The evolution of rooms over time

The home is like a living being, which does not remain static, but undergoes a Darwinian evolution over the years. Actually, there are those of us who live in it who undergo this transformation, depending on our behavioral habits and demographics.

If years ago families were large and used to require a large number of rooms, in recent times we see how their dimensions are reduced, the number of rooms is smaller and they are used for other purposes. This is just one example of how dwellings are evolving over time, but there is much more.

Beyond more or less aesthetic changes, such as the replacement of stippled/stuccoed walls with smooth walls, or the search for more open spaces, it is worth looking at how the importance we give to some spaces and others has evolved. One of the most significant examples is the case of the kitchen, which has become so important that it has even conquered the living room. It is the leap from an operational to a social character.

We are living more and more in the kitchen, which has become a meeting point for family gatherings while the food is being finished. This, together with the tendency to look after ourselves more and more, dedicating a greater amount of time to the cooker, means that kitchens have increased in size, incorporating islands, and making it possible to have breakfast or even lunch in this room. Along the same lines, this trend towards greater enjoyment of the kitchen and everything that takes place in it has been extended to the living room, eliminating barriers and creating unified spaces.

Another room to which we have been attaching greater importance is the bathroom. In many cases, the ageing of the population and the search for greater sustainability by responsibly moderating water consumption has led to the replacement of bathtubs with shower trays in many cases. This is not the only functional change in this room. Where space permits, the installation of a double washbasin, especially in houses with a single bathroom, is becoming more and more common – sometimes even two showers are installed.

Mirrors are enlarged and the bathroom is conceived as a space in which to take care of our body, with cupboards with sufficient storage capacity for the necessary products, and the convenience of having clean towels in the same room.

For its part, the living room continues to be the star of the house, being the one with the greatest attention to detail. With a predominance of open spaces, avoiding overloaded decorations, it has turned to more organic touches, looking towards the “slow deco” of sustainable and recycled materials. Where space permits, and especially given that fewer rooms are required – as the number of children has been reduced – the living room has been split up.

In this way, specific rooms are set aside for enjoying home cinema or music, with state-of-the-art audiovisual systems that aim to create an isolated space to maximize the enjoyment of the experience. Along the same lines, the separation of offices from the living room is once again becoming a trend, especially after the pandemic, which, with the explosion of teleworking, has put the coexistence of families to the test.