Why does a house need three living rooms?

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by viviandynamite

I saw many houses in Texas have three living rooms, i.e. formal living, family room, game/recreation room...in addition to a study. I don't get it why we need so many living rooms, especially why the formal living if we already have family room downstairs and game room upstairs. Sometimes I feel the family room is too small while the formal living is a waste of space.

I am wondering how you all use your formal living rooms.

Great question: I think the study is normally what some of us thing of as the office and I can see it. I don't consider that a true family living area and I do see the reason for both a family room and formal living room, but also think the living rooms are way too large. OUr daughter lives in Highland Shores. She designed the house herself 25 years ago and it is a super home but the living room? she would admit is the biggest waste of space. They use it about 3 times a year, have never burrt the fireplace I don't think, maybe once or twrice, it looks awesome with perfect decor, but it should be 1/2 the size it is. The days of the parlor are what we need.

Nita

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Canine*Castle

Growing up in California, we had a living room and a den. Now I think "extra" rooms are called great rooms. I agree with you though. No one really needs "too much" house and from what I've seen, no one usually steps into the formal living room. I guess it's just for show...whatever that means but as you said, "wasted space."

Great rooms are normally one large room that does double for both a living room and a family room. They are normally larger.

Nita

[stan4]

Originally Posted by viviandynamite

I saw many houses in Texas have three living rooms, i.e. formal living, family room, game/recreation room...in addition to a study. I don't get it why we need so many living rooms, especially why the formal living if we already have family room downstairs and game room upstairs. Sometimes I feel the family room is too small while the formal living is a waste of space.

I am wondering how you all use your formal living rooms.

Ok. Our 'formal' living room has our pool table in it. There's a bar, etc.
Our den/family room has our tv in it.
The 'game room' is for the kids to play in so they don't mess up the rest of the house. That way they also have their own space for friends, etc.
The study is for the computer, books, bill-paying, files, etc.



I agree that most formal living rooms are wasted space, but my parents' generation often did use them for entertaining adult guests, while the family room was where we kids would stay.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by viviandynamite

I saw many houses in Texas have three living rooms, i.e. formal living, family room, game/recreation room...in addition to a study. I don't get it why we need so many living rooms, especially why the formal living if we already have family room downstairs and game room upstairs. Sometimes I feel the family room is too small while the formal living is a waste of space.

I am wondering how you all use your formal living rooms.

You don't need so many living rooms; it's just houses today are built with an asinine amount of square footage and it has become the norm for houses to have media rooms, home offices, etc. I find new construction generally has tiny formals and enormous "casual" living rooms which I personally don't like.

[pappy97]

Growing my parents and the people they knew (in CA) had one thing in common:

Formal living room is where you hang out with guests, no TV in that room. Nicer furniture in there too because it's for guests.

Family living room is the room with the TV where the family itself spends time together. Of course you can have guests in there. Furniture not as nice.

Game room (didn't see them in CA, but here in TX) I've seen here for pool tables/ping pong or a kids TV room with even cheaper furniture and a crappy TV so the kids can watch Spongebob Squarepants while parents watch something else in the family room.

Yeah nobody needs three (our house doesn't have a formal living room and instead replaced it with an office), but it comes in handy for larger families.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by stan4

Ok. Our 'formal' living room has our pool table in it. There's a bar, etc.
Our den/family room has our tv in it.
The 'game room' is for the kids to play in so they don't mess up the rest of the house. That way they also have their own space for friends, etc.
The study is for the computer, books, bill-paying, files, etc.



I agree that most formal living rooms are wasted space, but my parents' generation often did use them for entertaining adult guests, while the family room was where we kids would stay.

and in my growing up years we had one and only one living area, in rare homes there was a study or office as we would call it now. Of course we shared bedrooms as well, even those of us from upper middle class families. By the 60s formal dining rooms were going out and being replaced with family rooms as well as formal dining rooms. Then the trend went back to formal dining rooms or large dining areas off the formal dining room. It seems we just keep going one way, then the other.

Nita