The living room is just what its name implies – an area in the home where the family can be at ease, receive guests, rest in quiet amid cheerful surroundings, and be entertained. It is usually the largest and most important room in the house. It should be as comfortable as possible. In contrast to the old-fashioned “parlor,” which was used only on state occasions, and the sitting room, which was only slightly less formal, today’s room is used every day.

The living room must be so arranged that many activities can take place at one time if necessary. On entering a living room in today’s house you may find one person reading, another studying, a third listening to the radio, and several others carrying on a conversation. These are all normal activities and you must provide space for them.

Sometimes the living room is designed with definite areas established for specific activities. However, this is not too desirable, since family needs vary from to time. Usually the living room is best designed with adequate space for many activities but with no fixed space for any one activity.

The outdoor living areas should be properly related to your program for living and to the living areas in the house. In fact, specific outdoor areas should be so related to individual rooms as to be visual extensions of these rooms while expanding their usefulness. The outdoor areas should be designed to supplement the areas within the house, and at the same time they should be properly related to the overall house-garden plan.

You are now familiar with such considerations as financing, the selection of the site, indoor-outdoor living, and the requirements of the main areas of the house. Keep in mind that the space for the living, sleeping, and work areas of the house should be planned so that each area is clearly accessible and at the same time has some privacy. Begin to think in terms of space rather than in terms of rooms and partitions.

The work and service area includes the kitchen, laundry, garage, utility room, storage, stairs, and corridors. The work area should be so located as to ensure privacy and quiet in the rest of the house. You should be able to enter the house and go to the kitchen and laundry without passing through other areas. Also, the kitchen should have an outside entrance for tradesmen (if possible). And take note your house plan, in which the kitchen is accessible from the front vestibule and breezeway and the garage is accessible from the breezeway.

Your home is your haven, and it should function as you need it to and look and feel the way you want it to. The interior design as well is a very personal process. Quality interior design can help resolve the ache that comes when something is impeded.

There are three steps that you should take before making any major changes or purchases in planning your work and service area. First, define the area as either public or private. Second, envision a design concept. Third, create a space plan for your work and service area you will be working on.

The Sleeping area includes bedrooms, bathrooms, and storage. The sleeping area should be easily accessible, but at the same time it should be possible to shut it off from the rest of the house to obtain privacy, quiet, and economy in heating.

In planning a bedroom you should consider the interests of the individual who will occupy that room. The bedroom furniture should be considered while the bedroom is in the planning stage, not after the house is built. Bedroom storage should be adequate and should be carefully planned. Additional storage space should be provided in the hall for linens and in bathroom for towels and bathroom supplies.

As a rule, the bathroom in the home should not be of the minimum size. The care of the ill or of young people, often requires occupancy by two persons. The multi-occupancy bathroom provides the advantages of two bathrooms, while effecting savings in space and piping.

The living area may include only a living room, or it may include an entrance vestibule, a living room, a dining room, a den, a family room, a recreation room, a powder room, a terrace, and a patio. The living area should be accessible from the entrance vestibule without going through the working area or the sleeping area. At the same time, the living area and its various parts should have privacy.

In designing the living area, keep in mind the sizes of the various pieces of furniture that each room is to accommodate.