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JonBailey
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 111
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 Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 2:36 pm Post subject: heart of the home |
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the fireplace use to be the center piece of any home. the hearth is the heart of the home.
use to, people placed their furniture up in a way that they could interact and be socialable with one another. the furniture was a reflection of this social interaction between one another- with the fireplace or some other centerpeice of the room offset as a side peice.
today most people, place furniture in a room, pushed up against the wall, directly angled to our televisions. no matter the layout of the room, the furniture seems to always points to the television. no longer do most organize their furniture for social interaction, but an interaction that is purely introverted--back against a wall, pointed towards the television.
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Jon Bailey
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lekizz
millennium club
Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 1021
Location: UK
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| Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 5:42 am Post subject: |
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Yep, sad isn't it, in some senses.
The positive aspect is that with modern central heating systems we don't have to huddle around a real fire to keep warm. But I know of many households that have wall-mounted gas fires and are oriented towards both the TV *and* the fire. |
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csintexas
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Joined: 06 Feb 2006
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Location: USA
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| Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 6:25 am Post subject: |
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Every house I design is arranged around the fireplace first (if it has a fireplace) and the TV second. Now days the TV is often placed above the fireplace. Also U and L shaped seating arrangements are still very common.
No doubt we waste a lot of time watching TV but I don't think we are any less social than we where in the past.
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Chris Stewart
Modern Texas Home Project |
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JonBailey
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 111
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| Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 6:28 am Post subject: |
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Yes thank you for the flat screen tv 
This was just an observation I made while watching a friend of mine rearrange furniture into his new apartment. It got me thinking...
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Jon Bailey
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adailide
Joined: 26 Jan 2006
Posts: 82
Location: Michigan
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| Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 9:40 am Post subject: |
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Frank Llyod Wright would design his homes around the fireplace. Even in his earliest designs Wright placed the fireplace, the hearth, as close to the center of the design as possible. The hearth, around which the family would and should gather.
I guess the Hearth from then is now the TV of today, although the idea of the TV being center may soon be replaced by the interactive computer. So if you design that way, you will be ahead of the curve. Then again you could become a revolutionary if you once again design the home around the hearth as Wright did.
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Adam A. Dailide ad@studio-render.com www.studio-render.com
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JonBailey
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 111
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| Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 3:45 pm Post subject: |
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what im getting at is not so much about the fireplace or the television, but more about a way of life, and how it is changing/where it's headed.
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Jon Bailey
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SDR
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Joined: 02 Oct 2004
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Location: San Francisco
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| Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 7:18 pm Post subject: |
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The corner living room and central, pivotal fireplace owe much to Wright and to the
architects who followed him.
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SDR
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Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Posts: 1663
Location: San Francisco
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| Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 7:46 pm Post subject: |
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For the first time, with flat-panel screens, we can hang a TV near or above a fireplace, to allow the seating arrangement to serve both purposes.
Unfortunately, wood-burning fireplaces are becoming a thing of the past, with new laws forbidding them because of emissions concerns. (Do we need residential-scaled electrostatic precipitators on our chimney-tops ?)
SDR |
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csintexas
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| Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2007 7:00 am Post subject: |
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I don't see anything wrong with arranging a room around the TV. It is at my house but the TV is also in a cabinet so when we have guest over we just close the door and you don't see it.
I think we need to get rid of the idea that we need a fireplace to be cozy. Most of the ones around here these days are fake anyway because people in town don't want to deal with securing wood and the associated smoke smell and detritus.
Maybe we need to reinvent space heaters so that they are attractive, efficient and not as polluting as wood.
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Chris Stewart
Modern Texas Home Project |
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modjohn
Joined: 07 Nov 2007
Posts: 38
Location: Kansas, USA
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| Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2007 10:07 pm Post subject: |
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I agree with Chris that it is nice to be able to cover up the TV. If it is hidden, you might not turn it on so much and possibly even have a conversation.
But, I really dislike fake fireplaces of all kinds. The latest craze being the enclosed, direct vent gas types. They may be more efficient, but they are really ugly. If you want a fireplace, get the real thing. There is nothing like throwing some wood in it, setting it ablaze, and enjoying a real fire. |
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