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Sunday, February 19, 2017

The Keeping Room

Hello, dear friends.  I hope that you are enjoying your weekend.  The Mister and I have spent the past two days examining tile and marble slabs.  We are in the first stage of renovating our master bath.  Between you and me, the process would go a lot smoother if the Mister kept his opinions to himself. 


The first time that I heard the term Keeping Room was about twelve years ago.  A decorator friend of mine bought a gorgeous large home for a song.  The reason that she got such a good deal is that every room was adorned with very busy wallpaper, even the library.  A lot of buyers couldn't see past it which made my friend the lucky buyer.



The house had a keeping room.  The definition is:  


The actual definition of a keeping room is – “an area adjacent to the kitchen”. It is a term that dates back to Colonial times when homes were typically heated by a small fireplace or wood-burning stove in the kitchen. 

I found some lovely examples on Pinterest.

decorpad


Decorpad

I love the idea of a keeping room.  If we had one, I could supervise the Mister while he was at work and give him helpful suggestions.
He is not as enthusiastic about the concept.  



Bdg Style Blog




Western Cabinet Co.

Love this look.
It would be pretty difficult to keep clean if you had kids, though.



Laurel Bern Interiors


bhg


Southern Living



Southern Living


Houzz

Stunning wallpaper.


Pinterest
Sweet & cozy.
Now that's what I call a fireplace!



Hadley Ct.

Lovely



Emily A Clark


The Mister and I talk about building a house some day.  We have learned a lot over the years from living in six homes.  We have made our share of mistakes.  I would love to include a Keeping Room in the dream house.  The Mister is not convinced... yet.

Enjoy your Sunday.


Would you include a Keeping Room in your home design?

Until next time...







Preppy Empty Nester
Preppy Empty Nester

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Feel free to contact me through comments and email. I love to hear from my readers!

42 comments:

  1. I love the idea of a Keeping Room and you have certainly found some stunning examples.

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  2. I think the idea of a keeping room makes sense, since people tend to congregate in the kitchen. That way, the cook would still feel included in all the conversation. It is funny that so many of the pictures feature very large windows in the keeping rooms. In the days of heating with fire, you would lose a lot of heat through those windows, but they are very pretty spots to be sure. -Jenn

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  3. Keeping Rooms are very big in the south Katie. They are normally warm and inviting...a place to hang your hat and relax! Love them. They are normally much smaller than these shown in the photos...I know the one you design will be glorious! Have fun dreaming and planning...

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  4. We are contemplating down sizing. I think all I need is a large kitchen with any one of those keeping rooms pictured, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. No need for a living room or dining room. Of course, ocean front would be perfect!

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    1. Maureen... you and I are on the same page. I can definitely do without a living room and dining room. And ocean front would be my idea of bliss!

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  5. I love all the light, neutral keeping room colors - unless you have kids.
    I know what you mean about learning from all your homeowner/decorating mistakes - after decades of owning houses it's a reality.
    Have a good week.

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  6. Who knew? I have a keeping room! I always called it the family room but it is a little room with a fireplace and window seat that isn't very big at all and only the counter/stove/cupboards of the kitchen divide it from being one big room. In my imagination I do a big remodel and make it one giant room. Well, that's not happening, so "keep" it, we shall! But now I feel better about it!

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  7. A resounding yes to a Keeping Room! We currently have one. When we were looking to move, several of the homes had keeping rooms, and that was a plus for us. It's nice to have a comfortable sitting area near the action in the kitchen. Wish ours had a fire place. ;-)

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  8. I adore a keeping room, have always wanted one!

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  9. We have had keeping rooms in three or four of the houses we have lived in over the years. I LOVE them! It would be hard to not have one anymore...but I suspect I may have trouble finding one when we go to downsize. Happy Sunday to you- xo Diana

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  10. We follow your blog and always enjoy every post.
    After 30+ years creating our successful design firm, some of our clients asked us to begin blogging. We appreciate every blogger so much more after 2 weeks of our launch. Yours is one that inspires us to post everyday and hope you and your followers will give us a look. -Laurel and Kristen
    Littleblackdomicile.com

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  11. Katie,
    Yes, all for Keeping Room. All of these gorgeous examples remind me of snuggling in on cold winter's days.

    Judith

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  12. We have a keeping room of sorts I guess, it's all so open that it's hard to tell. Several of my friends have the "real deal." They are lovely and I'm sure if you ever build you will do a stellar job!!

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  13. I love the idea of a keeping room. They are all beautiful but my favorite one is the one you posted by Western Cabinet :)

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  14. Oh I would LOVE a Keeping Room! I sometimes sit and daydream about all the wonderful things we could do to our house. I'm going to add Keeping Room to the list!

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  15. Those are all so beautiful! We have a keeping room, of sorts, at the end of the kitchen. It isn't anything like those lovely rooms, but it fits our lifestyle with table and chairs and settee, books at hand and a place to read on the laptop.

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  16. Whoa, wait. You speak of a master bath reno and then casually change subjects. You didn't think I was going to let that slide, now did you?? Join the club, sister. We can commiserate together, and I totally agree with your comment on how the job could go smoother! And yes, I would love a keeping room, but my sunroom is adjacent to my kitchen, so I'll settle for that as mine. Many of those are gorgeous. Happy Monday.

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  17. I have always wanted a keeping room and at one time turned our breakfast room in to a semi keeping room after our daughter left for college. It is now back to a regular breakfast room and not nearly as cozy. Looking forward to seeing your new bathroom!

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  18. I love the idea! We have a tiny "blogging central" room in Beaufort with two chaise lounges right off the kitchen and it is where we spend most of our time together when in the house. - so cozy! You can never move from your gorgeous home...it's amazing!

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  19. A few years ago my we added a hearth room to our home. It is a wonderful extension of our kitchen and breakfast room. It is a cozy and comfortable space to enjoy a fire, coffee, a good book or reading my favorite blogs. We are now downsizing and it will be the room I will miss the most. Your blog has something beautiful and inspiring with each post.

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  20. I love the idea, in fact in our small cottage, that is what we consider our family room. The room adjacent to our kitchen meets all descriptors except it's just a little larger. I love some of the rooms you've shared...lots of inspiration.
    Karen

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  21. I would love to have a keeping room and these are gorgeous examples! Our kitchen is open to our family room so that is about as close as I will get with this house. So exciting that you are renovating your bathroom! We have talked on and off about renovating ours but my husband also has too many opinions. I agree, why can't they just leave it up to us? Enjoy your week!
    Shelley

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  22. Such beautiful inspiration! I love keeping rooms. In fact, I have a house plan picked out that has one. I don't know if we will ever build a house, but maybe someday. We just finished remodeling our master bathroom and went with Carera marble. I love it! I hope that you enjoy your day, and that you have a wonderful week!!!

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  23. I love the idea of the keeping room! We are in the beginning stages of designing our new home, so I'm going to "keep this in mind", LOL!

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  24. Great idea Katie. Love the inspiration! I hope you win out. A happy wife is a happy life....LOL

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  25. Keeping rooms just sound so cozy! Great examples. Our next house will have one instead of a big family room which is what we have now.

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  26. I love the idea of a keeping room. I agree about this Mister and his opinions. These men! They just need to trust us and take care of the garage and bills. That statement right there is probably why I am not married. Ha! Hope you have had a good weekend and are looking forward to a wonderful spring. We just had the first of what may be many spring storms roll through last night. It was so good to hear thunder and see lightening!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Lori! Great to hear from you. I hope you are doing well. Email me so we can catch up. Enjoy your week.

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  27. Lovely idea and I love all the pictures! Have a great week!

    Blessings,
    Jill

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  28. A keeping room is a wonderful addition to a home! I enjoyed your lovely examples!

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    1. I love your name, Savoring Sixty!! Thanks for taking the time to comment.

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  29. Would love a keeping room and a remodeled kitchen! Your links are so pretty. Hope you have a great week!

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  30. My grandmothers both had keeping rooms before we knew they were keeping rooms. It's the ultimate hang-out place since the kitchen is the heart of the home. Grandmother also had a sign that said, "No matter where I serve my guests, it seems they like my kitchen best." That funny grandmother!

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  31. I turned an eating nook into a semi keeping room in one house. We liked it. So yes...I would include. Funny comment about the mister and his ideas, keeping them to himself. Ha

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  32. I love keeping rooms, as a previous comment said, they are big in the South. We have a one in our house with a double sided fireplace that goes into the family room. My pups have their beds in front of the fire and lay there half the day!

    Have a great day Katie!

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  33. We had a keeping room in our home in Tennessee and I was never very thrilled with it. To me, just seemed like one more room to clean.

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  34. I do love the idea of watching my husband cook while sitting all cozy and hygge-ish in a keeping room. I'd also love a butler's pantry. Have a great week, my friend!

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  35. Well, I guess we do have a keeping room but the builder called it the morning room. We call it the breakfast room as we eat in there. It is adjacent to the kitchen and also adjacent to the living room so I didn't see the need for another sofa in there. I have been thinking though about putting a sofa etc. in there as some of our neighbors did that and I love the look. We'll see!

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  36. I don't hear the term 'keeping room' ever around here. Hmm. Maybe it's a Southern California thing. But I love these examples. Also I'm looking forward to hearing about your new bathroom, that's so exciting. Am I naughty for saying that I feel lucky that my husband doesn't care to get too involved in the design decisions around here? Although he does occasionally ask why we don't push the living roomcouch up against the wall for extra room to which I pretend not to hear him and he quickly forgets about it. Such a dysfunctional design team we are :)
    Leslie

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  37. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  38. My friend sent me here and I thought I’d say hi, great blog. Home Renovations

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