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most people have two story homes so it's up and down stairs, not down the hall.
And a new trend I see a lot of is to have a balcony or deck off the master, so people like to be able to make coffee and take a cup out on the deck without going up and down stairs with it.
This already exists too. In some cities, even the smallest, poorest apartments have that feature: the fire escape.
Throughout history, the names of the rooms, and how the rooms were used, have changed.
The way I view the rooms today are as follows:
Living Room = formal gathering space (where guests and family would sit, chat, etc.) Family Room = informal gathering space (where family hangs out, informal gatherings, etc.) Rec Room = really, really informal, and usually a space for kids and their toys, often in the basement or in a room over the garage. Great Room = a room that combines the main gathering areas of a house - such as kitchen, dining, and living/family.
I'd go ahead and add the following: Parlor = Could be interchangeable with a Living Room or Family Room, depending on the house - sort of a semi-formal space, basically. TV Room = interchangeable with a Family Room.
But again, those are just how I think of them. Spaces, and how we view them, are always changing.
EDIT: Forgot to say, I don't think it's marketing. I think other terms are marketing, like saying "cozy" instead of "small" or "in need of love" instead of "in disrepair." Rather, I think the names we give rooms reflect more on what area you live in, and what society at large has chosen to call a room.
Last edited by MisfitBanana; 03-10-2017 at 12:46 PM..
Location: When you take flak it means you are on target
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At our house...
The living room is where guests are entertained if we don't know them well, but if they have passed the smell test to get beyond the main gates and gated patio. Usually making it to the living room means you aren't Jehovas Witness or a bill collector.
If you are allowed into the Family room or Great room it means you are a close friend or family. It is a sitting and tv area by the kitchen separated by the great island and breakfast bar.
The closest thing to a parlour is the covered side patio, which serves as a sun room of sorts.
The Study, is across the Great Hall from the living room. It is part office, personal library, but it joins the formal Library, which is books and a quiet reading area. This enables business to be conducted in a more intimate surrounding than our actual offices, which are off the main entrance at the security gate.
TV though is usually watched either in the study or in the "Chart Room," which is the nautical themed bar and rec room. Movies of course are screened in the theater. The wine cellar isn't really a cellar, but a climate controlled room off the chart room with decanting and tasting tables surrounded by wine storage racks. We store spare suits of armor in there too.
Dining is done in the formal dining room, a separate room with double glass doors entered off the great hall leading to the kitchen. The "China Room" is next to the dining room. That is where our family china is displayed, along with storage for the sterling and gold utencils for stately dinners.
The sterling of course is used for everyday service while the gold is reserved for special occasions.
Exercise naturally is done in the gym. I think it's still there, off the pool house.
The Gallery is where we showcase art that won't fit other spaces and the collection of Picasso ink drawings.
Finally we have the Armory and the gun vault. The armory contains our collection of midevil torture devices and my electric chair. Also a barber chair, the most comfortable seat in the house. Also, my coffin, where I enjoy taking quiet summer afternoon naps when the sun is too bright outside. The vault of course has the arsenal, err I mean collection of guns and swords. The Bunker, well, we don't discuss the bunker.
Upstairs are the master suites with private sitting areas and porches. I can't imagine having guests actually stay inside my house, so we provide appropriate spaces. For singles there is the boathouse suite on the pier, the original stable suite, and then two guest houses with kitchenettes and a shared spa and pool.
For staff there are two apartments above the garages.
OK, ok, so I actually live in a 400 ft tool shed behind my uncles barn. But I can dream can't I?
most people have two story homes so it's up and down stairs, not down the hall.
And a new trend I see a lot of is to have a balcony or deck off the master, so people like to be able to make coffee and take a cup out on the deck without going up and down stairs with it.
Personally, I wouldn't be interested in having a "morning kitchen" but can understand the concept at least and don't need to be rude about people who make different choices than I do.
We designed a dream master bedroom addition when we moved our house. It had a fireplace, and outdoor balcony over the pool (because I wanted a zip line down to the pool), a breakfast nook with a small sink, tiny fridge, mircowave, and coffee maker (although we do not drink coffee), walk in closets and a large his/her bathroom. An elevator at the back of one walk in closet stopped in the kitchen scullery on the first floor and the basement anteroom/laundry where there was a tunnel to the carriage house.
When we took the plans and got quotes for construction, the awesome addition quickly became a one story kitchen addition with a mudrom and small bathroom. No tunnel (&*^&@#). We walk through the mud to the carriage house.
The room we ended up selecting as master bedroom does have a door to a bathroom the is built in the space over the stairs, but that bathroom also has a door on the other side the goes to the Boys' room, so we still have to put on at least a bathrobe if we go to the potty in the middle of the night, but we do nto have to wlak down a hall.
Location: Finally the house is done and we are in Port St. Lucie!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jamies
At our house...
The living room is where guests are entertained if we don't know them well, but if they have passed the smell test to get beyond the main gates and gated patio. Usually making it to the living room means you aren't Jehovas Witness or a bill collector.
If you are allowed into the Family room or Great room it means you are a close friend or family. It is a sitting and tv area by the kitchen separated by the great island and breakfast bar.
The closest thing to a parlour is the covered side patio, which serves as a sun room of sorts.
The Study, is across the Great Hall from the living room. It is part office, personal library, but it joins the formal Library, which is books and a quiet reading area. This enables business to be conducted in a more intimate surrounding than our actual offices, which are off the main entrance at the security gate.
TV though is usually watched either in the study or in the "Chart Room," which is the nautical themed bar and rec room. Movies of course are screened in the theater. The wine cellar isn't really a cellar, but a climate controlled room off the chart room with decanting and tasting tables surrounded by wine storage racks. We store spare suits of armor in there too.
Dining is done in the formal dining room, a separate room with double glass doors entered off the great hall leading to the kitchen. The "China Room" is next to the dining room. That is where our family china is displayed, along with storage for the sterling and gold utencils for stately dinners.
The sterling of course is used for everyday service while the gold is reserved for special occasions.
Exercise naturally is done in the gym. I think it's still there, off the pool house.
The Gallery is where we showcase art that won't fit other spaces and the collection of Picasso ink drawings.
Finally we have the Armory and the gun vault. The armory contains our collection of midevil torture devices and my electric chair. Also a barber chair, the most comfortable seat in the house. Also, my coffin, where I enjoy taking quiet summer afternoon naps when the sun is too bright outside. The vault of course has the arsenal, err I mean collection of guns and swords. The Bunker, well, we don't discuss the bunker.
Upstairs are the master suites with private sitting areas and porches. I can't imagine having guests actually stay inside my house, so we provide appropriate spaces. For singles there is the boathouse suite on the pier, the original stable suite, and then two guest houses with kitchenettes and a shared spa and pool.
For staff there are two apartments above the garages.
OK, ok, so I actually live in a 400 ft tool shed behind my uncles barn. But I can dream can't I?
I think there are subtle differences in the definitions of each of those terms.
Many newer houses have a big family room off the kitchen, and only a very small living room, which is often called the parlor room. This is a throwback to the victorian era when many houses had small rooms for guests just as you entered the house. Early to mid 20th century houses were more centered on the living room, with the idea that invited guests should not be exposed to the kitchen, as they are with modern family rooms or great rooms.
I think a great room is just a family room, usually connected to the kitchen. The term great room seems to be used more in places like Florida, rather than the northeast where I live.
I think there are subtle differences in the definitions of each of those terms.
Many newer houses have a big family room off the kitchen, and only a very small living room, which is often called the parlor room. This is a throwback to the victorian era when many houses had small rooms for guests just as you entered the house. Early to mid 20th century houses were more centered on the living room, with the idea that invited guests should not be exposed to the kitchen, as they are with modern family rooms or great rooms.
I think a great room is just a family room, usually connected to the kitchen. The term great room seems to be used more in places like Florida, rather than the northeast where I live.
Some of it also depends on the part of the country you live in. Where I live, parlor, morning kitchen, lanai, Florida Room, aren't used. Living room, library, study, coffee bar, great room, and outdoor kitchen are commonly used. The only time Ive ever heard of a hearth room, was about 30 years ago in Kansas City. I've even seen a change from the term "master bedroom " to "owner's suite".
Some of it also depends on the part of the country you live in. Where I live, parlor, morning kitchen, lanai, Florida Room, aren't used. Living room, library, study, coffee bar, great room, and outdoor kitchen are commonly used. The only time Ive ever heard of a hearth room, was about 30 years ago in Kansas City. I've even seen a change from the term "master bedroom " to "owner's suite".
Yes, I agree. There's definitely a regional component to these names. Where I live in the northeast, I have never heard of a great room. Here we have living rooms, dens, family rooms and sometimes parlors.
At 875 sf, my house has none of these rooms (not even a foyer).
At 894 Sq feet, my house has a foyer, living room, 2 BR, one bath, one eat-in kitchen {main part of house-750 sq ft} and a bonus room {144 sq ft out behind the main house}. Plus full concrete basement, and single car garage.
Sounds like you bought the wrong house.
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