Why do American homes don’t have an entrance area?

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WellWellWellthennow@reddit

Nicer houses here have what we call foyers - an entrance room from the front door usually with a coat closet or hooks, and a bench. Floor is tiled, wood or stone different from any carpeted rooms.

Apartments may or may not have an entry room some just open right into one of the rooms.

The TV shows you're talking about are only stage sets that are built - there's no reason to show that and it would only get in the way of filming with people coming in and out for the storyline.

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SirRatcha@reddit

I don't need one because I take my clothes off in the front yard.

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TheRealTaraLou@reddit

As a millennial that can attest to naked hose showers in the front lawn to get all the mud off, I can agree with this comment

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TheRealTaraLou@reddit

You really want my 420,00 dollar double wide trailer that has 1,500 square footage to take some of that space away for just a small room for shoes, jackets, and an umbrella? Not going to happen

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I'm begging everyone who comes to this sub with these kinds of questions to understand that TV isn't real. It's intended for entertainment and pretty much everything is geared towards that, even the architecture. Some houses have those, some don't. Most of the places I've lived up north had them. TV ones pretty much never do because they're superfluous to the story. Additionally, many TV shows are filmed in California where they don't really need all that sort of thing due to the dry climate.

Also here in France my door from the exterior goes right into my livingroom. It's not like Europeans don't have houses or apartments like that.

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NameCautious@reddit (OP)

I came to that assumption because when you watch German tv you’d have a good understanding of what a German home looks like

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hx87@reddit

Basically imagine if 90% of all German TV shows were made in and around Kiel by people who lived most of their lives in that area. It would then be silly to assume that depictions of homes in Freiburg or Muenchen would be representative.

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U-1f419@reddit

I truly doubt that. I suspect you are filling some things in from your cultural assumptions.

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IPreferDiamonds@reddit

Germany is the size of Montana, one of our States. Do you realize how large the US is and how many people we have? Also, how many different homes/sizes of houses?

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sto_brohammed@reddit

Germany has a fairly similar climate from one end to the other. I've lived in Hessen and Bavaria, btw although it's been over 20 years. Climates in the US range from tropical to similar to Scandinavia to similar to Morocco. As such architecture can vary wildly especially pre-air conditioning architecture.

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Darmok47@reddit

It's hilarious when people call Americans ignorant yet act like the aliens in Galaxy Quest when it comes to understanding America.

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Slippery-Pete76@reddit

I don’t know… when I want to understand American culture, the first thing I think of is Family Guy.

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TomMyers_AComedian@reddit

Why do Americans remove the headrests from their cars? Aren't you worried about getting whiplash?

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MillieBirdie@reddit

And not only are they filmed in California, they're often written, directed, acted, and designed by people with no connection to whatever region or culture they're depicting.

One example I always remember is The Walking Dead, when the characters enter what is supposed to be a baptist church in the rural south, and it's got a big old crucifix with Jesus on it. Baptists don't depict Jesus still on the cross and I'd challenge you to find a Baptist church in all of Georgia with a crucifix in it. But whoever was designing the set figured that was good enough or didn't know better.

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sto_brohammed@reddit

And not only are they filmed in California, they're often written, directed, acted, and designed by people with no connection to whatever region or culture they're depicting.

One of my favorite examples of this is Gran Torino. It was originally written as set in Minneapolis, which makes sense with the Hmong community being key to the story. However that was in the heyday of Gov. Granholm's film subsidies and they decided to both film and relocate the story to Detroit. The Hmong community in Detroit is tiny, nothing like it is in Minneapolis.

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WerewolfCalm5178@reddit

Like Seinfeld's magical hallway/kitchen. They walk down a straight hallway, but when they walk through the front door, the kitchen magically takes up the space of the hallway.

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Responsible_Side8131@reddit

Those homes you see on tv are sets, they aren’t real houses. They show them that way for simplicity in filming.

Many (maybe most) homes here in the US do have a small separate entry way.

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RobotShlomo@reddit

A lot of those are sets built specifically to show people entering and leaving. A lot of times in houses there's a small foyer or what's called a "mud room" that you enter into, and then you enter the main part of the house. Apartments are more like what you're describing.

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Low-Run-9706@reddit

We have a small foyer with a closet for our guests' coats, but most of the time we enter the house through the attached garage and leave our outdoor clothing and shoes there.

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dopefiendeddie@reddit

We don’t actually have doors or walls in American houses and 2. We don’t wear clothes most of the time. The only reason any of that is shown in tv shows and movies is to appeal to international audiences.

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Gladyskravitz99@reddit

Many houses do have foyers and mudrooms, especially in the North. Many don't need them, especially in the South.

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MillieBirdie@reddit

Also sometimes mud rooms are an alternative side entrance and are next to the laundry room or a utility bathroom.

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justsomeguynbd@reddit

Yea I think this is a lot of it, generally between the garage and the rest of the house which is the way most people actually enter their home.

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MillieBirdie@reddit

Also idk if they have built in closets in Germany, but a lot of houses in the US have a built in closet near the front door that is used for coats and stuff.

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Slippery-Pete76@reddit

Yeah, in the house I grew up in when you walked in the front door you were face to face with the coat closet.

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NameCautious@reddit (OP)

So it’s more of a southern state thing? I was wondering that because BB and young Sheldon both take place in the south

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Alexandur@reddit

New Mexico is not in the south, it's in the southwest. It isn't very intuitive but when an American refers to "the south" they're referring to the southeast

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Far_Requirement_1341@reddit

when an American refers to "the south" they're referring to the southeast

Wait, what? Now I'm really confused. Is that to not include California which is a "blue" state?

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Successful_Language6@reddit

The US is really big - twice the size of the EU. It can be into a lot regions depending on how specific you want to be but in general:

New England, the mid-Atlantic, the South, the Midwest, the Southwest, and the West.

European settlers came to New England in search of religious freedom. These states are Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The mid-Atlantic region includes Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and the city of Washington, D.C. These industrial areas attracted millions of European immigrants and gave rise to some of the East Coast's largest cities: New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia.

These two areas can be referred to as the Northeast as well but if someone says they’re going to New England, they mean the historical New England states.

The South includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, all of which struggled after the Civil War, which lasted from 1860-1865.

The Midwest is home to the country's agricultural base and is called the "nation's breadbasket." The region comprises the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

The Southwest is a beautiful stark landscape of prairie and desert. The states of Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas are considered the Southwest and are home to some of the world's great natural marvels, including the Grand Canyon and Carlsbad Cavern.

Texas is sometimes included in the South as they fought with confederacy in the Civil War in Texas is sometimes just considered Texas because it is so huge was its own country as well.

The American West, home of rolling plains and the cowboy, is a symbol of the pioneering spirit of the United States. The West is diverse, ranging from endless wilderness to barren desert, coral reefs to Arctic tundra, Hollywood to Yellowstone.

The states of the West include Alaska, Colorado, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

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Far_Requirement_1341@reddit

Thank you so much for that thorough explanation!

BTW we have a New England here too, where my mother was born, except that it is a region within a state rather than a collection of states. Our New England consists of tablelands and mountains in New South Wales, and is somewhat larger than Maryland.

Meanwhile the state of New South Wales is about the same size as your New England.

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Far_Requirement_1341@reddit

Thank you.

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Hoosier_Jedi@reddit

When I heard foreigns say ridiculous things like this, it reminds me how right we are to ignore their opinions about our country.

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Far_Requirement_1341@reddit

TBF this is r/AskAnAmerican.

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Alexandur@reddit

No, other red states are excluded too. It's more like a linguistic holdover from before our westward expansion, when what is now the southeast actually was the whole southern half of the country

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Far_Requirement_1341@reddit

Cool. Thanks.

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Bailey197846@reddit

https://www.mappr.co/political-maps/us-regions-map/

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Far_Requirement_1341@reddit

So that's the Midwest? It isn't west at all!

I feel foolish because I could easily have looked this up but didn't bother to do so because it was so obvious, or so I thought.

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Bailey197846@reddit

The other two folks that responded are exactly correct.

It gets even more nuanced when you talk about it culturally. A lot of folks that live in the midwest dont think that the plains states should be midwest. Ive met a lot of people who live in the deep south that think states close to the Mason Dixon line like Kentucky and West Virginia should be considered northern states.

A lot of people in Missouri consider their state a southern state because it is south of the Mason Dixon line.

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Successful_Language6@reddit

The US lingo is centered off of the original 13 states clustered in the NE and East, so from that perspective, everything past that was West - either Midwest,, Far West or Southwest.

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Beautiful-Divide-660@reddit

Yeah a lot of the geographic lingo in the US is a holdover from colonial days. The "Midwest" is west of the 13 colonies but distinct from the "far west" beyond it. The "South" is more a distinct cultural category than strictly geographical, basically overlaps with areas where slavery was legal or was part of the confederacy in the civil war.

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ShadesofSouthernBlue@reddit

It has nothing to do with politics. The South is a specific region, and it doesn't include New Mexico. That's the Southwest.

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Far_Requirement_1341@reddit

Yes I realise that now. Thanks.

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Successful_Language6@reddit

And if somebody says, that is the DEEP South, they’re specifically referring to South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

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Hoosier_Jedi@reddit

FFS. Do you not realize how ridiculous basing your image of America off TV is?

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Square-Wing-6273@reddit

Please don't base your understanding of America on TV shows.

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ShadesofSouthernBlue@reddit

As someone who grew up Southern Baptist (in GA) and would canonically be the same age as Sheldon, YS actually gets most things pretty spot on. I mostly credit Jim Parsons for that.

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handicapnanny@reddit

New Mexico very much looks the way it does in breaking bad

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wbenjamin13@reddit

Those aren’t homes those are TV sets.

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Rev_Henry_Cane@reddit

Big Bang Theory takes place in California and is mostly set in a big city apartment.

Young Sheldon, which is a prequel series to Big Bang Theory, is the show the OP is referencing, and takes place in Texas, where a young Sheldon lives in an actual suburban house.

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wbenjamin13@reddit

I know what Young Sheldon is and where it is set. That doesn’t make the place it was filmed a real house. The exterior establishing shots are of a home in Burbank, CA, and the actual sets are on a studio lot at Warner Brothers.

The above comment says “BB and young Sheldon,” I took “BB” to mean “Big Bang [Theory]”, which is also filmed on a television set and not in a real apartment building.

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windfogwaves@reddit

They apparently meant “BB” as “Breaking Bad.”

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wbenjamin13@reddit

Ah ha, that makes more sense, thanks!

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Rev_Henry_Cane@reddit

I know what Young Sheldon is and where it is set.

Your post didn't make it seem that way, as you stated the following:

And isn’t Big Bang Theory mostly set in an apartment building anyway?

Which is what I was addressing.

The above comment says “BB and young Sheldon,” I take “BB” to mean “Big Bang [Theory]” — which is also filmed on a television set at Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, not in a real apartment building.

Had you bothered to pay any attention, you'd know that BB stood for Breaking Bad. You know, the other show the OP referenced in his post that you apparently didn't bother to read.

And everyone knows they were filmed on a fucking set, not in actual apartments and houses.

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MrLongWalk@reddit

Please do not use sitcoms as your basis for understanding the US.

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WesternTrail@reddit

When we talk about the South we mean the Southeast. The Southwest is culturally different, with more Spanish and Native American influence. So while Young Sheldon is in the south, the Big Bang Theory is not.

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changelingerer@reddit

If you're looking at TV and movies, you also have to keep in mind that even if its set in the north or on the east coast, many of those will actually be filmed in Los Angeles.

(Even shows that "look" like they are in NYC, many just have exposition shots of the city with actual scenes filmed in LA. I think a famous transformer scene looking like a classic row of NY brownstones getting toppled, is a street in downtown LA. How i met your mother, long series all set in NYC? All filmed in LA etc.

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Ristrettooo@reddit

Yeah, I mean once you recognize the New York Street backlot, you’ll start seeing it everywhere.

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Successful_Language6@reddit

BB is west coast - California, YS is Texas, which is technically south - but both Texas and the south would disagree. Texas is just Texas.

Regardless the location of both are warm climates where snow would be incredibly rare and if it did snow then might stay for a day before melting.

In fact, Young Sheldon is in Houston and they got a historic snowfall last year and entire city just shut down and played in it for the day! It was pretty much all gone by the day.

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azuth89@reddit

We just don't tend to make as big a deal out of a coat closet right there because we're not using them often. There will be an area of easy clean floor for taking off shoes.

Also remember we're a car country, often the normal way to enter and exit is through a side door to the garage/driveway and that's where you have your mudroom.

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justsomeguynbd@reddit

New Mexico is a southern state but is in no way what is meant by the geographical description of “the South”

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Darmok47@reddit

New Mexico isn't really considered "the South" here in the U.S. And Young Sheldon takes place in Texas, which might as well be its own thing.

Also, perhaps most importantly, those are TV shows not reflective of reality and are likely shot on sets in Los Angeles. Or possibly even Vancouver.

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KimBrrr1975@reddit

Yes, largely. We live in Minnesota and most homes here except very old ones, have entries of some sort. Not even as much for outdoor clothing storage but just to avoid tracking water, dirt, and salt from the winter into the house. Some are just a small entryway that has a closet or a coat rack. Some are entire mudrooms that have 2 doors which help the cold air from coming in while people as busy taking all their winter stuff off. Our house was built tin the 50s and has an entry with a closet which then opens into the living room. But I mostly hang my coat on the dining room chair because I am too lazy to hang it in the closet when I am putting it on several times a day 😆

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microcorpsman@reddit

Those are also:

TV shows, and smaller the room the harder it is to film
Both school teacher single income homes

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BlazerFS231@reddit

Southern homes more typically have sunrooms, which are connected to the back door. They may also be connected to the garage, so if you’re all muddy and dirty, you enter through there.

As for the front, we typically have a small closet next to the front door for heavy outer clothing or sometimes just a coat rack. We rarely see days below 0°C, so we’re not often wearing clothes heavier than a sweatshirt.

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AliceInReverse@reddit

I think this is the answer. In the south it’s 94F/34C today. Outerwear is an umbrella for most of the year, and those are left near the door in a stand. Most people have a small coat closet near the front door, but it gets little use besides storage

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Careful-Depth-9420@reddit

Agreed. Lived in Northeast and Midwest where it is common, but also in South where it is not as common.

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joepierson123@reddit

More common in older homes

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jephph_@reddit

A foyer in a television show is unnecessary and distracting

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NameCautious@reddit (OP)

Yeah but still it should be realistic right ?

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ENovi@reddit

No because American sitcoms are not documentaries on American life. They’re 20 something minute shows involving exaggerated or ridiculous scenarios for entertainment with an emphasis on an American audience. As a result the sets, costumes, and habits are not going to be exact representations of real life because of time constraints and because the target audience isn’t looking for these minute details.

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Sufficient_Cod1948@reddit

No, it should be entertaining. It's a sitcom not a documentary.

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Folksma@reddit

No, sitcoms do not not be realistic

They need to be easy to film

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Drivo566@reddit

They need to be easy to film

Fun fact, this is why most movies and shows remove the headrest from scenes shot in a car. Yet most people never actually pay attention or notice.

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PrimaryInjurious@reddit

Damn it, now this is all I am going to see.

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sneezhousing@reddit

No TV and movies often gave doors not being locked. That's not realistic. TV shows often look nothing like real homes

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PerfectlyCalmDude@reddit

If American TV was realistic, Americans wouldn't watch it. They amp up the drama and cut out stuff that would be tedious to film.

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IPreferDiamonds@reddit

You are right! I don't want to watch someone going to work, coming home and paying bills, etc. etc. That is what most of us do daily! Why would we want to watch that!? LOL!

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TheBimpo@reddit

How would a television program represent every possible aspect of American homes?

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BoringDad40@reddit

Nothing about sitcoms are meant to be realistic, they're meant to be funny.

Not having a foyer allows characters to enter directly "into the action" of the scene which makes for better television. In the US, most homes do have foyers.

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JoshHuff1332@reddit

A lot of time the main entrance isn't necessarily the front door for the residents. In almost every home I've lived in, the main entrance is actually the side door. Usually closest to the driveway and parking area.

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Codee33@reddit

That’s my experience as well. Front door is for guests, side/garage door is the day-to-day entrance.

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JoshHuff1332@reddit

Even the side entrance was used by guests for the most part, as it was closer to the driveway. Not always, but most of the time.

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HauntedOryx@reddit

I mean, if all you want is rigid realism, you could just go outside.

Entertainment creators have a wide variety of priorities, but "building, maintaining, and navigating an additional set piece for no reason other than precise verisimilitude" is not high up on that list. Would a foyer add anything to the narrative? Is it necessary to move the plot or build a character? Will it be costly and cumbersome? These are a lot more important than "will someone think all American homes lack a foyer if we don't put one in this show."

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PurpleLilyEsq@reddit

You have to remember that TV houses are sets. Narrow rooms like foyers are difficult to record unless the walls are moveable.

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sics2014@reddit

It's a TV show. Watch reality TV for realism, if that even counts.

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PerfectlyCalmDude@reddit

Even that is scripted, and people are picked for who would be the most entertaining to watch. I wouldn't count it.

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East-Eye-8429@reddit

Have you ever seen Seinfeld? Much of the show takes place in what is perhaps the most iconic apartment in American TV. However, no one would actually want to live there since it's a pretty bizarre layout

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jephph_@reddit

Nah. A lot of realistic stuff makes tv worse. For example, on tv, you’ll often see people just hang up a phone and I’m saying, the normal goodbye process Americans go through would be boring to watch over and over

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Imaginary_Ladder_917@reddit

Yes. Why build an entire mudroom into the set if it isn’t necessary to the plot?

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Other-Resort-2704@reddit

It depends on where you live in the US.

Germany you have rain and it will snow in many parts of the country.

If you live in a desert area like Los Angeles, California, then it only rains 30 days out of the whole year. So you don’t need a place to take off a heavy winter coat or switch from rain boots to regular shoes.

Plus some Americans, they enter their house through their car garage and they don’t use their front door that much. A lot of Americans have their own cars.

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NameCautious@reddit (OP)

But you still have your dusty shoes right? And if a family of four needs to store their 2-4 pair of shoes per person that’s still much place needed so where do they store them ?

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Other-Resort-2704@reddit

For the record, I live in Portland, Oregon where it rains a fair amount throughout the year similar to certain parts of Germany. At the actual front door of the house, there is an open area to store shoes if my family wanted to, but my family typically enters the house through a side door that is directly goes in our kitchen. Mainly we just walk into the kitchen and don’t bother taking off our shoes. Typically if I am going to be at home most the day I just walk barefoot around the house. In my family, we store our shoes in our bedroom closets.

In my experience, most Americans will go from outside and wear their shoes throughout the whole house. I used to go in many people’s houses when I did pest control and people were fine with me walking through their house in my regular shoes. If I am entering someone’s house for the first time for a social event I read the situation if I immediately see tons of shoes at the front door that typically means the owners want people wear no shoes.

I know most Japanese descent people were really big about you taking your shoes when enter into their residence and you would leave your shoes near the door. My Japanese girlfriend was very insistent that my shoes came off immediately when I entered into her apartment.

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SWAGGIN_OUT_420@reddit

Dusty? No lol. 2-4 pairs of shoes? There is no amount of shoes that is "typical" here and i would wonder why you need a separate place to store shoes, and how many different kinds of shoes are you wearing on a daily basis they need to be by the front door?. I am always a one pair of daily use shoes person. I have no reason to have more than one. Any other shoes i need for other occasions are put away and taken out when needed. They are stored in my room. Where all of my other clothes are.

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Successful_Language6@reddit

It’s not that dusty here I guess?

But why would you leave 2-4 pairs of shoes by the door? That sounds like a cluttered mess - do you not have closets with shoe racks?

I mean - you walk in, take your shoes off and put them away where they belong. Or you might have a basket that holds a few pairs by the door or stairs but still they get put away within a day or two.

If they were muddy, you might leave them on the back porch to get hosed off. Or in the laundry room.

But we don’t leave shoes by the door. I mean, maybe one pair but it would be put away before bed.

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ShadesofSouthernBlue@reddit

We don't usually store 4 pairs of shoes per person by the door.

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Help1Ted@reddit

So in Florida lots of houses have a garage, with a laundry room in between the garage and the actual every of the house. Shoes generally stay out in the garage or in the laundry room. Almost no one uses their front door… ever! I remember going to a friends house and he was out getting a new front door. I thought about it for a bit and didn’t even know what the old door looked like. I just always came in through the garage.

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DummyThiccDude@reddit

Some do, and some dont.

If you dont have one, you probably have a welcome mat or rug inside that you can wipe your shoes on. Or, of course, you could take your shoes off before entering.

Its inconvenient if you have carpet everywhere, but its not that bad if you have a hard surface like hardwood/vinyl/etc.

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llamadolly85@reddit

The house I live in now does.

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SnoopySuited@reddit

Many homes in New England have mudrooms.

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botulizard@reddit

I grew up out there and it seemed common for a lot of people to have people enter through a side door or the garage (and sometimes basement). I have relatives who live in houses with front doors I've never seen open.

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ScatterTheReeds@reddit

My house has a foyer.

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SkyPork@reddit

Why do Germans always wear lederhosen?

Overgeneralization is BAD, OP. 🙃

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NameCautious@reddit (OP)

Of course I know that not every house is the same in the US. I just have never seen a house like this in Germany or Europe in general

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Successful_Language6@reddit

There is a tv show called house hunters and it shows couple touring three different house in their area/price point and then picking one to buy. If you watch that you’ll be able to see what happens in the US look like based on region and price point - they range from $100k to $1 million. They’ll have New England, California, Texas, Midwest, etc.

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sto_brohammed@reddit

I just have never seen a house like this in Germany or Europe in general

Come to Brittany, I'll show you several.

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sics2014@reddit

Homes for sale in my area of the US with a foyer:

https://i.imgur.com/JWZGyl6.png

https://i.imgur.com/vEDNxhU.png

https://i.imgur.com/zVf5SV4.png

Plenty of houses have them, especially older ones.

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SkyPork@reddit

The USA really is a huge place, and for lots of it, cold and/or wet weather really isn't much of a factor. Especially in the desert, where I am. I don't think any houses here have somewhat separate entryways. But, it's also not fair to compare us to Europe: we're at the same latitude as Morocco.

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blipsman@reddit

It depends on size of house, geographic location, age of home. You’ll see them more in older homes, in northern climates where it’s more important to keep out cold air and take off went/snowy outdoor gear, and more common in a larger home.

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Enough_Roof_1141@reddit

Breaking Bad and Young Sheldon both take place in the south.

In the north people have mud rooms. In Maine there’s benches, lockers, hooks, mats, etc.

American houses had areas for areas.

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Popular-Local8354@reddit

Breaking Bad is in New Mexico, not the South.

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Enough_Roof_1141@reddit

Are you really doing this?

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ShadesofSouthernBlue@reddit

Yes because NM is NOT the South.

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Enough_Roof_1141@reddit

Los Angeles is south.

“The South” bla bla bla,

New Mexico doesn’t have a severe winter.

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Popular-Local8354@reddit

Yes.

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Bluemonogi@reddit

Some houses have foyers or mudrooms but others don’t. Often there is a closet, cabinet, rack, rug near the door for coats, shoes.

In my house the front door opens into the combined dining room and living room. We have a large cabinet that holds coats, hats, gloves, scarves. We have a rack and mat for shoes and boots. I don’t see how it is impractical to not have to walk through more rooms. I guess it is not very formal to have things stored in those spaces but that doesn’t mean it is not practical.

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Ancient0wl@reddit

You mean the foyer? A lot of homes here have those.

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DerthOFdata@reddit

Once again TV is not real life. The sets of American TV shows are designed for the viewer's convenience not real world practicality.

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anneofgraygardens@reddit

my house opens directly into the living room. When you think about the practicality of this, imagine the weather in say, southern Spain or Greece or Lebanon. That's the kind of climate we have here in California. Would you also be surprised if people in those places don't have a place by the door for their coats and hats?

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Joel_feila@reddit

Ww have them just not on tv. The entryway woukd be hard to fill with the "oh it better not be x" abd thrn x is at the door gag. The show home improvement kinda had one. Their frontbwas almost off camera atvthe back if the set. The main doors were stage Right for back yard and stage left fir garage. Which they used every episode

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Successful_Language6@reddit

Young Sheldon is an apartment - most apartments won’t have that - esp in areas without snow. They will have a coat closet by the front door.

Most houses will have an entrance foyer with a coat closet or small mud room. Or if the garage is attached the connecting door will open into (or near) a laundry/mud room.

In areas where it snows the primary entrance will generally have a mud room. Or they may have a large covered porch and shoes are left outside.

Our house has a foyer and a mud room off to the side.

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sics2014@reddit

most apartments won’t have that - esp in areas without snow.

I don't think I've ever seen an apartment here in the Northeast with a foyer either. It'd probably need to be fancy, or a much older building.

I'm moving to a new apartment soon, the door opens directly into the living room, and we are buying a bench thing that has shoe storage underneath. There is a closet though for our winter coats.

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ehunke@reddit

I would say more houses then not have an entry way, apartments not so much...whats throwing you off is TV. A entryway is a function, TV show producers will seek out open floor plan houses for ease of filming.

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TsundereLoliDragon@reddit

Pretty sure every place I've lived has had one.

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shikawgo@reddit

The below are all based on living in the Midwest, Northeast, and Mid Atlantic parts of the USA:

My parents and aunt’s house both have a formal entry way where you can leave coats and shoes. Both homes are over 100 years.

Other family members have “newer” homes (built in the 1950’s or more recent) which typically have a mudroom between the garage and kitchen or living area. Family and close friends often use this side door instead of house’s “formal” entrance. The front entrance still usually has a designated space between the entry area and the rest of the house often created by the type of flooring (tile or wood in front of the door) and maybe a partial wall. This is primarily due to the snow/salt/mud due to the seasons.

As for apartments - most of my apartments have a an area with a closet or small hallway leading by the rest of the apartment where you can leave your coat and shoes. Some have enough space for a bench or shoe shelf.

I live in the southeast now and my front door opens directly into my living area. It was an adjustment for me since I’ve always lived somewhere where there’s an area separating the entryway from the living area of the home. It feels a bit … exposed compared to homes in the north. But I’m not in tracking in snow and salt or mud through half the year.

The older upper middle class/wealthy homes down here still have the formal entryways. I presume its purpose was more socially based for receiving guests versus functional due to the weather.

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IPreferDiamonds@reddit

I have a foyer in my home with a coat closet too. But the house I grew up in did not. It all depends on the house, when it was built, how large the house is, etc. etc.

Why don't all Germans live in castles? I know you have a lot of castles there because I've seen them on TV and the internet.

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Prestigious-Name-323@reddit

Some people do. Tv shows are not real life.

But it’s not really impractical if you don’t. We still have coat closets. It just may not be right by the door.

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Trick_Photograph9758@reddit

Most houses have a "mudroom" where you leave your stuff. It's common for people to use a side door as the main daily entryway in/out of their house, and to rarely use the front door. For example, you drive into the garage, and enter through a door straight into your house. That is like a mudroom where the coat closet is, or maybe washer/dryer, or a half-bath.

You wouldn't park your car in the garage, then walk all the way around to the front of the house to go in the front door, when you could just enter your house through the garage.

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FunkySalamander1@reddit

We don’t have a room like that at our front door, but we do have a mud room when you come in through the garage door. I think part of the difference is that, as occupants of the house we basically never use the front door. We would never ask a guest to take off their shoes when entering. So, where we live there really isn’t much reason to have one at the front door. We do have an open space we call the foyer right in front of the front door.

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lpbdc@reddit

I think there are a few things to address that have been covered well. I do want to add that family guy is an animated show. The main character is in a blood feud with a giant chicken, the house has an impossible layout.

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Top-Web3806@reddit

Some do. Some don’t. But these houses on tv aren’t actually houses. They’re sets. It would be unnecessary to add that space on a set.

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Roboticpoultry@reddit

The house I grew up in was built in 1924 and had a foyer. My condo now doesn’t have an entry space- it’s just straight in to the living room (and directly onto the carpet)

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Zealousidealist420@reddit

Why would we need them?

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NameCautious@reddit (OP)

To store shoes for example

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Zealousidealist420@reddit

We don't all have harsh winters.

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sics2014@reddit

Plenty of people have shoe racks. That's a common item to buy. But you'd usually put it by the back door since that's where people enter. It's not uncommon for a mudroom to have a bench, coat hangers, and shoe rack.

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old-town-guy@reddit

While watching American shows like „breaking bad“ or „young Sheldon“ and also „family guy“ I noticed,

So... you're using 1) two sets made for TV shows and 2) a cartoon, as evidence to support your premise?

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AKamDuckie@reddit

It depends on how the house is built. Our house has 3 entrances. There’s the front door which no one uses that has a mini hallway. The side door leads into a sunroom. Then there’s the door if you come from the garage and that’s where our mud room is.

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1000thusername@reddit

Some do…

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Cruitire@reddit

I’m in the north and don’t have a foyer because I live in a log cabin and so it is a simple layout.

That said, we have a garage below the main floor and that has a door into an interior, tiled hallway that has a door open to the back. We have a bench there and a place for shoes and coats.

95% of the time we enter and leave by either the garage or the back door.

Really only guests use the front door, and so we have mat inside the front door, and to the side a bench and hooks on the wall for guests to take off their shoes and jackets.

The house I grew up in had a foyer with a large closet as you entered for coats and shoes.

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caf61@reddit

I think it really gets down to the size (cost) of the house. The smaller (less expensive) the house the less likely it will have a foyer.

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genek1953@reddit

In areas with temperate climates, formal entry spaces or foyers are generally an indication of a "deluxe" model within a development. My first home had an entry foyer and a fireplace in the living room, but the smaller houses on either side of it had neither.

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Iamthewalrusforreal@reddit

Places that have a mud season have foyers for the most part.

Breaking Bad was set in New Mexico, where they see mud and rain for about 5 minutes a year.

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serendipitymoxie@reddit

There are four doors in my house: front door for the guests, garage door, side porch and the patio door. The mudroom with the coat closet and the shoe rack is by the garage door.

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LordKyle777@reddit

Some do, mine does. The main entrance has a foyer area with some chairs, area for shoes, and a coat rack. Other entrance has a different style coat rack, and closet type area for all our shoes, not just the ones we were wearing at the time.

It just depends on the house.

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Rhomya@reddit

Because when you want TV, you're not looking at a real American house, you're looking at a television set.

Foyers (or mud rooms) are very common in American households. In Minnesota, they're very common just for keeping homes warmer in winter.

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SnooLentils3066@reddit

We went to Minnesota a few months ago and saw all the homes with mudrooms. 😎. We generally don’t have them in California so I thought it was cool to see. Same for basements.

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Katskit89@reddit

I lived in a house that had one but it was off the garage. I guess it depends on the region. Also please remember that our TV shows aren’t always accurately depict life here.

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Jswazy@reddit

They used to be more common but they just seem like wasted space imo. They are not in new builds very often where I live. You put your jacket over the back of a chair or on a hook or something in most cases.

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Pianowman@reddit

I'm. not sure why you're getting downvoted. It was an honest question.

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Spiritual_Lemonade@reddit

Those are just different house styles.

A craftsman, an American Four Square, a Shaker, or An American Gothic (old brick style) a Row house in cities all have something you could put some shelving, hooks, racks, an umbrella stand in.

Those two shows are not the full scope of American homes

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Sadimal@reddit

It depends on the size of the house and the layout.

I live in a raised ranch. When you open the front door there's a small foyer/stair landing. On the wall near the door we have coat hooks.

In my parent's house, the front door opens directly into the living room. They don't use the front door. Instead we use the door to the sunroom to enter the house and there's a door into the kitchen from the sunroom. We keep a coat rack in there.

In larger homes, there is a foyer. Usually there's a nearby closet for coats and shoes.

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BidRevolutionary945@reddit

My childhood home, where we live now, was built in 1898 and has a porch you walk into first before a slight step up into the kitchen. That's where we took off our shoes and hung up coats. The split level I lived in out in WA had a landing b/t the two sets of stairs when you came in the door, for shoes and hanging coats on the coat rack. That house was built in 1976.

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myownfan19@reddit

In Arizona there is no room to put a jacket because it's about 45 degrees celsius outside.

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RainyMcBrainy@reddit

Yep. And Young Sheldon is set in Texas.

Family Guy is technically Rhode Island, but it's a cartoon with a talking baby and dog so I don't think realism is what they were going for.

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King-Muscle@reddit

I was about ready to call bs but 113F sounds about right in the summer.

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Affectionate_Bid5042@reddit

Where I live in the midwest, most homes have an attached garage. Just inside from the garage is usually your closet or place to hang coats and set down backpacks, etc. This is the usual entry for the people that live in the home. The front door, which is where guests arrive, opens into an open foyer or living room, depending on the size of the house. You wouldn't take guests traipsing through your mudroom

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Hot_Car6476@reddit

What? Sure they do. At least some do. The one were I grew up did. My grandparents' did. Etc...

The country is very large with different climates and the need for such a room varies based on environmental conditions.

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JoshHuff1332@reddit

Growing up, guests didn't even use the front door. They used the entrance closest to where they parked, which was a side entrance

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cappotto-marrone@reddit

I have an entrance area.

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PurpleLilyEsq@reddit

We have an attached garage and the first room you see after you enter the house from the garage is the laundry room and it has a place where you can hang up stuff. We are not a shoeless household but if shoes are muddy from snow, that’s where they would come off.

But you’re right, if you go in the front door, you’re met with the formal dining room on one side and formal sitting room on the other. If you go in the side door, you’re in the kitchen.

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Curmudgy@reddit

It’s common, but not ubiquitous, for homes in New England to have a front entrance and a separate side entrance, where the side entrance connects either to the garage or driveway and is the one used mostly by members of the household. The side entrance often has a mud room, as well as coat hooks. Guests coming through the front entrance will be greeted by the host who will take their coats.

TV shows are not reality. Putting an extra mudroom or entry area onto a soundstage makes filming difficult and is an unnecessary expense.

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Nash_man1989@reddit

Older homes typically do. My house you can tell in the original had one but previous owner knocked down the wall opening it up

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grynch43@reddit

They do.

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Foreign-Marzipan6216@reddit

Mud room. Many homes have those but they usually are on the side or back door. Usually they are in more expensive houses.

My parent’s house has a proper foyer with a coat closet but no bench to take off shoes. It was built about 100 years ago.

Someday I’ll be rich and will have a mud room. Sigh.

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Otherwise-OhWell@reddit

I've only watched the first of the 3 shows you mentioned.

In Breaking Bad (at the beginning of the show, of course) Walter's family is not wealthy. They aren't poor exactly but they are about to get very desperate. The setting of their house helps reflect their financial situation: it's a small ranch style house with few amenities except the pool (which I think is more common, even in cheaper homes, in the US SW). Also, the pool becomes part of the story for at least one episode if I remember correctly.

Anyway, my home has an entrance area with a tiled floor, a stool to take off your shoes, a hat rack, and a closet.

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Jedi-girl77@reddit

As others have said, this is a thing that exists in the US but it’s most common in northern states that get a lot of snow and extremely cold weather. In Southern states where it almost never snows and doesn’t get as cold, most people don’t find it necessary.

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Maronita2025@reddit

Some television shows are sets and NOT real homes!!!

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whyeast@reddit

Yep it’s a soundstage

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RainyMcBrainy@reddit

Breaking Bad is set in New Mexico. Young Sheldon is set in Texas. Big Bang Theory is set in California, specifically Pasadena. These are all warm places that generally don't get a ton of rain and snow is not at all common. Can you say the same for your climate in Germany? In states where it is cold, snows a lot, and/or rains a lot homes are designed differently. Mudrooms and foyers are much more common in those states.

A common theme I notice from Europeans when asking about the USA is they don't seem to grasp how vast the country is. My state only is about 1/3 the size of your country and I don't come from a particularly large state. There are 49 other states. The USA is huge.

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trey74@reddit

LOTS of homes here have them. This is another example of TV and movies NOT being reality.

My home does not have any sort of ante-room or entrance room, my front door opens to the living room. The catch is, I don't use that door. I come in through the garage which opens to the laundry room, which I can put my outside or dirty clothes in.

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TechKnight25@reddit

Most homes (as in single family homes) do have some sort of entrance area.

The home I grew up in had the laundry room as the first room when you entered via the garage, and the front door entered into a space that had hallways to everywhere else.

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FormerLifeFreak@reddit

I do deliveries for a package company (in the Northeast), and I’ve noticed that a lot of older homes (generally built before 1970s) have a foyer/mudroom, while the newer and larger homes don’t. My childhood home was built in 1925, and had a little mudroom at the front entrance. I think they’re great. I wish I had one myself.

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SnooChipmunks2079@reddit

Most houses have somewhere to leave your stuff. Family often doesn’t use the front door.

You don’t see it on tv because that’s another set they’d have to build that adds nothing to the narrative.

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SKULLDIVERGURL@reddit

Florida here. My home and everyone I know has a foyer. Depends when the home was built and how big it is. Up north we had a porch but no foyer. Small house.

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BankManager69420@reddit

Most houses in my area do. I believe it’s regional. Also, most sitcoms won’t have them just due to set building restrictions/cost

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floofienewfie@reddit

Yep, our smallish house in the mid-Willamette Valley has a porch and a foyer.

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leeloocal@reddit

Houston is hot af for most of the year. You don’t need all that. Maybe a closet. That being said, my mother’s house in Houston had a small closet right at the entry specifically for hats, jackets and shoes, but it was very rarely used.

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Content-Elk-2037@reddit

We come in through the garage. We do have an area of cubbies & hooks where kids hang their backpacks & we store school supplies. I’m in the South where we don’t really have outside gear. It rarely gets below freezing here.

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Virtual-Pineapple-85@reddit

Homes in our area do not, although they do have coat closets close to the front door. Sadly, most people here do not take their shoes off when they enter their home.

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AssistanceLucky2392@reddit

Mine does

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WesternCowgirl27@reddit

A lot of homes do have foyers or some other transition room upon entering the front door. Most of the time, you’ll see more of that separation upon entering from the garage. But most homes will have an entryway closet and the garage entrance will have the same thing.

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LivingGhost371@reddit

There's typically a closed off the living room like there would be for an entry way. Or 90% of the time the family uses the side door by the kitchen where there's a closet or a breezeway or mud room, and the front entrance is for more formal use.

When you think about it an entry isn't used 90% of the time. When we were trying to build small houses and cheaply as possible in the 50s and 60s it was often dispensed with, but now it's becomming more common than not again.

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domestic_omnom@reddit

Some do. Dirt rooms are more of a northern thing where it's colder and no one wants to take their shoes off outside.

Southern states where it's warmer, boots are normally left on the front pourch outside.

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andmewithoutmytowel@reddit

We have a laundry room/mud room when you come in from the garage, and an entryway if you come in the front door.

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PortSided@reddit

We call them a vestibule. Some homes have them, especially coming off the garage, but in that case they’re called mud rooms. They’ll often also house the laundry appliances or a water heater, etc. but the front door for guests will at least usually have a tiled indoor section to remove weather clothing, umbrellas etc and hang them or put them in a coat closet nearby.

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sics2014@reddit

We use the backdoor, which has coat racks, area for shoes etc.

No one uses the front door.

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ALoungerAtTheClubs@reddit

We many varied climates. There's no need for such a room here in Florida, but they definitely have mud rooms some places.

That probably wouldn't be part of a TV set because few scenes would take place there.

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Uhhyt231@reddit

It depends on the house.

Some have Foyers or mudrooms but it depends on the size of the house tbh