I'm struck by this full-page ad for many reasons.
First, as a person who occasionally works in advertising, I note the odd placement of the phrase "The Bentley Residence," (complete with incongruous comma) across the garage door. Is this the home of the Bentley family? Do they mean to say that a Bentley automobile lives inside the garage? Are the letters meant to be affixed somehow to the door?
Secondly, since Regency Builders bought a full page ad, one would assume they would want to feature what they consider a true "beauty shot" of their product. And what do we see? Garages (plural!), many square yards of cement, a downspout (almost brazenly front and center), immature shrub plantings, and an utterly fake "balcony" - - almost the epitome of all that is wrong with modern house design, presented without irony.
But, sadly, they got it right. Most houses today truly are "The
Bentley Residence," and "The Pontiac Residence," "The Chevrolet
Residence," "The Jeep Cherokee Residence," "The Land Rover Residence,"
"the Subaru Residence," etc.
So many new homes are built with the garage(s) facing the street. I'm no architect, but I think it's as good as mooning visitors and passersby. The garage should be on the side, or around the back if possible.
The other funny/sad thing about the ad is the statement "Because your home is your castle." Why should we have castles? This isn't feudal England.
Pre-subprime mortgage meltdown, so many people seemed think that they had to live in a palace. I wonder if that will significantly change now.
Posted by: Liz Stone Abraham | July 11, 2008 at 03:38 PM
Liz: I certainly hope so. This can't continue indefinitely. The collapse, if it hasn't already happened, will have many long-lasting effects.
Posted by: Jason Haas | August 11, 2008 at 05:09 PM
I have actually been in this house. It is absolutely the most beautiful home I have ever had the pleasure of setting foot in. Sure the photo does not do this home justice maybe this link to several shots of the home will: http://regencybuildersinc.com/testimonials/trau.shtml Yes the ad is less than flattering in illustrating the flagship structure that this is. Yes I agree, what was the designer thinking when putting those words across the garage door? But go to the Regency website link above and then let the appreciation for the architectural beauty of this structure set in. I realize that you were not picking on this home as much as the ad and some of societies idealisms. However, I feel the need to point out this homes true beauty for what it is.
Posted by: Troy Chowanec | March 30, 2009 at 09:57 PM
Troy, having looked at the photos, I'd say that's about FOUR and one-half "beautiful" houses. Squished together.
Wonder if the guy who built it still owns it, or if it's near foreclosure as reality sets in.
Ah, sweet excess ...
Posted by: John Michlig | March 31, 2009 at 09:00 AM
This person built this house with cash on hand. No over extension of finances There. The person that built it still lives there and will probably spend the balance of their days there. At 24,000 square feet and the average new home being around 2000 square feet I would say that this is more like 12 beautiful homes "squished together" as you say. Just think a 7000 square foot family ranch home was removed to build this masterpiece. The taxes alone are many times what my mortgage payment runs! Must be nice.
Posted by: Troy Chowanec | April 06, 2009 at 09:42 AM