Living away from the living room

The living room has slipped through the floorboards in some versions of the American dream home. Preferring to entertain themselves and their guests in a multi-functional family room, many prospective home buyers have crossed the living room off their wish lists. Still, some can’t sacrifice the living room’s elegant appeal and other functions.

Many home builders are now constructing houses with “optional space” rooms. Home buyers can use these rooms for almost anything. Some use them as studies while others turn them into spare bedrooms. And some still use them as living rooms.

Generally, living rooms are smaller. In 1978, the average living room in an “upscale” home was 20-by-14 feet. Today, a living room in a comparable home measures 15-by-13 feet. But the typical great room, that used to be more like an entertainment room, now spans 20-by-15 feet.

Can you live without a living room? How do home buyers decide whether to include the old standard in their new house? Before you decide, carefully consider the living room’s positives and negatives.

Living Room Advantages

•Living rooms add an air of sophistication and civility to your home.

•They provide a quiet retreat, away from the noisy television set and other distractions.

•Living rooms provide space to display your finest pieces of furniture.

•The living room is an American tradition.

•Living rooms provide the appropriate setting to host your business associates and other visitors.

•Living rooms are the perfect location for family to celebrate the holidays.

•In the living room, you can take photographs of important special events for the people in your household.

Living Room Disadvantages

•Some consider living rooms “too stuffy” and “unapproachable.” Today, many Americans live more informally and casually.

•Many home buyers don’t appreciate the museum-like quality of the living room. If you don’t want to use the living room as a retreat or a place to display fine furnishings, you may prefer that the space be used for other purposes.

•An entertainment room or great room can serve the same basic functions for personal activities or entertaining guests.

•Whether outdoors or indoors, the design and construction of today’s homes reflect the lifestyles and needs of individual families. For more information on these and other trends in the home building industry, visit NAHB online at www.nahb.org, or contact the Spokane Home Builders Association at (509) 532-4990.