So what’s the heart of the home or hub of the house? Is it the kitchen, or do we prefer our sitting rooms especially with a real fire or wood burning stove. In fact, who has a sitting room and who has a lounge?
When I am visiting people’s homes I often ask what their favourite room is – not because it means that much but because I genuinely like to know. Sometimes people prefer not a room but their garden – especially this time of year.
It is often thought that a kitchen will sell a house more than any other room, to some extent I would agree with this. Kitchens are very fashionable and as with all fashions they change quickly. The down side is that they therefore date faster than other rooms. Bold and bright colours and designs will have the marmite effect. There is no doubt about it though, kitchens are often the most expensive room in the house and I would rank these as the prime favourite. They are often the real hub of a home – a room of comings and goings throughout the day. A teenager may chat to parents in a kitchen but may seldom sit with the family in a sitting room, they would rather retreat to their bedroom.
Bathroom styles change but there has been a steadfast preference for white for a few decades now. However, bathroom accessories and styling has really come into its own in recent years and often people will spend as much refitting a bathroom as they will a kitchen. It’s the little luxuries that we can indulge in with our bathrooms that can often make these the favourite room.
Bedrooms are another very personal room where we can indulge in luxuries. This is room where people will often experiment with bold wallpaper designs and colours. I think the privacy of our bedrooms means we are feel free to express our individuality more in these rooms. These are also often the rooms with the best views, higher up the house, so this can make them favourites. Childs’ bedrooms of course are a different matter – young children with have their lovingly decorated and furnished nurseries whilst teenagers may have no go zones.
The sitting room, or should I say; lounge, living room, parlour or front room – depends on your age and where you grew up it seems! The room with the fireplace and warm glowing fire was traditionally the heart of the home and for most of us, that’s now the sitting room. This space is the main living room (hence the expression) and it ranks highly with the kitchen in terms of saleability but quite often it is the room we undervalue. We love these rooms, we spend a lot of time in these rooms and I personally believe they are often our favourites, but we are often not as proud of them. Maybe because we don’t spend the same amount of money in these rooms as we do in kitchen and bathrooms.
More recently, another room has ranked with certain members of the population, the Man Cave. According to the Urban Dictionary a Man Cave is:
“room, space, corner or area of a dwelling that is specifically reserved for a male person to be in a solitary condition, away from the rest of the household in order to work, play, involve himself in certain hobbies, activities without interruption. This area is usually decorated by the male that uses it without interference from any female influence.”
It seems to be a modern obsession, and whilst we may think this rather sexist, how many sheds, attics or garages have become unwitting man caves!
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