The Millenium Mansion is Hot Again

Guess what is super hot again? The Millenium Mansion. You may know them by their unceremonious but popular moniker—McMansion. These designs were embraced in the late 1980s and ‘90s and favored by builders for substantial custom homes. They typically feature high-pitched roofs, differing tall window sizes and shapes, and lots of space.

There is no better historical or architectural authority to educate us on Millennium Mansions than Virginia Savage McAlester in her book “A Field Guide to American Houses.”

The Millennium Mansion is the predominant style in many large subdivisions built from the late 1980s up to the present. They can be built on higher-priced land because their vertical massing allows far more square feet per lot than the horizontal Ranch house.

The entry into many Millennium Mansions assumed a new dominance — generally one-and-a-half or two stories tall, and arched — a feature introduced by Hollywood architect John Wolff in his dramatic Mansard and Regency Designs. Often an arched window is placed above the front door. This one-and-a-half or two-story entry was not simply an exterior feature: it generally signals the presence of a two-story interior entry foyer that often leads into a two-story great room — a pair of interior features that became popular beginning in about 1985. Decades of the Ranch style’s standard eight-foot ceilings had led to a craving for very high ceilings.

This 1984 Millenium Mansion in West Plano’s Willow Bend is an excellent example of what is rapidly becoming the hottest inventory in the market because this style is so well-suited to transformation. Years ago, this home was only one of four on the annual Christmas parade sponsored by the Plano Jaycees. So, it was a stunner back then, and all it took was an owner with a vision to bring it into this decade with style and grace.

Previous owners not only did the impactful cosmetic work like ripping out dated marble floors in favor of rich solid oak flooring and new staircase railings. They also updated the critical things you don’t see, like electrical and plumbing systems.

The Millennium Mansion is All About Space

These homes are also hot again because after a global pandemic drove everyone inside, we began to appreciate space more. They provide much of what we seek in new construction without the hassle of building. The Millenium Mansion has always been about space with big rooms, high ceilings, loads of window light, media rooms, walk-in pantries, enormous principal suites, and outdoor amenities. It’s all there, and it always has been. It was simply that tastes changed, and that’s a straightforward fix.

The 2018 full remodel touched every part of this Millenium Mansion, including a metal roof and a completely redesigned kitchen with professional appliances from Viking and Miele.

This home features 8,424 square feet, five ensuite bedrooms, two half baths, a media room, a game room, a home office, four fireplaces, and a four-car garage. Those coveted outdoor amenities are here, including an updated pool with two spas, two patio areas, and enough side yard to install a pickleball court.

The Millenium Mansion is indeed hot again. And there is zero hassle of finding land, an architect, an interior designer, or a great location and school system. It’s all here and you can move right in.

Compass Real Estate’s Jackie Dorbritz has 5600 Plantation Circle listed for 4.65 million.