who would want a house this big?

[starlooker]

Price record for Aussie House (http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/6562645/bennett-mansion-sold-for-57-5m/)

Even with 6 kids, they'd only occupy 1/10 of the floorspace, by my non-scientific, quick-&-nasty estimate.

I think someone is over-compensating, if you know what I mean. ;)

[jjjnettie]

It wouldn't suit my bohemian lifestyle.

[renormalised]

Actually, it's only really small because it barely occupied the corner of my screen when I clicked on it:P:P:D:D

[multiweb]

I agree. I'd rather buy a luxury cabin on "the world" and go for a non stop cruise around the world. :thumbsup:

[BerrieK]

Hehe, it looka like a colony of funghi in the thumbnail.

We all know, however, it's not how big it is, it's how you use it that matters!

I would hate to have to clean it (yeah I know, a very girly comment).

Kerrie :)

[jjjnettie]

LOL
That was my first thought.
It's so hard to find good help these days.

[starlooker]

Imagine one or 2 kids hiding because they don't want to eat their veggies, so the parents have to call in a search and rescue team.

EDIT: Just added a bigger pic.

[Esseth]

To small for my tastes lol

[troypiggo]

Might just be big enough to hold all the toys I've been accumulating...

[telecasterguru]

Party headquarters. It seems to be about exactly my size. When do I get the keys?

Been looking for somewhere to turn my guitar amps up loud.

Frank

[Robh]

A veritable work of tart and mildly ostentatious.

Regards, Rob.

[Gallifreyboy]

2 problems, no observatory and she wouldn't accept subject to sale offer;)

[CoombellKid]

Yeah well that's the servent quarters, where's the real house???

Cheers,CS

[mithrandir]

I know someone who paid more than that for a boat.

[leon]

That is just about immoral, what a wast when so many are homeless.

Leon

[marki]

Pretty much sums up stupid Perth property prices. Here you can have a full time job and still have to live in a shelter for homeless people because you can't afford rent. The whole thing is a little contrived and there is nothing special about Mosman Park unless you like the smell of dying algae after the summer blooms every year. Should see what they have done along the coast. As a young lad I lived right on the beach (West Coast Hwy) with 4 others and we would go surfing early in the morning and generally just enjoy life. The house was old and crappy but hey. Now it's 60km of million + dollar houses that are on the most part unoccupied as many of the owners live OS visiting maybe once a year :shrug:. Talk about selling out our heritage.

Mark

[Clarry]

Forget about how big it is, the real issue is how ugly it is. Money can't buy taste.

[spacezebra]

I cant see an Observatory - nah not interested! LOL

Cheers Petra d

[space oddity]

Bit too close to the water for my taste. Looks like a few good storms, tsunamis or sea levels rising will dissolve the foundations, leaving a rather expensive mess. At least there will be fewer rooms to clean:rofl:

[TrevorW]

Ugly money can't buy taste as has already been said

[jjjnettie]

Salt air plays havoc with your optics too.
Give me a well insulated log cabin on a mountain top, with room for a few friends to stay over and I'll be happy.

[OzRob]

It's actually on a river and will probably be stable for the next 1000 years or so.

[Miaplacidus]

Sheesh you people are fussy. It mightn't be perfect, but then what new house doesn't need a few touches to make it livable? I don't see anything that couldn't be fixed with a bit of elbow grease and WD40. No, the only thing wrong with it would be the neighbours, I suspect. Bunch of hooligans out there in those western suburbs, screeching up and down the main street in their Toranas and their Monaros.

[taminga16]

This sort of thing is not unlike large black cars with lots of "Bling" and ridiculous, I cannot help but feel that it all has something to do with "p*** Envy".

I do not know who said it but, "Old Money Stacks and New Money Shines" was pretty close.:)

Greg.

[renormalised]

Don't you mean a bunch of hoons screeching up and down their street in Astin Martins and Bugatti Veyrons:P:P:D:D

Ferrari's and Lamborghini's even:P:P:D:D

[KenGee]

I'd take if you were giving it away, but i'd sell it asap, and buy a bush block, and a large telescope. Don't worry about the number of rooms, think of the number of photons.

[marki]

Hell no those folks would never own something so crass, those types of cars live by the sea and in the burbs (seen a few DB9's and 360's out sorrento way). No these folks drive sensible cars like a range rover or bentley or lexus (for the kids).

Mark

[GrahamL]

Wonder if in a hundred years local council will want to bulldoze it to
tidy up the visual pollution of the river system :)

there are some seriously incredible homes around I could live in the one above , never,

http://www.franklloydwright.org/fllwf_web_091104/Tours.html

http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Fallingwater.html

[jjjnettie]

Lloyd Wright can leave me cold at times.
But that's just personal. I prefer things to be more organic.
Don't get me wrong, the man was a genius, and there have been few since who can match his vision and creativity.
Falling Water has some aspects that I love.
He was so restricted by the quality of building materials of the time. Such a shame. Imagine if he was still with us today, what would he be designing????

[Omaroo]

I've been to Falling Water Jeanette... it's very different to any photograph in real life. None can do it justice. I'd have it :thumbsup: You're totally Wright about the materials. Engineering has come a long way since his cantilevered box design.

[jjjnettie]

I am so envious Chris.:)
It's one of my dreams to visit one of his creations.
One of my neighbours, where I grew up in Brisbane, designed his house, inspired by Lloyd Wright.

[starlooker]

The location of Falling water is terrific, but the concrete, straight lines and sharp corners is so artificial, when compared to it's natural surroundings. Add to that the fact that it is a massive structure. Rather than blending into the setting, it imposes itself. What a monstrosity - my personal opinion, of course.

I would prefer a light steel frame, with mostly timber, and some glass, at 1/2 the size. :thumbsup:

[Omaroo]

That is, yes, a personal opinion. :)

[Barrykgerdes]

I would love to own it initially.

What couldn't I do with the proceeds after I sold it!

Barry

[jjjnettie]

If nature had been allowed to "do it's thing", the concrete would soon be covered with lichen, add some creeping plants, some weeping figs in planters,
the coldness, the harshness, would be warmed.

[starlooker]

I do think Falling Water(the building) is a magnificent piece of art in it's own right, and would look great in an urban setting. :thumbsup:

So when I call it a monstrosity, that is only with respect to it's natural setting. It sticks out like a sore thumb - my personal opinion, of course. ;)

[Omaroo]

I'll just say that you really have to go there and see it first hand to appreciate what it is, and how it blends with the surroundings. It does it magnificently, and as I said, you'll never really know how from pictures.

[jjjnettie]

nettie just looooves architecture.

[Omaroo]

You and me both.

My favourite living room in the world - Frank's own place, "Taliesin West"

I have plenty of stone on Omaroo to build a place like this...... maybe one day... :)

[jjjnettie]

LOLOL
I don't know enough people to fill all those seats though Chris.
There's alot to be said for cosiness. A fire place, shag pile rug, candles burning. Very romantic.
I like to have my "things" around me. Not cluttered, but cosy.
It's all personal taste, I know.

[Omaroo]

My new pad - "Omiesin"... LOL!

[starlooker]

I would love to live in the desert. Just a little wooden ranch. A horse and a dog. Wouldn't mind a good woman too.

I love a sunburnt country. :)

[starlooker]

Give me a home among the gumtrees, with lots of plumb trees.

A kangaroo, a cockatoo, a dunny out the back. And an old rocking chair. :whistle:

[mswhin63]

$2.5 million dollars for a penthouse suite on this ship. http://everwas.com/2009/11/the-largest-ocean-liner-in-the-world.html

[renormalised]

True, but remember...it's the hoons doing the crassness, not the locals:D

[renormalised]

I like my manor/estate type house...like an English or French manor. I also don't mind that mediterranean look as well. Can't abide by most houses these days, they're like living in little butter boxes. Bedrooms you can't even swing a microbe around in. Then they squeeze the houses onto ridiculously small building blocks (which is dangerous). Another thing which doesn't impress me is this "modern" look of housing design. The houses look more like office blocks or surgeries than houses. Just looks too sterile and clinical. Don't like this minimalist look, never have.

Anyway, about this house...it's small bickies. Probably only about 12000-15000sqft in size. Over priced too for that size. Also, all this talk by some about the price being immoral and what about the poor. Complete nonsense. Yes, there are many around who have hit bad circumstance and do need our help, but a great many more are only in their situation because of their own stupidity. I know quite a few who are poor and homeless just because they gamble or drink their way to that state. Families being let down by a moron who can't control themselves. Sounds like rough justice, but they need a good swift kick in the backside and smack in the head to wake them up. If someone has the money to afford a place like this, then good on them. They've been smart enough to actually do the hard work to get to where they are and they deserve what they get. Yeah, some might turn out to be rogues. But some don't and they have every right to enjoy the fruits of their money. What's immoral, is when people get to become wealthy by ill gotten means. What's immoral is when these homeless and poor who are in that condition through their own fault expect everyone else to owe them a living and wait on handouts which they then squander all over again. Take from everyone, but then take no responsibility for their own lives and those they affect.

Enough of that doom and gloom...think that house is ostentatious, how about this. Updown Court, in Surrey. 56000sqft, 103 rooms, $138million:eyepop::D

[JimmyH155]

That ship, Malcolm - couldn't be uglier if you tried. As they said, it is just like a boxy Hyat hotel that floats. As they also say, it is a dinosaur and it has only just started its maiden voyage. Ordered in the height of the crazy boom in 2006.
Hope there are no icebergs in the Atlantic. If there are 8000 people on board, and each lifeboat takes 30 people, thats 267 lifeboats......
Could be going cheap soon..;)

[jjjnettie]

:lol: That pool looks good.

[renormalised]

Geez, Chris, that was quick!!. You were only talking about building it a few posts ago, now look at it!!!:P:D

Who's the builder??:P:D

[fringe_dweller]

thread topic house looks like a great big wedding cake, even has icing colour, and i see so many of them around, dunno if its the columns? hmmm

and yes you definitely cant buy taste, i have watched many eps grand designs over years, does make me feel better sometimes

renormalised, erm chronic diseases ( even hard work related gawd forbid) majority of homeless ppl have mental illness's but dont worry greed is good, or betterer, GFC was only a stumble/blip, bernie madoff was a good bloke so was bondy, they been framed! by poor people, those ungrateful swines, politics of envy, sounds like gollum preciooous, let them eat cake (like houses)
sigh, its true this planet is stuffed for sure, how much CO2 does it take to make some of these homes?

[renormalised]

Oh come on!!!. Go and re-read what I wrote, please!!!

Catergorising the majority of homeless people having mental illness is a load of twaddle. Many do, yes, and it's understandable...some had it beforehand, others developed it, but a hell of a lot don't. Lumping them all into a category like "mental illness" is a salve for those who would rather see them as being different and that's why they're in the state they are. Anyone of us could end up like that, true, and heaven forbid we do (I've nearly been at that stage a couple of times), but that doesn't mean we should let ourselves go and just bemoan our lot in life. Many of these people are getting pensions and such, but they squander their money. Gambling and heavy drinking etc, is an addiction just like any other, but it's not necessarily a mental illness. It can and does contribute to them developing one in many cases, but it's not one per se. Hell, if they were mental illnesses, most Australians would be mentally ill!!.

Taking your line of reasoning to it's end, why don't we all go live in lean-to's and tents...or build ourselves log cabins....but only small ones, just enough to squeeze into and that's that. If you begrudge someone with money buying a place like that (quite frankly, all this talk is nothing more than closet envy...people won't admit it but they'd like a slice of the money too), then I hope when you win a big lotto prize, you donate all the proceedings to charity and the poor.

Charity begins at home...never truer a saying than that. You can't help someone out if you're in the muck yourself. Look after you own backyard first, then you can start to think about looking after others.

Mr Ellison may have bad taste (I don't particularly like the home's style, either), but you have no idea of anything he may do for charity...and it's most likely you won't because those people who are decent enough don't go advertising what they do. They just do it. They're not out to be "famous" or get noticed. They're not out to rip off people (like Madoff). They care enough to do what's right, but they're not excessive, attention seeking, or stupid about it.

Funny thing, if it wasn't for many of these "crass and immoral" people, you'd be out of a job and (maybe) on the street. Think about that next time you have a go at them.

[michaellxv]

I doubt I earn enough to pay even one of the ongoing bills for that house.

Good for hide and seek though.

[multiweb]

Hey Chris, when I had a look at the skies on your shot I did a repro. It was missing a crucial element. Hope you don't mind. ;)

[renormalised]

Now it's perfect:P:D

[renormalised]

At least it'd keep the kids busy!!!!:P:D

[fringe_dweller]

lol take it easy mate, and you 'c'mon' :lol:



you have already established they are different with names like 'homeless' 'moron who can't control themselves'. implying as lazy drunkards, so which is it, majority of visibly homeless, are problem free? or minority?



i keep reading statistics that 1 in 3 and/or 1 in 5 australians will suffer mental illness in their lifetime, that seems pretty high, no?




if it wasnt for the 'poor people' buying their products, working in their business's or their customers customers at least, they wouldnt have a business either! and if it wasnt for the planets natural resources, which is a moot who actually owns that, individuals or countries/society, they again wouldnt have a business or a job either :lol: remember, 'all property is theft' :whistle:

[renormalised]

Maybe I didn't make myself clear enough in the post. What I was saying is that many of those people who end up in a homeless state get there because they can't or won't accept responsibility for their own condition. That's not to say that a great many are there because of circumstances beyond their control. That's a fact. They're the ones that truly need our help and support. But quite a few people get themselves into a position where they find themselves caught in this state of existence, through their own stupidity and inaction to deal with problems they have. They'd rather run away from life than face it. Having problems with an addiction or whatever, being they're self inflicted, is no need to become homeless or poor. You only end up like that if you allow the addiction or whatever to take over. Those people need help, but they still need a kick in the rear end and have to face their lives for what they are. If after helping them out, they still continue down a self destructive path, then there's nothing you can do about it, and bemoaning some rich person buying a house for whatever amount of money isn't going to make things better. Obscene or not, it's their money and they can do with it what they like.

Putting it closer to home....people here spend thousands of dollars on telescopes and other equipment, sometimes yearly. What a waste of money...should be donated to charities looking after people less fortunate than ourselves.



What of it. Doesn't mean we're all going to be homeless, or that every homeless person has mental illness. Many do....many don't.




Now, we're being really facetious...this is getting silly. I'm trying to put across a fair argument and all I get back is circular arguments that devolve into silly comments.

Honestly, if anyone here finds that when someone who's worked for the wealth, instead of inheriting it or ripping people off, is somehow "immoral" just because they bought a house, then they should look closely at themselves. Quite frankly, it's the pot calling the kettle black in so far as expenditure goes. They can afford to buy their home, you go and put yourself into debt for 20-30 years in the hope of eventually paying it off. Then if, as in many cases, you can't pay it off because all you're doing is paying off interest and not the principle, and you lose the home, what do you say to your families then. When you just lost their roof over their heads.

What's more immoral, risking your family's security by buying into something you can't really afford, or having the money to just go and buy it because you've worked damn hard for it and managed to get lucky.

[fringe_dweller]

is this thread really the place for your rant Carl? i thought it was about bad taste?, ah well, i'm done, have fun

[renormalised]

Whether it's a rant or not, these comments about how crass and expensive this house is, or that someone actually paid for it, is just unfair on the person who bought it. Whether it's in bad taste or not, is irrelevant. They like it and that's all that matters. It's their money, and they can do what they like with it.

I'm quite sure that most of us here don't exactly have that good a taste in a great many things, either. But if you like what you have, that's all that matters. It's your money, do with it what you like.

[Omaroo]

There you go Marc :) I know I'd forgotten something rather important.:lol:

[UK1]

I would like that house, so I could sell it and then I could pay somebody to come a teach me how to set up a telescope for photography and viewing as the more I read the more confused I get. so many different ways of doing set ups

[pgc hunter]

I hate vacuuming, so yeah I'm out.

[renormalised]

Actually, it should be that size, but on the hill behind the house:D:D:P

[Waxing_Gibbous]

That's just plain vulgar. Frank Lloyd Wright and Walter Gropius will be turning in their graves.
Actually, given most of the "architecture" of the past 30 years, they're probably stuck on "spin" cycle.

[renormalised]

Just get some of those little robots they have now which can do the job:D:D

[Waxing_Gibbous]

:lol:They've been trying to flog this monstrousity for nearly five years. even the notoriously ostentatious Sultan of Brunei doesn't want it.
Fortunately you can barely see it from the road!

[renormalised]

It'd cost a fortune just to upkeep it and it would only appeal to a certain taste. Some Hollyweird type would buy it, just for the talking point value...if they had the money to, that is.

Apparently, the Crown Prince of Dubai owns it. Have a gander at this!!

Updown Court (http://www.propertyinvestmentproject.co.uk/blog/most-expensive-house-in-the-world/)

[Waxing_Gibbous]

Just dire!!!
My ex-girlfriend used to live in Palace Gardens Terrace, which is right behind Palace Gardens.
Mind you she only had a one bed flat and it only cost 80pounds a week, so its not quite the same.

[renormalised]

80 quid/week...hmmm...might just be able to rent the towel rack in the guest quarters for that:P:D:D

[GrahamL]

falling water would of been a great experiance chris , I'll admit I'd never heard of the guy until a 10 years or so back , there was a most interesting doco on him I caught once that totally hooked me into finding out more about the guy .
I like west the best :), guess when its your home you are not constrained by clients wants , budgets and such , some of his very early designs look great as well particularly the interior furnishings .
What strikes me about a lot of his work is that it dosn't look dated
which is surprising considering some of it is heading towards a hundred years old .

[Robbie]

Yep my next door neighbours pffft a vulgar display of wealth, no keeping up with those Jones's