Vinyl Box Urban Sprawl Hell

I am not anti-growth or anti-progress. But in my area our population is not increasing yet we continue to gooble-up farmland and puke-up mostly cheaply built vinyl box homes. This crazy growth is fueled by families' desires for strong school districts and the relatively inexpensive price for new construction in our area.

This past weekend I went to several homes featured on the Homebuilder's Parade of Homes. I went to look at kitchens cabinets that were designed by the same business that we have decided to purchase from. I wanted to see a few examples of kitchens that they have designed in actual homes.

The first couple of houses we lookdAt first I was getting, a bad case of the "I-wants," remembering things that I really like about new houses - open floor plans, usable basements, energy effeciency and modern kitchens. Then I saw a house that where someone actually invested in the mechanicals and the construction. This thing had it all and it was wel built and it was also half a million dollars. But despite all of it's charm it didn't have 12 inch think brick exterior like my house.

But then I went into a house that reminded me of what I hate about new houses. This thing had everything I hated, thin walls, cheap light, cheap woodwork, giant garages facing the street, thin doors, ugly garage doors, goofy brick facades, and it was 5 times wider than it was deep.