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Where I live in SW Florida you have either a house with both a formal living room (for entertaining - no TV) and a family room for you and the family to hang out and do whatever. Then there are houses that only have a "great room". This became popular as the whole formal living room trend disappeared. Seriously how many people still use a "formal living room"?
Living room = more formal space meant for conversation. No TV.
Family room = casual space for family gatherings - comfy seating. This is where the TV is.
Great room = similar to a family room but larger and incorporates elements of a living room and dining room. Usually open to the kitchen - mostly found in homes without a formal living room/dining room.
Den = study with seating area.
Rec room = finished basement with ping-pong, foosball or pool table. Maybe a bar.
I think these are good distinctions. I understood these words a bit differently, based on the impressions I got from looking and the floorplans and photos, as well as visiting friends who had larger houses.
Living room - A modern take on a parlor room or a reception room. Used for entertaining guests.
Family room - Same as living room, but used only for entertaining family and close friends.
Great room - Never saw this term used in speech or writing, except in real estate.
Den - Pretty much a bedroom without a door. Usually has a sofa, but may have a bed in it.
Rec room - The kids' and teens' equivalent of a man cave. Messes are tolerated there.
Would you (anyone) say my interpretations are accurate?
I think of a home having a Great Room is when they don't have a living room and only a family room. The Great Room is a combo of Living Room and Family Room. Some Den's are just basically an office space. If it doesn't have a closet it's typically not a bedroom and they are usually on the first floor.
Location: Finally the house is done and we are in Port St. Lucie!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mistermobile
Is a hallway a foyer? I think it is if it serves the same purpose which was to act as a chamber to keep cold/hot air from invading the home when the outside door was open, and also to "capture" the home visitor until he/she was announced. Otherwise, modern homes probably have entryways not foyers.
Entranceway and foyer are basically the same thing. A Hallway is a path (of sorts) to get to other parts of the house. Entranceway and foyer areas are typically large enough to house a table and or coat closet.
Now vestibules on the other hand are a separate entity.
A vestibule is an area after opening the front door (smaller than a porch) that leads to the inner door. The vestibule's purpose is to create a buffer between the outside air and the inner sanctums warmth/coolness.
Most banks have vestibules as do apartment buildings. ATM's are typically kept in the bank's vestibule and mailboxes/slots are typically found in apartment vestibules. The purpose of a vestibule is to moderate the weather before opening the door to the rest of the building/home.
Some houses have grand foyers where they are large enough to put a table in the center with some flower arrangements in a vase.
With a den many new home builders offer a 4 bedroom 2 bath home or a 3 bedroom and a den with 2 baths. The other room is the great room with the living, dining and kitchen all in one large great room.
You either have the 4 bedrooms or three and a den. The den normally is open and the closet is not there, so instead of a door the den would have a lager opening, possibly most of the wall space where the door would have been. My parents home is like this, it could have been ordered as a 4 bedroom or a 3 and a den and they chose the den.
A new design that I have been seeing more of is a master suite with the bedroom, a secondary room, his and her bathrooms, his and her walk in closets, and a morning kitchen. Realize that I live between Santa Barbara and Malibu and many of the larger homes are off the hook.
Talking about closets those are becoming off the hook as well. One developer in Texas built a home with a 2 story master closet.
I tend to user the words "foyer", "entryway", and "hall" more-or-less interchangeably. Maybe it's a regionalism in the Midwest, maybe it's something I picked up from ads, I don't know. I also sometimes use "entryway" as a synonym for "entrance".
But the big question here is do you use the English pronunciation rhyming with "sawyer" or the pretentious French "foy-air?"
A new design that I have been seeing more of is a master suite with the bedroom, a secondary room, his and her bathrooms, his and her walk in closets, and a morning kitchen.
What, pray tell, is a "morning kitchen"?
The next depression is gonna be interesting, when all these McMansion residents find themselves having to cut up their houses for apartments, or share living quarters, etc., etc.
Great room. In the 80s someone decided nobody wanted a "only used for guests" living room any more. So they invented the Great Room. Usually located nearer the kitchen. Originally always with an energy wasting cathedral ceiling with faux wood beams and massive floor to ceiling brick fireplace. If you have a great room you probably don't have a "formal" living room or a "family room" on the 1st floor.
That accurately describes the "family room" in my childhood home. It was semi-open to the kitchen (maybe an 8 foot entryway from the eat in portion of the kitchen.) Brick Fireplace, faux wood beans, popcorn ceiling (although not cathedral.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kokonutty
Nobody has yet mentioned the "hearth room" which is probably just a pretentious regionalism for family room. I've never heard of a house having both.
The only place I've ever heard it was at my Grandfather's club. We would either eat in the bigger, more open banquet room, or the hearth room, which was more elegantly appointed and cozy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chiluvr1228
Where I live in SW Florida you have either a house with both a formal living room (for entertaining - no TV) and a family room for you and the family to hang out and do whatever. Then there are houses that only have a "great room". This became popular as the whole formal living room trend disappeared. Seriously how many people still use a "formal living room"?
My family used it a lot. Not only for Christmas and whatnot, but my Father had a large table in there where we would do homework. It was a nice, quiet place to sit and read in the front of the house. These days, my brothers and dad mostly use it to play guitar in.
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