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The American Master Bedroom: Its Changing Location and Significance to the Family
Author(s) -
Vollmer John L.,
Schulze Pamela A.,
Chebra Janice M.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of interior design
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.229
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 1939-1668
pISSN - 1071-7641
DOI - 10.1111/j.1939-1668.2006.tb00413.x
Subject(s) - bedroom , living room , middle class , individualism , expansive , psychology , sociology , demographic economics , geography , political science , engineering , architectural engineering , law , economics , archaeology , compressive strength , materials science , composite material
This article discusses the possible relationship between changes in the master bedroom and parenting values in middle class America. The authors review information from the US homebuilding industry, statistical data on housing trends, literature on the history of the bedroom from the Colonial period to the present, and literature on family sleep practices. The owner's bedroom, one domain among various domains in the home, is an individual‐private domain that functions to ensure adult privacy and increase physical barriers between parents and children. The authors contend that changes in the location and function of the master bedroom in the American home over the past centuries reflect the upward social mobility afforded by rising incomes, expansive and undeveloped land, and shared concepts of prestige held by home builders and homeowners. These influences have helped develop a purely American sense of parenting among middle and upper‐income families that reflects their individualism. Middle class parents have encouraged more physical distance between themselves and their offspring. Consistent with this trend, they have shown a preference for houses with large master suites that are sometimes located at a distance from other bedrooms in the house. Using a model by Chermayeff and Alexander (1965), the authors examine the relationship between parenting practices and private space, highlighting the implications of this trend for home planners and interior designers.