The Home Front Asks: How Big is Too Big?
Finding a balance between size and style.
About a year ago, a long-time resident of our Del Ray street passed away. Her home, which sat vacant for a time, was eventually purchased by a local developer intent on renovating and reselling the property.
While the house was certainly in need of updating, there were some nervous homeowners on the block as that first trash dumpster rolled into view.
Guessing what would become of the little green bungalow became a hot topic. Would the home be huge? Would it still blend into our lovely streetscape?
As it turned out, the developers did an admirable job of sticking to a mostly bungalow aesthetic. Yes, they added a second story but they did so tastefully and within what most residents would say is moderation. They managed to update and expand the home without enlarging its footprint. In fact, the home, just completed this month, is already under contract with a buyer.
Balancing the need for updated homes—that reflect how individuals and families live today—with an eye toward maintaining a home’s inherent character can be a huge challenge in a neighborhood such as Del Ray.
The question remains, how big is too big? Do you cringe when you see construction start up on a nearby house? Or, do you welcome the updates to neighboring properties? Have you renovated your home to greatly increase the square footage? How did you balance size with style? Tell us in the comments section.
Dana Damico
10:49 am on Sunday, October 30, 2011
I once heard a conversation that went something like this: Can you believe that house they're building on the hill? It's 10,000 square feet. It's like the Taj Mahal.
The person alarmed by the "gaudy" house lives in one that's 6,500 square feet with four bedrooms, five and a half baths, a cinema, a gym and more.
In other words, the question can't be answered without the answerers appointing themselves official arbiters of taste and judgment.
Fox Vernon
12:07 pm on Monday, October 31, 2011
I don't think size is the main issue. Fit, in terms of whether the new building's design, fits with the neighborhood's (and really, the neighbor's) aesthetic, is what really matters. If it fits, it fits! ;)
And fitting is a very social, scary, sometimes disappointing, sometimes exhuberant "thing," if it is a thing at all. Perhaps a better word than "fitting" is "belonging." Yes, belonging is the word I should have first used!
Amanda Gilbert
12:10 pm on Monday, October 31, 2011
Don't cringe away from opining. There's nothing so legitimately deserving of an individual's opinion as the ways in which we divide up, build out, decorate, and occupy the space in which we all live -- the neighborhood. Having an opinion doesn't necessitate mobbing together to bully your neighbors like an HOA does, and part of Del Ray's charm is its free-for-all eccentricity.
I enjoy seeing very large houses go up in this neighborhood. It means they must own a great many things. I look forward to getting to know the residents well enough to borrow their things.
Keely Thomas-Moore
6:18 pm on Friday, August 3, 2012
I think homefront construction is too big when it sticks out like a store thumb. Does anyone remember that song, "one of these things is not like the other...." Well, when that applies to a home, then the home was too big. Maybe not in size, but in style and aesthetic. ( http://homefrontconstructionllc.com )