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COUPLES Question, Where do you watch TV most, living room or bedroom?

It's just the 2 of us, we're older and we're realizing that more and more, we're ending up watching movies or binge worthy TV (Poldark, The Crown, etc.) at night in the bedroom.

Is it just us?

We do have an adjustable bed with massage features and although the couch is fine, we're finding if we want to "watch a movie" it's in bed, but if it's something like a football game or Jeopardy, we're in the living room.

It's to the point where "the good TV" has been moved in the bedroom. Absolutely would be different if we had kids/large family.

Are we the only ones noticing this change in behavior?

Where do you and your significant other watch TV the most?


Comments (34)

  • PRO
    7 years ago

    If we're watching something together it's on the TV in the living room. If it's Netflix alone its in bed on the laptop or tablet.

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked Sina Sadeddin Architectural Design
  • 7 years ago

    We're new to the "just the two of us" thing, and we're still feeling out the details ... making adjustments ... deciding how we want to live in this next stage of life.

    - We've always had one TV for group viewing in the family room ... which is open to the breakfast table and the kitchen. One "real TV" has always been a conscious choice for us.

    - We have a second TV in the office /kids' room, which has a DVD but no cable (well, now we're on Sling). It's also hooked up to a video game system. Again, this has always been a conscious choice for us: when they were young, we didn't want the kids to have access to cable TV behind a closed door. (And it's so much harder now with internet access everywhere -- I feel for y'all younger parents.)

    - When we move into our new house, we will maintain the TV in the family room ... and we will add a TV in the bedroom. We may use this as a couples-viewing area at times, and we were thinking ahead to the possibility of one of us being ill /wanting entertainment while being confined to bed.


    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked Mrs Pete
  • 7 years ago

    Hubby travels a lot - when he does, I love to cuddle up at night in the bedroom and watch. As a couple, we're more likely to turn it on weekend mornings to watch the news while relaxing with a cup of coffee.

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked Sammie J
  • 7 years ago

    We're in the "no TV in the bedroom" camp. I don't even bring my cell phone in there. But our living room couch is so huge and comfy it might as well be a bed. Now if only the kids would go to sleep so we can watch something!

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked jslazart
  • 7 years ago

    TV in bedroom is only for watching the news as we're getting ready to go out, or an extraordinary event (like 9/11), or in the case that one of us is so ill we can't get out of bed (hasn't happened yet).

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked sushipup1
  • 7 years ago

    Two people. Three TVs. One in the kitchen/family room for news, background noise. One in the media room for movies, dvr tv show and sports and one in the bedroom for reruns, old movies, before sleep.

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked auntthelma
  • 7 years ago
    We (only two of us) mainly watch tv together in the family room. We have 2 other tv’s in each bedroom. If I’m watching a program on the family room tv and my husband wants to watch something else, he will go to a bedroom to watch his show.
    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked Jacqui Naud
  • 7 years ago

    Family room and kitchen.

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked chloebud
  • 7 years ago

    Only two of us - we watch TV together in family room, for the most part. My husband is away quite a bit, and when he is, and there is something I want to watch/stream, I tend to watch upstairs in bed (after 9:00 or so!). Like jslazart, we leave our phones downstairs when we go upstairs for the night.

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked Karen
  • 7 years ago

    Have had but will never have a tv in our bedroom again.

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked lizziesma
  • 7 years ago

    We have a tv in our bedroom but never watch it. Old style big tv that needs to be dumped. We watch in family room, kitchen or garage.

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked KATHY
  • 7 years ago

    Another vote for no TV in the bedroom... should really make this a poll.

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked Robin Morris
  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    I have never had a tv in my bedroom and at 65 will never have a tv in our bedroom. we're retired and also got an adjustable bed when we moved to our current house because we finally got a bedroom big enough for a king bed. Our 1 tv is in the living room but can be watched from the breakfast area too. we do fall asleep in our recliners though.

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked Cheryl Smith
  • 7 years ago
    We watch tv together at night time in our bedroom. We have kids at home and it is more confined and quiet for when the kids are supposed to be sleeping. I like to snuggle up and watch a movie with hubby.
    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked wysmama
  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Cheryl Smith,

    You bring up great points!

    We currently live in 519 sq feet and in the past lived happily in a NYC one room studio, where every inch of space has to do double, if not triple duty.

    Thus, the "bedroom" isn't just a room with a bed in it for sleeping.

    I'm finding that it depends on what we're going to watch as to where we end up.

    There is something very calming and sweet watching a man in his recliner (throne!) sound asleep.

    You also bring up another excellent point "retired." We're older, my hubs sets the adjustable bed upright, puts on the massage function and he's like a puppy getting a belly rub. Pure joy.

  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    janie my husband also loves the massage. its not just a bed. this is our retire in place house. hopefully the last place we buy. but instead of downsizing we went up 2180 sqft. we never had kids so this is just us. can't imagine living in 519 sqft. cozy. but with the spare bedrooms on the opposite side the house from the master, it could easily be live in home care, air BNB or allow for roommates. not that that will ever happen. but options. this is one of my favorite pictures of my 2 boys sleeping in our old house. gotta love em


    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked Cheryl Smith
  • PRO
    7 years ago

    Im exhausted at the end of the day. Once dinner is cleanup up, we go to the bedroom! Couldn't live without a TV in my bedroom!

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked Deborah Lempert Interiors
  • 7 years ago
    No TV in bedroom. We have a small tv in the living room so I can watch the news while getting dinner, and a bigger one in the tv room for the serious stuff - football and cricket ;) I'm not keen on having the stimulation of a tv or electronics in a place which should be primarily about sleeping, and anyway, we have slightly different bio clocks, so hubby may still be watching a movie out there while I'm snuggling down for the night.
    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked jmm1837
  • 7 years ago

    We have a media room (former master bedroom), a TV in kitchen, and one in the master bedroom. The one in kitchen conveys the most information. I worded it that way because the one in the bedroom is on a lot but we fall asleep quickly. If we want to watch a movie or something, we will go all the way over to the media room. When we remodeled we put in double doors between the media room and the living room, so if we open the doors more people can sit and watch. So far that hasn't happened. The TV for the kitchen was the best investment yet.

    We cut the cord back in the 80s, so we watch antenna TV (about 40 channels) and streaming online like Netflix, HBO Now, Amazon Prime, etc., over Roku.

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked dchall_san_antonio
  • 7 years ago

    No tv in the bedrooms. DH says bedrooms are for two things, and tv ain’t one of them. :)

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked littlebug zone 5 Missouri
  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    We have a small flat screen TV in the bedroom and almost never use it, certainly not to watch anything for more than 10 or 15 minutes. We follow the approach that the bedroom is for sleeping and bedroom activities, not for anything else.

    The large TV is in our family room and isn't visible from elsewhere. We have a separate living room and there's no TV in there. On the odd occasion when we want to watch something somewhere else, we have Dish Anywhere and can watch live TV or our DVR on a PC or tablet anywhere in the house (or anywhere in the world, for that matter). Most or all cable and sat TV suppliers offer something similar and, of course, the same hardware plays the online video providers like Netflix, Amazon Prime and the cable cutting sources. .

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked Elmer J Fudd
  • 7 years ago

    OMG Cheryl,

    I can't stop laughing, hahahah!!

    Priceless! Pure happiness! And what is doggy dreaming about, that is so hilarious! xoxoxo

  • 7 years ago
    iPad. Watch wherever I want, even the back yard. Liberates the room, no need to point all the furniture one way.
    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked jpp221
  • 7 years ago

    We are building and living in a 600 sq ft apartment. Our TV is on the floor in the family room...I will admit to falling asleep on the couch watching it. Cheryl I loved your photo and thought "We all have one of these!" lol. luv it.

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked Ondre'a
  • 7 years ago

    We also don't have a tv in the bedroom. Bedroom is for sleeping. Tv room is for watching tv.

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked Angel 18432
  • 7 years ago
    Omg my photo looks like I am pharmaceutical rep.. lol I am not
    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked Ondre'a
  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Two of us (late 20's and early 30's) and we have a tv in the living room (open to the eat-in kitchen), basement, and a 24" one in the bedroom. We use the living room tv for most of our shows and movies during the year. The basement tv is for my SO's gaming, PPV events, and we use it in the winter for tv/movies because our woodstove is down there. I fold our laundry in the bedroom, which is typically the only time that tv is used.. Very rarely will we watch tv in bed, but if we do, its usually because we went to bed at 8pm and aren't fully tired enough to sleep.

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked Kaitlin
  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    jpp221 that is a great point! We're all so trained to point furniture in one direction due to a TV set..

    Being in a small space is challenging enough without that restriction.


  • 7 years ago

    No TV in our bedroom, but then we don't have one anywhere else either. We've been TV free for about 25 years and rarely miss it. We'll occasionally watch something on a computer or Ipad, but that's it.

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked disfromage
  • 7 years ago

    One TV in our great room. Only watch Netflix (BBC shows), usually watch just Jeopardy if we’re home, never network news or their inane sitcoms. We’re not TV people, rarely turn in on during the day ( daytime TV is the worst ).

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked K Laurence
  • 7 years ago

    My husband and I have a TV den upstairs next to our bedroom (designated a small bedroom), and it's great. I absolutely did not want a TV in the living room because it would be in the way, we don't do TV as a social activity, and it would be unsightly and anachronistic in our Victorian AF main floor. We also did not want a TV in the bedroom because we've just never been into that and it's terrible for sleep hygiene. My aunt and uncle had a bedroom TV for ages but ditched it when they moved to their new house.


    Having the TV den upstairs near our bedroom has been great - you can retire to upstairs and watch TV/play video games before bed but not IN bed. And we'll stick with one TV. There are enough old coax cables on our house to put a TV in every room (previous owner was obsessed with TV, I guess?) but I couldn't imagine. I don't even like TV that much.

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked queenvictorian
  • 7 years ago

    We have a TV in the bonus rm and the family rm. We don't watch TV in the bedroom.

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked tarhlfan
  • 7 years ago

    Just my husband and I - but frequent visits from my kids and grandchildren. We only watch TV in the evening - 90% of the time we're in n the "movie room." But, if we're binging on a Netflix series, we might watch one episode in bed. Watching TV or looking at my phone helps me sleep.

    Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK thanked Lynda
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