search

The Real Deal Logo

Trending

Marty Burger’s new venture sputters on takeoffMarty Burger’s new venture sputters on takeoffLawmakers reach sweeping housing deal with “good cause eviction,” new 421aLawmakers reach sweeping housing deal with “good cause eviction,” new 421aHarry Macklowe faces major losses on Miami, Midtown projectsHarry Macklowe faces major losses on Miami, Midtown projectsDavid Werner strikes $115M deal to snap up 100 Wall Street at big discountDavid Werner strikes $115M deal to snap up 100 Wall Street at big discount
South Florida

Abandoning the McMansion

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter


Is the McMansion dead? At last week’s International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas, designer Marianne Cusato unveiled a 1,771-square-foot model home for 2010 that left many attendees with the feeling that, for homes, trim is in. The four-bedroom home has scarcely a foot of unusable space. The casual dining room can double as a formal one, while the extra bedroom can double as a home office or a rental apartment. It would cost an estimated $500 per year to heat and cool. “During the last decade, we saw a boom in housing sizes,” said Boyce Thompson, editorial director of Builder Magazine. “There was so much cheap money out there and anyone with a pulse could get it… builders, recognizing that everything was going to sell, paid way less attention to how the house actually operated,” he said. In the video above, MarketWatch takes a look inside Cusato’s vision for this year’s alternative to the McMansion.