living in Africa or somebody living in a shack in India, your typical 2000sq ft house would be a mansion. 'Clean water? Holy ****!' You 'poor' guys want to justify that?

Methinks the people crying about this guy are the same kids that were in grade school crying about not winning a trophy for fourth place. Oh wait, I hear they're giving them to everyone these days.

[Chris Stack]

I can safely say that no matter how much money I had, I'd never want something like this. I'm a vintage architecture and design snob. I'd be happy with an Eichler in NorCal near SanFran full of original Mid-Century/Danish Mod furniture. I have no need for 6 kitchens, I can only eat out of one at a time anyhow.

You might not want THIS house, but you might want something equally ostentatious.

There might be a somewhat decent reason for multiple kitchens; regular one, maybe a pro kitchen in the basement for events, outdoor kitchen out by the lake, kitchenette near the theatre, plus some in-home apartments with private guest kitchens? I dunno.

[A.Wilder]

the versatility of the straw-man argument is highlighted throughout this thread

[Code-7]