LESS MEGA-HOME. MORE RESTRAINT.

March 9th, 2010
by Chairman of the Bored
By now we’re all painfully aware that the roots of our current economic plight can be directly traced to the Real Estate market and the excessive speculation, borrowing and risk underwritten thereof. Which got us to thinking, how much is enough? When are people satisfied with the space they need, as opposed to several pointless rooms  for collections of their stupid stuff. Honestly, what normal-sized family needs to live in a gargantuan mega McMansion?

We’re talking about homes like Candy Spelling’s 73,500sf of ridiculousness, with three, (count ‘em, three) gift wrapping rooms, and a room for her bizarre 1,000+ Chucky-like doll collection. You remember, the collection Spelling later claimed she started for her transsexual looking daughter, Tori. Who woulda thought the man who created Charlie’s Angels would end up with a daughter so decidedly un-angel-like.. Yikes. No wonder those two don’t get along. Can anyone say “Mommy-dearest.”

Why don’t the wealthy emulate the great Warren Buffett, who still lives in the modest home in Omaha that he purchased back in 1958 for a mere $31,500. Granted, it’s worth about $700K now and he has added a few California beach houses to the ole’ portofolio, but we can grant him a transgression every now and again. The man is worth $37 billion dollars!

Even the Bouvier-Beales, the infamous Southhampton mother/daughter socialites, decided to forgo the luxury of their Grey Gardens mansion, in favor of a life of squalor. Okay, bad example. But by foresaking the luxuries of their Mega-Home, they found fame (posthumous, but still) when the Mayles Brothers crafted a stunning documentary about their extraordinary lives, which was later turned into a Broadway play and HBO feature film. But all that’s beside the point. Folks need to rethink their ridiculous properties in favor of something more appropriate.