Hi, Carol!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

 CS>  If they had a 'drawing room' (withdrawing room) I think
 CS>  except in the largest homes, it was multipurpose (male
 CS>  or female).


           That's my take on it.  While a reigning monarch might have a
room in the palace set aside for his own use & expect certain trusted
advisors to brief him there every morning, as I understand the kings of
France once did, we can't assume such private spaces would be used the same
way if the monarch was female or if the concept had trickled down the ranks
to the Lord of the Manor....  :-)



 CS>  Today is very different because we aren't talking the
 CS>  words a rich person with an expansive house would but
 CS>  the average person.


           AFAIK the term has never been in common use Over Here.  We have
rich people with expansive houses, but not "Great Houses" like
the ones portrayed in 18th & 19th century novels or in the accounts of
former domestic servants.



 CS>  Today, we come with 3 bedrooms, a 'living room' a kitchen,
 CS>  and 2 bathrooms (though one may be just a toilet and sink).


           We also live in younger countries.  During the early 20th
century it was routine for ordinary folks to build a one-room cabin with
their own hands & upgrade it as time & $$$ permitted.  Fifty years
later the average house around these parts had two bedrooms, a kitchen, a
living room, and a bathroom.  That's what my childhood home was like... but
now such houses are rapidly disappearing as professional developers tear
them down & replace them with larger ones.  :-/



 CS>  Today, we readd the term 'sewing room' (if you have a spare
 CS>  cubby for it)


           In most cases I know of, Mom doesn't get a room of her own until
the kids have grown up & moved out.  Then she turns what was once a
child's bedroom into a sewing room to make it clear they won't be allowed
to move back in.  ;-)



 CS>  and add a new one called 'Man Cave'


           The terminology may be new... but the concept isn't.  Years ago
many men could have a work bench in a shed or garage if they wanted one. 
They could also go outside & cut the grass or putter in the garden. 
(Men were expected to bring home the bacon & women were expected to
make the place presentable.  He'd grow fruit & veggies in the back yard
while she grew flowers in the front yard, but women & children might be
allowed to help pick the fruit if there were very large quantities of it or
if he found himself on the wrong side of middle age.)

           Whether or not he worked alone in such situations was entirely
up to him.  He could invite another man to help build or repair
something... he could chat with neighbours over the back fence or with
passers-by on the street.  But circumstances changed.  As the family grew
Mom & Dad moved to the suburbs where (although they could get more real
estate for less money) there was very little foot traffic because almost
nothing was within walking distance.  As the family shrank Mom & Dad
moved to a condo where somebody else took care of the tiny bit of greenery
outside.  Even if they stayed put they probably bought a noisy lawn mower
& an automatic dishwasher... both of which are conversation-stoppers. 
We may not be able to re-create the world our parents & grandparents
lived in, nor would we want to if it meant we had to do without Fidonet...
[grin].  But it is important that we understand why our ancestors did what
they did, I think.  :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+