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Do You Live in Your Home?
By Flora Morris Brown, Ph.D. | February 21, 2008
Remember the commercial where the family was about to eat dinner and the father says, “So this is the dining room?”
It was funny because so many of us could relate to it.
It’s true that homeowners tend to favor one room over another. Like the dining room, the living room seems to be used only a few times a year. Why is that?
Historically the living room evolved from the parlor. The parlor was a room where only very serious things took place: meetings, weddings, funerals and a place to meet with the insurance man. Wealthy families tended to also have a sitting room. It was a separate private gathering place for the family in the evening where the head of the household would read aloud while the ladies did some type of handiwork.
When funerals were no longer held in the parlor, it became a room for the “living,” thus the living room.
In spite of the fact that I love my living room, I realized that I seldom spend time there. So, I decided to rectify that by doing my reading there in front of the fireplace, every night. Boy, is that cozy!
Of course when my kids came home and spotted me in the living room, they immediately became worried.
“What’s wrong?” “Why are you in here?” they questioned.
“I live here,” I responded.
“I know. But you’re never in the living room. What’s wrong?”
It seems that the living room still is perceived as a very serious place and a place for formal company. But not anymore. I plan to live all over my home.
How about you? Do you live all over your home or just in a few rooms?
Topics: Enjoying your home, Life choices, Living room | No Comments »