Rooms Nobody Is Allowed to Use
Some homes have a room that looks like it belongs in a furniture catalog. The couch is perfect, the pillows have never been disturbed and the carpet shows no signs of human activity since the work crew installed it.
It's the formal living room, and nobody is allowed in there, ever.
At some point, someone decided the house needed a room for entertaining guests. The problem is, the room is off limits.
Instead we use the kitchen, the dining room or the couch in the basement family room where everyone watches TV.
The formal living room just sits there, looking expensive and perfect.
You can usually tell when you're not supposed to use it. The furniture looks too nice to sit on, the decorations are too carefully placed and there's probably a rug that has never experienced a real-life spill.
And kids learn the rules pretty quickly.
“Don't play in there.”
“Don't touch that.”
“That's for company.”
What company? Who knows, King Charles might stop by.
The dining room can be the same way. There's a perfectly good table sitting in there, but most meals happen at the kitchen counter, the island or in front of the television. The dining room only comes alive around Thanksgiving, Christmas or when somebody's parents are visiting.
Then, for one day, the room has a purpose. After that, it's back to being a candidate for a Better Homes & Garden photo shoot.
The funny thing is that these rooms were designed to make a home feel welcoming. Instead, they often feel like a place you need high level government clearance to enter.
But maybe that's why they're so fascinating. They're a reminder that we don't always use our homes the way they were designed. People buy houses with extra rooms for entertaining, then we spend most of our time in the one room with the old, comfy couch. And honestly, that sounds about right.
