A power struggle is raging in new homes in the suburbs of southern California, which has a great impact on American life and family activities.
But it has nothing to do with teenagers.
Hormones or family economy.
The conflict is about the plan.
It pit the fireplace.
TV, formal living room. the flop-on-couch/watch-
Video/microwave-
Food in the family room.
And TV. -
Especially big. screen job--
A winning hand-down.
As a result, a house of the American dream was redefined.
The economy has been in recession for the past five years.
In the age of video games and video recorders, damaged builders cater to changes in consumer habits, social trends and new technologies.
Informal has replaced the busy double etiquette.
Professional families seek personal comfort, not luxury hospitality.
New homes are increasingly seen as a place to live for a long time, a place to retreat from hostile worlds and sluggish real estate markets, rather than a place to trade quicklyup.
Most notably, the formal living room is shrinking in size and use while the family room--
Entertainment center with fusion open kitchen-
Is growing into a huge physical and emotional level.
\"This is a symbol of the change of the times,\" said Brian catard, president of the Association for the construction industry.
An executive in Southern California and Santa Monica
Home model.
\"I think there is a tendency to leave a family that sits down and chats.
As a society, we are so influenced by television that people are now used to dealing with family affairs when television is broadcast without thinking about it.
\"To be sure, television has dominated many American families since the 1950 s, and caves and family rooms have been popular.
But in recent years, adapt to the big demand
Industry leaders say screen TV has begun to determine architectural design in ways that a generation could not have imagined before. The TV-
The central layout that has developed into the largest room represents the final embodiment of the video as a new fireplace in the United States. \"The one-
Irvine said: \"The Monster of the eye will always get what he deserves.
The architect, based in Clark Forest Park, designed many plots around California.
Meanwhile, the living room--
Used to be a symbol of status and culture-
\"Just fell off the surface of the Earth,\" he said . \". A four-
The bedroom model ass developed for Cypress last year has 12-by-12-
The walking living room, in a way, functions like a lobby, while the area of the family and TV room is twice that of the open kitchen and dining area.
On an open space on Newport Beach, his floor plan offers a super
The family room is three times the size of the living room.
In the middle of the other
Revenue Segments with marketing titles such as Oasis, season, and Castle, the main bathroom and dressing area are usually larger than the living room to satisfy the preference of personal comfort rather than form.
These trends are shown in most new suburban residential developments, from the beige plaster area of Lancaster Desert apartments to the red --
Tiled roof by the sea in San Diego.
Like many of the initial accepted trends in Southern California, these changes are being accepted across the country.
According to people who plan or study new suburban homes, the changing economy and lifestyle contribute to the new design.
* As IBM relaxed its dress code, President Clinton openly discussed his underwear, the informality has conquered American life, and many are no longer unsure how to use a formal room.
Double-rising at the same time
Income family and single family
Parents and families leave less time for sit-in.
Dinner and a leisurely Sunday visit.
The fear of street crime prompted some families to stay at home.
In addition, the new video technology offers more home viewing, often cheaper than going out for entertainment.
\"I have rarely attended a formal dinner party recently.
Everyone has potatoes and barbecues, which speaks to that, \"said executive secretary Judy Chandler, speaking about the big family room for both --story, four-
She and her husband, a radio engineer, bought a bedroom home in Santa Clarita last year.
Many of her neighbors live on the hillsides of Knolls tract, California, built by Kaufman and broad family.
Agree that this new floor plan fits well with the contemporary lifestyle.
If anything different, Chandler says, the smaller living room has become a shelter away from TV occasionally, as it was in previous studies: \"My husband likes to watch the newspaper quietly in the living room, no TV.
The influential \"vision 94\" survey of new buyers in California contains a very-
Citing statistics.
When asked which rooms they are most willing to phase out or reduce in order to get more space, the consumer first targeted the living room, followed by the dining room.
People voted for more space in the family room and the master bedroom, which is also considered a quiet resting space for adults.
\"With the pace of life accelerating and the collapse of the urban environmental order, this nostalgia for the family has been strengthened.
This is manifested in a room called family room and if you have a great entertainment room the kids will stay at home and invite their friends over instead of going to a club or bar, \"Minn Edward Clark says he is a professor of history at Carlton College, Northfield, Minnesota.
1986 author of pioneering research, home of American families, 1800-1960.
\"However, Clark says there is an irony in these designs.
\"People miss an image of nurturing a family environment, and in fact, television doesn\'t necessarily bring people together or create an internal family relationship,\" he said . \".
Michael L provides a more positive view
Woodley, senior vice president of Kaufman and broadside construction, the company is-
Income households.
Woodley said that while families now spend less time together, they want to share the time in a common space.
\"We don\'t want to be insulated in small and isolated places, someone is preparing meals, someone is doing homework, someone is watching TV.
All these things can happen in the family room.
\"In fact, some designers believe that the single large room for cooking, eating and entertaining restored the earlier style of the American House: The cottage and the settler farmhouse.
To complete the symbolism, the fireplace in most of the new living rooms disappeared and returned to the family room.
In many designs, the fireplace is hidden in one that can accommodate 35-TV.
The change in construction is also attributed to the downturn in the real estate market.
The construction industry has abandoned its demand. it-or-leave-
Attitude towards design, focus on market research and focus groups.
Small lots and high prices give buyers more awareness of usable space, especially since houses in Southern California no longer guarantee fast turnaround and high margins.
People seem to buy new homes more for comfort than for speculation.
* Median growth in new homes in California during the boom was staggering
Statistics show that from about 1980 square feet in 1983 to a peak of 1,450 square feet in 1991, the time is 1,900 seconds.
The middle price of the new order-
Over the past decade, California\'s family homes have grown by about 68% to $187,500.
Recently, the recession has narrowed the intermediate square foot slightly, and further reductions may be needed to reduce costs.
So the living room may still be the victim.
But for buyers who are accustomed to more traditional layouts and family habits, the emphasis on large family rooms may upset them at first.
Darren Sloan bought a new Kaufman and broad House last year at the California Bluffs development company in Santa Clarita.
The design of both of him
The story House reversed the old pattern of having the largest and most important public space in front of it.
\"When I first saw it, that\'s what I noticed right away, the smaller living room . \"
\"At first it was a bit strange for me and felt very different from the house I grew up in.
\"Now, he and his wife Mia in their 20 s look forward to their first child and find that they rarely use the living room except for the holidays.
\"I would say we don\'t need it, but it\'s a good choice for formal entertainment,\" he said . \".
\"If it\'s not there, we\'ll replace it with a family room, which is where we spend 90% of our time.
When he was shopping a few months ago, Ken Hart noticed all the buildings
In the corner of TV, an outstanding feature that old houses usually lack.
\"In the past, if you wanted to have a TV, it was everyone \'.
It now seems that it is expected that TV should also be here and have a certain size, \"said Hart, a purchasing agent for a chemical company, who also bought a house in Santa Clarita.
Some designers and marketers believe that the living room is the social tailbone we cannot get rid of in the evolution of American families.
So they are narrowing the living room down to the real lobby or living room to use some of the terminology of the builder\'s revival.
\"There is a good chance that the living room will be eliminated by the end of this century, or the size will be greatly reduced,\" said Gopal Ahluwalia, research director of the National Assn . \".
Washington-based home builders.
One reason to keep it, he said, is that many home buyers believe that their resale opportunities could be compromised without at least one symbolic living room.
The living room used to be a showcase for American life, and even if they were wrapped in plastic fabric, they could only enter on Sundays.
\"That\'s the trophy room,\" said Artimus Keiffer, a geography professor at Kent State University in Ohio, who wrote about how people use space at home.
\"Today, our identity sign is the size of our house, car, or the label on our clothes.
We have gone from showing trophies to walking trophies and even our tennis shoes.
\"The most important rooms in a classic Victorian house are for visitors ---
Formal front office and restaurant.
But at the turn of the century, according to historians, Americans began to shift from rigid etiquette to relaxed child style --raising. The new so-
The so-called living room is a place where generations of men and women should mix together in joy.
Of course, many living rooms have TVs, but they tend to be treated as another piece of furniture, a la a 1960 Sylvania console, not a screen used to design a room.
During the baby boom of 1950, the concept of family room developed--
A practical place in the basement or outside the patio where new TV is placed and children can play without damaging good furniture.
Today, contrary to Victorian values, rooms that serve children have become the most important space.
While many families say they like the new floor plan because it can better supervise young people, some critics complain that privacy and tranquility are disappearing.
The mystery of the living room as the only adult space is often transferred to the charming master bedroom suite, which became commonplace in the 1980 s.
This trend continues as some parents discover the open layout of the kitchen
The entertainment district left them with no other comfortable escape from MTV or The Little Mermaid\'s 22 replays.
\"The new development journey could make people wonder if Hugh Hefner has decorated all the main suites of the Southern California model house with a bucket of champagne in the bathtub --
Otherwise side and bed side in G-
Rated environment in the suburbs.
* Deep tub, separate shower, private door rear toilet and walk-
A closet as large as a San Francisco hotel room is often standard.
This shows how the middle
Class expectations have been upgraded since posting
Second World War II blockbusterbedroom, one-bath boxes.
Other features that only rich people have become common: double
Three-height ceiling
Auto repair shop, electrical-
Each child has a packed kitchen, a separate bedroom, a Home Office and a computer ventilation system.
Builders say the demand for the main suite bathroom is reflected in a sharp increase in the number of bathrooms in the new house.
In 1971, only 15% of the new houses had two or more bathrooms;
This figure has grown to 49% by last year.
At the same time, the average household population declined from three.
1970 in the United StatesS. census to 2.
In 1993, there were 63 people, despite the expanding housing area.
\"When you look at the composition of the family today, most people have dual family income.
\"After a complete schedule and having to solve the problems of the children, they want to have a bigger master retreat to escape,\" said John schleeson of market prospects . \"
A housing consulting company in the Sacramento area.
\"They want some downtime and the downtime is in the master bedroom.
Leslie Purson, Newport Beach architect, said: \"The fact that house design reflects social change is not new.
Some of his work, for example, reflects another emerging trend: the provision of a downstairs bedroom suite for the elderly parents of the baby boomers.
\"Any type of building is a historical timeline in many ways,\" Persohn said . \".
\"You can go back and look at the architecture and learn about the quality of life, social, cultural and economic impact.
This is a direct statement of the day. \"(
Start text of infobox/Infographic)
Over the past 40 years, the tract house has changed, reflecting changes in cultural values.
Formal rooms for visitors are covered up by large family rooms, large-
A TV screen seen as a new fireplace in the United States.
The larger master bedroom is also popular, giving parents a shelter away from accommodationat-home children.
1950 s * two small bedrooms, one bathroom with a total area of less than 1,100 square feet. ft.
On the first floor * formal living room, the largest space for the House and venue of the fireplace * small family or TV room, usually hidden behind the basement or garage * Average-
Size master bedroom with small closet, often no bathroom * Square practical design * common kitchen away from other living areas.
* Cars or independent-
Garage with 1990 s * three or four bedrooms, 2.
5 bathrooms with a total area of 2,000 square meters. ft.
Large extended family room with entertainment center and fireplace * large master bedroom suite with private bathroom and walk-on-site-
In the closet * emphasizes the double of vaulted ceiling and dramatic
Windows * devices-
Packaged kitchen open to family room * 2-or three-
Car garage in front of the House Source: \"American family home, 1800-
1960 by Edward Clark, Jr.
University of North Carolina Press, 1986; Shea Homes;
And Kaufman and big home. National Assoc.
Home builders.