Living and Dining Rooms Disappearing From Homes

The living room and dining room will disappear from the American residence in the next century--if they haven’t already--to be replaced by the family-entertainment room and the computer room, predicts Artimus Keiffer, an “architectural geographer” who teaches at Kent State University in Ohio.

Keiffer spoke at the International Geographical Congress 1992, held this summer in Washington, D.C., on the effect of technology on spatial re-orientation of the single-family home. By tracking the spread of a certain design style, such as Amish barns, architectural geographers can plot demographic migrations; by examining generations of floor plans they can plot major lifestyle changes.

Keiffer mapped the house plans during the past century, choosing as illustrations the garage, porch, family room and bath.

The garage, when it was still a stable, was usually a separate building behind and away from the house. Today the garage is attached and often occupies about a quarter of the house’s total square footage. When placed on the front, it is sometimes the dominant architectural focus. The lone outhouse has moved from the back yard, and multiple bathrooms are commonplace.

The open porch has moved from the front, where the family once greeted neighbors passing on the street, to the side and finally to the back, where it has been enclosed for privacy. Today the family room, located at the rear, is the public center of the house and the front living room has become a little-used parlor. The same is true of the dining room.

In a telephone interview, Keiffer said he does not see the “smart” or computerized house becoming a reality for another generation. However, he foretells significant popularity soon for the computer room in new and remodeled houses.

The old basement rec room is now often used for the computer, he said, and for the other equipment necessary to operate it, such as telephone, modem, printer and software. As more people work at home, the computer room will move up to the main floor and become an office. Television, video cassette recorder, compact disc player and other entertainment equipment will be kept in a separate room, so as not to disturb the workers.

Asked what would happen when the technologies are combined to create interactive television through the computer, Keiffer replied, “Easy. Just run a cable between the rooms.”