ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, June 30, 1996 TAG: 9607020026
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
WHAT is America's favorite room in the house? The answer may surprise you. When Roper Starch Worldwide, a nationally recognized consumer research company, asked 20,000 consumers in 10 separate studies throughout the last year what their favorite room is, 47 percent said the living room.
If you're thinking of the room with the fine upholstered furnishings, fussy window treatments and spotless carpeting that you never step into except on special occasions - think again. Many of today's consumers are forgoing fancy living room decors in favor of sophisticated stereo systems with surround-sound capabilities, wide-screen televisions, VCRs, video games and other computer-age pleasures. As a result, we're seeing the birth of a whole new generation of living rooms, redefined and refurnished to accommodate today's lifestyles.
"The entire sense of the home seems to be changing," said Kevin Sauder, vice president of sales and marketing for Sauder Woodworking, the nation's leading manufacturer of ready-to-assemble furniture. "With fewer people having time for formal entertaining, the living room as we once knew it has all but lost its purpose.
Many consumers, however, are finding creative ways to transform this space from one of the least visited places in the home into one of the most functional." If your living room hasn't been lived in for years, consider the following ideas for bringing it new life:
Media room
The Electronics Industries Association reports that more than 10 million U.S. households have home theater systems. Instead of hiding this important (and expensive) electronic equipment in the basement or family room, why not show it off in style?
Given today's wide array of entertainment furniture styles, even the most luxurious living room can provide an ideal place to watch your favorite shows or take in the latest video hit. Sauder's series of entertainment furniture, for example, features traditional, country and contemporary styles ranging from those that cleverly disguise entertainment equipment to dramatic display cases.
Home office
With approximately 50 million people working out of their homes, you can bet a great many of today's living rooms have been put to work as home offices. Why not? The living room/home office combination can yield a luxurious work environment that rivals the most prestigious suite without spoiling the home's key center for leisure living and entertaining.
Simply add a versatile computer armoire or a handsome computer cabinet and you're in business. These efficiently designed pieces feature attractive exteriors and open to reveal comprehensive work centers loaded with space, not to mention bells and whistles ranging from specially designed keyboard shelves and hanging files to built-in bulletin boards.
Lavish sanctuary
Why should entertaining friends and relatives be the only reason you get to enjoy the luxury of the living room. Turn your showplace into a haven at home by furnishing it with overstuffed upholstered pieces, including a plush ottoman to greet your tired feet at the end of a hectic day. If you love music, add a couple of reclining chairs and a grand piano, or even just a stereo and a collection of your favorite selections. And, don't forget a pair of headphones to truly take you away from it all.
In short, if you don't use it, lose it! Say goodbye to the stuffy living room of yesterday and "hello" to an equally stylish and much more functional room designed for today's living.
For information on where to buy Sauder furniture in your area, call (800) 523-3987.
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. The Mission Collection (left), reflecting the Artsby CNBand Crafts period of the early 1900s, includes an entertainment
center, $310; cocktail table, $85 and lamp table, $65. 2. Sauder's
Heritage Hill collection (below left) includes a cherry-finished
wall system, $400; library, $105; chairside table, $60. 3. The
Monarch computer cabinet (below right), $500, houses an entire home
office behind closed doors. color.