A keeping room is a classic architectural feature making a comeback in some of the hottest homes today. As one of North America’s most beloved features, you may not know, “What is a keeping room?” — but that’s ok!
The history of keeping rooms begins with 18th-century Colonial America design around the warmest room in the house: the kitchen. There, the home was usually heated by a single fireplace in the “keeping room,” otherwise known as the family room or hearth room. The real estate community uses the terms interchangeably.
What Is a Keeping Room?
This cozy room is where family members and visitors of the home drew together near the kitchen. There, the heat from cooking and a fireplace “kept” people warm. At night a keeping room acted as a guest room for overnight visitors. Serving as a host for cooking prep, sewing, warming, sleeping, and other everyday household tasks, the origin of the room has importance in residential architecture across America.
In the South, keeping rooms still maintain their place as an architectural cornerstone, and are the most-used room in the house. The friendly, warm design of compact living space within an open floor plan of the kitchen makes cooking a family event, every time.
Because Southern Americans love their kitchens so much, the keeping room has evolved from the original space into one of modern inspiration. Able to keep your kitchen organized, your mealtime warm, and your family (in some way) together, keeping rooms are becoming essential all over the U.S.
Capturing the Spirit of a Keeping Room
The true essence of today’s keeping room is the heart of your home. In the end, the most important function of the kitchen is to nourish your family and provide a generous place for comfort, softness, and a sense of togetherness. At home, with any floor plan, you can embrace the spirit of a keeping room. Simply use your most inspiring ideas of what your guests would need while you prepare a meal, and then create a flexible space that makes the meal prep more accessible.
In the past, this may have included a bar area with a row of stools, but today keeping rooms are taking back the kitchen. Use the concept of a keeping room to create a corner of your home that is warm, inviting, and always open.
Inside the space, you can also store kitchen tools, books, electric mixers, bowls, and tablecloths, so you always have them in arms reach. Consider that among your cookbooks and kitchen décor you can also place photo boxes, albums, board games, craft supplies, and other complementary features to make the room pop.
Can I Have a Keeping Room?
What is a keeping room in a house can take on many shapes, and sizes. Most markets today see keeping rooms as adding value to homes and may even grow to be a must-have feature. Adding a keeping room to your own home may include utilizing an already open floor plan, within the kitchen/living area.
Over time, keeping rooms have taken small and large forms, so today, an entire room or just a small nook can be referred to as a keeping room. Let your own creativity, and space define the type of keeping room you have. Typically, the furniture inside of a comfy keeping room will include built-in bookshelves, practical games, meal prep tools, as well as durable fabric chairs and sofas.
The most important feature of a keeping room is the fireplace, which can take on the personality of your own design. Use any type of fireplace that suits your space and style from a pot-belly stove to a classic wood-burner. It’s up to you! Just remember that this family room will be the heart of your home, so never skimp when it comes to shopping for the right fireplace for you.
Call real estate agent in Kierland, at the office of Jeff Barchi, to discuss the options for your current home, or how to shop for a home with a keeping room. You can feel comfortable inside the cozy space no matter where you are living or the type of home you desire.
