Why are houses in America so...ugly? (Sacramento, Dublin: appointed, new home)

[bfarn]

Wow you need to drive through East Sacramento by Mercy Hospital on J street those house are what you want to see. My home was built in 2003. It has a tile roof and the entrance is through a gated courtyard complete with fountain and double doors with glass. One whole wall of the courtyard is window's. The house is made of wood and stucco and I do have brick infront and two huge windows.I have a two car garage that takes up half the home front but I like it for the convenience of driving into the garage closing the door automatically and walking into my laundry room to kick my dirty shoes off. I then enter my kitchen which extends to my family room with two kids in tow it's all very efficient and comfy. I have a small tree in front and many bushes. They are living things and I like to watch them grow and change.
My neighbors are Phillipino, Chinese, East Indian, Caucasion, Hispanic, Afican,Vietnamese.....mostly East Indian and Caucasion. There is a small nature preserve within walking distance and I saw a flock of Canadian Gueese taking a break from flight to warmer climate The nearest fishing hole is 10 miuntes away if you want to walk. Mostly catfish and I don't care for how they taste. As Kid Quake said my home will most likely wash away someday. I live in Natomas. I live here to be close to my parents. They are old and need help with little things. Boths my parents are American they imigrated from Mexico and San Salvador. They have grown children living at home with them. Many of the people living around me have grown children living in there home. I don't agree with the kicking the kids out at 18 argument you suggested. I don't see that happening. If an 18 year old gets kicked out they probably were'nt being productive.

[Huckleberry3911948]

utility has been substituted for style.
american houses serve americans not greeks.
the good news you can built you own for a lot less.
be sure to tile with greek tile, i love it.

[Minervah]

Hellsalover where in the US have you been? You made the comment about American houses being made of wood but it you travel back East, you will see they are made mostly from brick. It's simple economics. houses are built from the available materials and for weather protection in the area. Brick is more insulating than wood and cold weather climates require more insulated houses. Milder climates will use lighter building materials such as wood or adobe.

I totally agree about garage in the front of the house being ugly. I have always though they were. Likewise the cookie-cutter or McManison style homes are just plain tacky. But not American houses are like this. Go take a trip across the country and you will see architecture as different from one state to another as the lay of the land. Visit cities, country sides and rural areas. It appears to me that your vision of American houses is confined only to the West Coast.

I have never been to Greece so I won't comment on something about which I don't know but I think you are comparing apples and oranges. And your conclusions are based on narrow observation. If you have travelled in all the states and still think American houses are all ugly, well that's ok too. In America everyone is supposed to be allowed to have an opinion. Even you.

[HotWire]

No one can say American houses are ugly. No matter what country you're from. Yes, there are some southern cities where there are some ugly box looking things...but you'd be surprised...those same ugly homes are beautiful inside. And large.

But as for beauty inside and out...there's plenty. no one can even joke about it. I've been to enough to know. And many of them are derived from European style...so this person who started this thread doesnt know what he/she is talking about.

Millionaires row in Miami Beach...beautiful. The Hamptons...gorgeous. The valleys of S. Cal...stunning. The beach front homes off S. Carolina...amazing.

[Djames9]

Originally Posted by hellaslover

I don't understand why houses are so ugly and cheap made? I mean, in Europe we use brick and stones to build a house, here they are made out of wood. I was told once it's because it's cheaper to make them out of wood + we have lots of trees. But it seems to me that houses here are more expensive compared to Greece (where i'm from), for example a million dollar home here is not worth that much in Greece. And why not use clay tile roofs? And another thing that bugs me the most, why do they put the garage door in the front? Shouldn't there be the entrance or a large window in the front of the house? Why do they build the houses with entrance on the side and a huge garage door (sometimes 2) in the front? And not only that, a lot of houses that i see have a tree right in front of the entrance, it's like they are doing it on purpose to not show any house other than the garage! Is it a privacy issue? Seems like million dollar homes are built this way, is it that hard to make cheaper homes look nice? And what's the deal with tiny doors? In my country most entrance doors are double, made out of nice wood with glass, here's it's just a wooden door. Is there a reason homes are built this way or do americans have no sense of style?

It's because you live in California...where all the houses built in california... are the exact same and there's no Variety and Old Fashioned Style Houses

[allenk893]

Originally Posted by hellaslover

I don't really care about the garage, a one car garage is pretty small and it usually means the house itself is small. a 2 car garage is fine even though i will probably turn it into a gym, a game room or just storage, a 3 car i think is too much and a waste of space. I just don't like parking my car in the garage, either park it on the street or on the driveway. If am gonna be afraid that someone will break into the car if i leave it out then i probably shouldn't live in that neighborhood in the first place. And it never gets that cold or snowy in california that i should keep my car indoors. Now if i was to leave for a couple months then yes i will wanna put it in the garage but again a garage is not a priority for me when i'm buying a house.
Maybe you 're right that it takes more lot to build the garage elsewhere but take a look at these links and you ll see what i mean. The first 2 are the ones i consider ugly, there is no house just a garage. The other ones still have a garage but the houses are nice too with a lot of surface and windows. They don't feel like a cabin like the first 2. I'm gonna die from depression if i lived in one of the first 2. Thankfully there's plenty of the kind of houses i like in rocklin and lincoln, houses built this way in sacramento are way too expensive.
Haley & Associates, Inc. Has California Homes Listed Online
Haley & Associates, Inc. Has California Homes Listed Online
Haley & Associates, Inc. Has California Homes Listed Online
Haley & Associates, Inc. Has California Homes Listed Online
Haley & Associates, Inc. Has California Homes Listed Online


1. I never said ALL houses are trash
2. I did ask why they are built this way and got my answers. They are cheap made so they can be torn down easily and rebuilt (lol), they have the garage door in the front so you can get from your car into your house thru the garage, using that as the main entrance (lol x2)
3. I started being rude and disrespectful after the second post.
4. The word "ugly" is not rude just a way to describe something not pretty-sorry if that offended you, you have issues...
5. Compared to greek architecture american is trash..if you told me america has better technology than greece i would keep my mouth shut but saying greeks can't built? come on...open a history book

ps. I understand the houses are made of wood to resist earthquakes, but at least cover it with stucco so it doesn't look like a construction in progress. Wood is not very a very pleasant material to look at


Can you explain how is this house nice and worth 1.5 million? Other than that it's big? What do you consider nice because i think we have totally different taste

What the hell?? Those houses are freakin gorgeous!! And I'm shocked right now that they are not at 1,000,000 dollar prices! I mean IT IS California were talking about. This is so shocking to me right now! I never thought I would see it.

[clevedark]

I'm sorry, but anyone who thinks houses built of wood are cheap to build and don't last long is ignorant. There are houses in New England over 300 years old built out of wood. Has this person seen the wooden arts and crafts houses in Pasadena?

Oy vey.

[Auxvasse148]

It's only the houses in those new subdivisions that are ugly. They are all the same, and they are so huge. And the lot sizes are like a refridgerator box! It makes no sense! They pack the houses just 20 feet from each other. They are called McMansions.

[jzt83]

Newer buildings built within the past 50 years tend to be ugly in general no matter what part of the world. It's just that the US cities are newer and thus have more buildings built within the past 50 years and consequently, more ugly buildings. Just look at other "new world" nations such as the commonwealths of Britain, and you will come across an abundance of ugly buildings. Why are newer buildings uglier nowadays? It partly has to do with economics; developers just want to make as much as possible, while consumers want to buy houses as cheaply as possible. Also, it seems people nowadays care less about quality and beauty, and are more concerned with low prices. Thus the popularity of Wal-Mart. Also look at how other things from appliances to clothing have become uglier and lower quality. Currently, many things are merely utilitarian without regard to design. I remember watching a Charley Chaplin movie and just in awe of the beauty of something as basic as a time clock. The clock was a wooden contraption with intricate detailing. Compare that to the basic gray metal/plastic time clocks today. I just wonder how uglier and how crappier things will have to become before people revolt and demand more beautiful and higher quality products. I don't know ho people have people blind to beauty and quality. I guess greed is the disease that has lead us to this mess that we are in. People want to acquire as much crap as possible, so they look for the cheapest things they can find. Also, companies want to acquire the most money as possible so they sell the cheapest things as possible. This leads to a positive feedback loop where ugliness and low quality continually increases.

[jzt83]

Originally Posted by Auxvasse148

It's only the houses in those new subdivisions that are ugly. They are all the same, and they are so huge. And the lot sizes are like a refridgerator box! It makes no sense! They pack the houses just 20 feet from each other. They are called McMansions.

I see no problem with sameness of building design. After all, many buildings in Paris follow a similar design and other beautiful cities around the world. But I agree that most newer homes including these garish McMansions are hideous. I often wonder why any one of great means would actually buy such ugly buildings. I also wonder why in spite of being mad rich, why people still buy ugly junk in general in large quantities.