The short answer is so you can include and exclude the right things to get the most out of the room. A home must serve some functions for it to be comfortable. These functions must be served by the rooms, whether in combination or not. We will look at some of the most important functions in the home and some rooms that meet them. We will also learn how to apply them to create a comfortable home.
Here are the functions that every comfortable home must have.
A home must have these functions to be comfortable. In fact, some of these functions serve survival needs.
Shelter
A comfortable home must provide shelter from the elements. This means protecting you from extreme temperatures or inclement weather.
A place for food
A comfortable home must have at least one place to store food, prepare food, and eat. These places can be either co-located or separate (formal dining room). But it must have them. The kitchen is the primary place to prepare food, but it can also be a place to store food and even eat it.
A place to get clean
As we know, sanitation is important to good health. A home needs a room for this if the residents are to be comfortable. The bathroom is the primary room for this function.
A place to sleep
Sleep is important, and no home can be comfortable without a place to do so. The bedroom is the primary room for this. A living room can also serve this function. But a room must be able to serve this function for it to be a bedroom.
A place to relax
Although relaxation is not as critical as food, sanitation, and sleep, it is important for comfort. A home can’t be comfortable if you cannot relax in it. More than one room can serve this function, but the room must have a place to sit or lie down.
Here are some other functions that are nice for a home to have.
These functions are not as crucial as some other functions. In fact, they are often lifestyle-dependent. So, some people will consider these functions to be important for comfort.
A place to exercise
Some fitness-minded people like having a workout facility in their homes. This became very popular during the COVID lockdowns when people couldn’t go to the gym. Garages, basements, and even living rooms often serve as makeshift gyms.
A place to park your car
Being to go back and forth between your car and your home without going outside is very nice to have. It is nice to be able to bring in groceries on a rainy day without getting wet. Garages are great for this.
Places to socialize
It is nice to have places where people can gather and socialize in your home. This is especially if you don’t live alone, or if you have a lot of family and friends. Living rooms, kitchens, dining rooms, and even porches serve this function.
Know what you need to make the room function.
A room can have more than one purpose. Also, for every purpose, the room must have certain things or qualities to fulfill it. For example, a bedroom must have a place to lie down. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a bedroom even if you call it one. With this in mind, you should know what functions you want your home to serve. You should also know which rooms should fulfill what functions. If you don’t, you will need to be lucky to have a functional or comfortable home.
For example, if you want to relax in your living room, you will need a place to sit or lie down. If you also want to socialize there, you will need places for people to sit in sight and in earshot of each other. Also, if you like watching movies, you will need the means to do so. The point here is that the purposes of a room will dictate what you need to have in it. So, it is important to know what you want from a room if you want it to work well.
Remove anything that disrupts the room’s function
A room’s purpose should also dictate what you should not have in it. The most obvious category includes things that disrupt the function of the room. For example, a toilet cleaning brush and plunger don’t belong in a kitchen or a dining room. The second category includes things that don’t enhance or disrupt the room’s function. Each one doesn’t necessarily disrupt the room’s function by itself. But the combined effect of many things like them can be extremely disruptive. So, you shouldn’t let useless things pile up in any room. If you do, they will become clutter.
For example, one small but useless item will not necessarily disrupt your use of your garage. But having thousands of useless items can deny you the space to park your car. In that case, your garage stops working like one and becomes junk storage. In fact, many people park their cars on the street because their garages have become junk storage rooms. The point here is that you should get rid of useless stuff before they pile up. Otherwise, they can disrupt the function of any room.
In summary, a home must serve some functions to be comfortable. Rooms often provide these functions, and some functions are more crucial than others. To make it work, we must include the things that the rooms need to provide these functions. We must also exclude the things that disrupt these functions. To do this intentionally, we must know the purpose of each room. That is why knowing the purpose of each room is important.