This excessive design “trend” is reminiscent of upper-class homes from times gone by. The staff would work and live in the house, so you needed a dedicated laundry room, butler’s pantry, or dirty kitchen. But unless you are one of those people today, you don’t need these things.
In my career, I’ve seen people who make good money incorporate these excessive designs in their space just because they can and I argue that just because you can doesn’t mean you should. There is such a thing as too much convenience, which has the opposite effect on people, we become lazy, complain about everything, or forget basic skills. Opt for universal design instead of getting the biggest and best of every item in your home because we want to age into the home and have it function for all.
Multiple dishwashers
I’ve gone back and forth on this one. I used to think it would be great to have two dishwashers. It seems practical. But, its excessive design, we don’t need more than one. We only run it about 2-3 times a week. And hand wash sippy cups and let them dry overnight.
Dishwashers require maintenance and cleaning, sometimes a lot of cleaning, especially if you have hard water. Now, let’s say you have eight kids. Then yeah, get two dishwashers. It seems nice, but it’s just more for the sake of more and not functional for most people.
Double Islands
This was and never will be practical. Double islands is THE example of excessive design. A kitchen is all about maximizing efficiency while cooking, cleaning, etc. People with double islands say, “This is the prep island, and this is the serving island.” You don’t need both of those.
If your island is 3′ x 6′ or 4’x 8′, that’s enough to prepare food and serve dinner. You could prep on the perimeter countertops. You only need about twelve to twenty suitable size cabinets in your kitchen. Less if you have a smaller family or only cook a little, or larger if you have a large family, cook a lot, or often have company over. But, six to eight cabinets make up two islands which is almost the total amount of cabinets you need.
A wine fridge in the primary closet
Why? You don’t need a wine fridge in the primary closet. That will probably get used twice a year at the most. The only reason for a refrigerator in the closet is if you are taking medication that needs to be kept cold and don’t want it in the kitchen fridge.
Giant Laundry Room
The caveat here is that you could combine laundry, pantry, or mudroom. But besides that, you don’t need a laundry room the size of most kitchens. What are people really storing in there?! Are those cabinets empty?
I’ve seen a lot of giant laundry rooms, and they’re always empty. On every home tour I’ve watched, they never say what’s in those cabinets.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t invest in a laundry room. A sink and three cabinets for laundry baskets, stain removers, detergent, vases, ironing, a large cabinet for the vacuum, mops, etc., and the household cleaners to keep them up and away from little ones.
But we don’t need a laundry room with 12 cabinets and a wrapping station. I don’t know about you, but I like to bring my gift wrap to the coffee table, put on a Christmas movie, and have coffee and snacks with my husband while we wrap presents.
More than 10,000 sq ft
Unless you have 17-19 people living with you, you don’t need a 10,000 sq ft home. According to Quicken Loans, people should aim for about 400 to 600 square feet per person. If you want to go slightly above that equation, like a guest suite for in-laws or a theater room for family movie night, that’s okay, but don’t go so far above that because it becomes excessive design.
The exterior style of a mansion becomes odd, is it colonial, modern or craftsman? The scale is so massive it starts to look like its not actually a house. And these are becoming more common where they just look strange and intrusive. If you can afford a house this size your better off going to an architect to build you a beautiful home with an actual architectural style.
Multiple washers and dryers
Again, unless you have a lot of kids or a messy hobby, like hunting or pottery, you don’t need more than one washer and one dryer. If you want to make sorting laundry easy, give each family member their own hamper and do loads separately.
There is no need to maintain each of these machines. Change out water lines, empty dryer lint, clean pipes, wash each machine, and empty out that gross water from the washer when you need to clean it.
Huge Primary bathrooms
Do you often go to the Oscars or The Met Gala? Do you need your makeup artist and hairstylist to come over and get you ready for said event? Then you do not need a huge primary bathroom.
For a good sized bathroom, have a 72″ double vanity, linen closet, large shower, and maybe a tub if you’re into that. You don’t need a shower big enough for twenty people, a vanity station with a chaise or salon-style chair, and 300 square feet of unused space encased floor to ceiling in marble.
Definitely go for a large shower with a 5′ radius in the shower and outside the shower for universal design purposes, but other than that, you don’t need a huge bathroom.
Dog washing station
A dog washing station with a shower head, we don’t need this much convenience. Go outside, get some fresh air, and save yourself from essentially cleaning another shower.
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