SOME THINK BIGGER IS BETTER WHEN IT COMES TO HOMES

Bigger is better. Homeowners and builders certainly seem to think so.

In Cape Girardeau, most of the new homes are large ones, 2,000 square feet or more. There are a number in the 3,000-square-foot category and beyond.

"Ninety-seven percent of the homes being built today are what is normally considered the large home, 2,000 square feet and above," said Rick Murray, inspection services director for the city of Cape Girardeau.

People used to consider an 800-square-foot ranch house as a spacious home, then the standard became 1,000 square feet. "If you had 2,000 square feet that was quite a mansion you were living in.

"Well, now, those have become the average," said Murray.

In addition to being bigger, the expensive homes reflect the higher cost of construction materials. "There has been a hefty hike in material costs so what could have cost $125,000 is now costing $200,000 and above," Murray said.

Of the 103 permits issued for new houses in 1993, most of them were for residences costing $200,000 and above, Murray said.

These aren't your starter homes by any means. The people buying these custom-built homes are moving up from less spacious residences. "This is the dream home that they have saved for and planned for."

When it comes to mansions locally, nothing can compete in size with the home of one Cape Girardeau physician in Ashland Hills. The home -- completed last year -- encompasses more than 11,000 square feet, including seven bedrooms, a walkout basement, a pool and a whirlpool.

The building permit on file at city hall lists the structure as costing an estimated $600,000.

But the home's builder, Tom Mogelnicki of Moge Construction Co., said that with large houses, a general rule of thumb in figuring construction cost is $90 a square foot.

Using that yardstick, this home is a $1 million mansion.

While a home that large is unique in Cape Girardeau, there are a noticeable number of houses being built that are 2,000-plus square feet in size. Some houses being built now are 3,000 to 5,000 square feet in size.

Most of these houses are frame, with brick veneer or a stucco-like surface on the exterior, home builders say.

Mogelnicki said the main difference between a large home and your average house is the size of the rooms.

He said it can take at least a year to construct a house that is 4,500 square feet in size or larger.

Such homes generally have huge master bedrooms and bathrooms, and a large amount of trim work -- everything from moldings to chair rails. Tile, marble and hardwood floors are prevalent in many large homes, he said.

"They have more quality, more material, more everything in them," said Mogelnicki.

Big houses aren't just confined to Cape Girardeau. Leimer & Wessell Construction Inc. of Jackson builds large houses in Jackson and throughout the area.

Doug Wessell said the company built seven houses last year, most of them in the 2,700- to 2,800-square-foot range.

Last year, the firm built a 4,700-square-foot, southern-plantation-type home on a farm near Ware, Ill. The white-columned house has four bedrooms, a library, a big living room, a huge master bathroom, a marble entryway and a circle stairway as a few of its features.

The large houses generally have a number of common features, said Wessell.

"Everything is arched windows," he noted. Generally, they have taller ceilings than a more standard home. And, of course, they have huge bathrooms.

"Some of the closets look like a room, and the stairways are always super nice," said Wessell.

Such homes have expensive flooring, grand entryways and formal living rooms, with expensive flooring.

They aren't shaped like run-of-the-mill houses either. "It is not just a square house or a four-corner house. There are usually 20 to 30 corners in a house," he said.

"Every time you've got a corner, then you've got more work," he noted.

While such homes are good for the builders and their clients, they also provide another benefit: they look nice.

Or as Wessell said of the home his company built in Southern Illinois, "It will catch a guy's eye as you're driving down the road."