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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2011 8:49:06 GMT -5
I'm watching one of those decorating shows and the host just said they had to move the TV out of the living room and into a room that people actually hang out in and watch tv. Pardon?
To me the family room and living room are the same thing. If you have another similar kind of room it is the rec room, usually the place where kids and teens play. And no matter how you look at it they all have a tv.
Do you have a living room that does not have a tv?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2011 8:57:38 GMT -5
Growing up, we had a living room and a family room - the latter just being the term we used for the den/rec room/what have you. I don't have the extra rooms right now, so my TV is in my living room - but in a perfect world I would get rid of it.
My furniture is arranged to be conducive to conversation, which limits the number of seats that are optimally positioned for watching TV. I don't want the TV to be the focal point of my home.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2011 9:00:22 GMT -5
My aunt does. She has a formal living room and a family room.
There is no TV in the formal living room.
But everyone else I know have a living room with a TV in it ;D
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2011 9:00:45 GMT -5
No. But, i don't decorate according to home shows. My house is about what works for me. Really? How can you do that? Nothing in my home is set up to work for me! What would the neighbours think?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2011 9:04:09 GMT -5
We have a living room on the main floor that contains a sofa, 2 side chairs and grandfather clock. There is absolutely no room for a TV or entertainment system as the room only has one wall and 3 walkways.
On the lower level, which is above grade, we have a large comfy family room, second kitchen, bed, bath & sewing room and another deck. The TV is in the family room.
Just my take, but I hate having a TV blasting all day (we're both retired). I was at a baby shower a couple weeks ago at a neighbors home, and as we all sat in the living room, the TV was never turned off. Yuck!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2011 9:04:49 GMT -5
Nothing wrong with a TV-centric room, it is just not my preference or value.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2011 9:05:06 GMT -5
Growing up, we had a living room and a family room - the latter just being the term we used for the den/rec room/what have you. I don't have the extra rooms right now, so my TV is in my living room - but in a perfect world I would get rid of it. My furniture is arranged to be conducive to conversation, which limits the number of seats that are optimally positioned for watching TV. I don't want the TV to be the focal point of my home. You sound like my aunt lol! But yes that is the same reason why she has both. When they have guests, they stay/entertain in the formal living room which is right next to the dining room. The family room is where they all hang out with the kids as a family, watching movies, play games etc. Sofa's are pretty comfy there too, I took a few naps on them . Also it allows them to send all the kids to the family room to watch tv, play games etc when they have a party/get togethers while the grown ups stays in the living room and discuss boring things like politics, the market, finances, etc. I usually go with the kids to the family room, much more fun ;D ;D ;D
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Jul 9, 2011 9:05:57 GMT -5
my parents' house did when I was a kid. it was a split-level house, and the TV was downstairs in the open-layout ground floor. the "living room" was off-limits to us kids most of the time, except the holidays - the Christmas tree was usually put up in front of the big picture window in that room. I used to read books in there because it was quiet.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2011 9:07:34 GMT -5
Blonde Granny do you use the small living room?
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Jul 9, 2011 9:08:21 GMT -5
We don't have a TV in our livingroom. We do have a small TV in the corner of the dining area (I like to watch the news while I prepare dinner). The big TV is downstairs in a room set up specifically to watch TV.
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Jul 9, 2011 9:10:02 GMT -5
my parents' house did when I was a kid. it was a split-level house, and the TV was downstairs in the open-layout ground floor. the "living room" was off-limits to us kids most of the time, except the holidays - the Christmas tree was usually put up in front of the big picture window in that room. I used to read books in there because it was quiet. I can read books in my quiet living room, it is called 'Turning off the TV". ;D I can do that now, when the TV is mine. when I was a kid, Dad controlled the remote.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2011 9:10:06 GMT -5
my parents' house did when I was a kid. it was a split-level house, and the TV was downstairs in the open-layout ground floor. the "living room" was off-limits to us kids most of the time, except the holidays - the Christmas tree was usually put up in front of the big picture window in that room. I used to read books in there because it was quiet. Somewhat same case for my aunt. The living room is off limits unless they are having guests over. I wonder: it is worth having a room that you only use maybe 1-2 a month if even? I mean you have to keep it clean yet you barely use it?
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The Home 6
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Post by The Home 6 on Jul 9, 2011 9:12:53 GMT -5
I call our family room 'the den'. That's where are ONE TV is. Yes, you read that right, I only have one TV. We also have a living room, but the kids aren't allowed in there (glass-topped display tables, fireplace). I will go in there and read occasionally, but for the most part, our living room is an unused room. Pretty sad, I guess. But hey, I picked out this house for the kitchen!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2011 9:15:23 GMT -5
I can do that now, when the TV is mine. when I was a kid, Dad controlled the remote. Well, you are "old school", the kids are clearly in charge of the remote nowadays. Actually nowadays the kids have their own remote since they have a tv in their own room (the case for my sister 8 and my brother 9... they each have a tv in their rooms).
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Post by illinicheme on Jul 9, 2011 9:18:39 GMT -5
I've never had a TV in a living room in any home I've lived in. My parents homes always had both living rooms and family rooms, and my two homes as an adult have also had both. In general, the living room isn't used as much as the family room. The family room holds the TV. The living room tends to hold the piano.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2011 9:20:12 GMT -5
What if you don't have a piano?
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Waffle
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Post by Waffle on Jul 9, 2011 9:20:15 GMT -5
Living room with no TV. Family room on the same floor has a tv. My mother (who lives with me) loves to sit in the living room and read or just look out the window. Occasionally we sit and talk in there or have company with and talk in there. TV also goes off in the family room, if we have company in the family room. (That rule can waiver a bit depending on the situation). I once had a ranch house with no family room. No TV in the living room and we turned the 3rd bedroom into a tv room. What can I say, I like a formal living room.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2011 9:21:16 GMT -5
Nothing wrong with a TV-centric room, it is just not my preference or value. So, someone with a TV in their living room has different values? Um... ?? And, by your tone, this must be a lesser value? I don't get it. Nope - no tone implied. Honest. I live alone, so I don't need many seats with a good view of the TV. If I have company over, I would rather crane my neck to see the TV than to see guests. Once or twice a year, this means I can't host the football watching parties I would like. But typically, if I have company the TV is off, so keeping it in the corner seems like the right course of action. If I had two rooms, one would be all about the TV, and I would invite folks over on game days. So personally, I value the conversation-centric parties over the game watching parties. If college football had a longer season or I cared about a different sport, perhaps the answer would change.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2011 9:22:33 GMT -5
What if you don't have a piano? Well then you're really not going to make it on the decorator shows.
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Post by illinicheme on Jul 9, 2011 9:28:25 GMT -5
What if you don't have a piano? I don't know. I've always lived with one. ;D
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teppe2
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Post by teppe2 on Jul 9, 2011 9:31:57 GMT -5
While we currently have a living and family room, we have no TV at all. I know, our poor children ;-)
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2011 9:38:32 GMT -5
Blonde Granny do you use the small living room? Actually the living room isn't small...it's just that it has large entry into the dining room, and even bigger entrance into the kitchen (think pillars) a walkway into the master bedroom, and the hallway to the other bed, bath and den....and only one wall (walkway)that leads to the upper deck and then down the stairs to the lower level. Ideal would have been 4 comfy club chairs sitting around a round coffee table or ottoman...but I caved in on that when DH threw a hissy fit. I still don't like the way it looks, the sofa is simply too big and in the wrong place. As to your real question, no we seldom use it. We just walk thru it to get somewhere else. on edit: think of it as the hub of a wheel and all the rooms and walkways are the spokes.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Jul 9, 2011 9:41:19 GMT -5
my parents' house did when I was a kid. it was a split-level house, and the TV was downstairs in the open-layout ground floor. the "living room" was off-limits to us kids most of the time, except the holidays - the Christmas tree was usually put up in front of the big picture window in that room. I used to read books in there because it was quiet. Somewhat same case for my aunt. The living room is off limits unless they are having guests over. I wonder: it is worth having a room that you only use maybe 1-2 a month if even? I mean you have to keep it clean yet you barely use it? The kids in my family called it the "looking room" instead of the living room because most of the time you just looked at it (we were not allowed to go in there). How often it is used depends on how often people have "formal" company. These days, probably not too often. It's greatest use was at Christmas. That's where my mom would put the tree.
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Jul 9, 2011 9:47:27 GMT -5
We actually use our livingroom most of the time. As I type this, I'm sitting on one of the loveseats with my ipad. DH is on the other loveseat reading the news on his iphone. The only time we use the TV room is when we actually want to watch TV.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Jul 9, 2011 9:51:15 GMT -5
Our previous homes have always had a living room AND a family room. We bought our retirement home 5 years ago and I purposely looked for one that had a great room design. Most of the time we use the room as a family room, but on occasion we want to be more formal. The room has built-ins for the TV, DVR, surround sound stuff, etc. All you have to do is close the double doors and, poof, you have a living room.
This is the largest house we have ever had, yet it has the least amount of rooms: 3/3 with a great room (kitchen, dining, and living all open to each other) and a laundry room.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2011 9:52:44 GMT -5
We have several living spaces... we used to have one tv. We now have two, in two different living spaces, because you do so much more with a tv than you used to... play games, stream media, access youtube, play picture sd cards, music...
I do sometimes unplug one, if i feel we are spending too much time, each in a separate room, glued to a screen...
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wodehouse
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Post by wodehouse on Jul 9, 2011 9:52:49 GMT -5
Have to add a tangent here... in our new house with just DW and I, there's a LR and DR in a ...to me... nontraditional layout. The LR has the television, her piano, sofa, love seat, with very high ceiling. I want to turn the DR into a "mini Starbucks"...get rid of the dining table and chairs that have been used only every few years, put in some nice overstuffed chairs, tables, iPod player. It would be such a nice retreat to read and look out the window. I would be in there every day. But all I get are shocked! yelps!
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dcmetrocrab
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Post by dcmetrocrab on Jul 9, 2011 10:03:06 GMT -5
There was an article in the NYTimes about this long ago, where the usage of "living rooms" had changed over the years to something less formal. Growing up, the living room was the place where you received guests and was set up as a place to entertain and talk. Usually kids were banned from this room because it would have the most expensive furniture or whatnot and needed to be ready for guest viewing at any given moment. I guess this is a call back to the even older concept of a parlor or sitting room. The den/rec room/bonus room was where the TV was and where you informally hung out as a family. Homes with open floorplan tend to not have these. Where space is a premium, living rooms are rare.
Right now, the only friends I know with formal living rooms are those that live in large homes, and depending on the layout, they tend to have TVs in them. The modern setup in my area seems to be an entrance that opens into a big "living room" off by the kitchen, with a den in the basement or in the back somewhere. I see a lot of TVs now in the living room.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Jul 9, 2011 10:05:33 GMT -5
Have to add a tangent here... in our new house with just DW and I, there's a LR and DR in a ...to me... nontraditional layout. The LR has the television, her piano, sofa, love seat, with very high ceiling. I want to turn the DR into a "mini Starbucks"...get rid of the dining table and chairs that have been used only every few years, put in some nice overstuffed chairs, tables, iPod player. It would be such a nice retreat to read and look out the window. I would be in there every day. But all I get are shocked! yelps! If you get rid of the dining room table, where would you eat? We have a huge island in our kitchen with two stools at one end so DH and I can eat there when it is just us; but we really like having the dining room for gets. The dining room suite is not overly formal in of itself. I can dress it up with a tablecloth and candlesticks or make it more casual by using place mats. It is also where we play cards and games.
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Post by illinicheme on Jul 9, 2011 10:08:11 GMT -5
In our current house, our family room and kitchen are one big "great" room. I love it. The space is fairly informal. We've got a TV, woodburning stove, couch and recliner, and a couple of bookcases. There's still a section of bare wall, where I'm assuming we'll put some toy boxes if we ever manage to conceive. The rockband drums live against a small piece of wall next to the stove, and the other assorted controllers, remotes, and a wireless keyboard live on the coffee/end tables (usually on the second shelf down, but not always).
The front door of the house opens into the living room. We don't use that space very much right now. It has a couch, a chair, a piano, and a fire place. We also have a dining room that currently holds a large table. We may end up using these rooms for other things eventually, as we have kids. (Only three tiny bedrooms, one of which is full of computers.)
ETA: We do have a second TV, but it's hanging on a wall in our bedroom.
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