# TV show architecture - any show with a one story house? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 11, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858 "2005-06-11T15:11:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858/1 "2005-06-11T15:11:52Z")
I know this has been covered before, but I can’t seem to find it. In every TV show I can remember where the main characters live in a house, it’s always a two story house. Has there ever been a show where they lived in a one story house? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858/2 "2005-06-11T15:13:52Z")
_Gilligan’s Island_. Though it was actually several houses… err, huts. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Unkempt\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b782af/32.png) [@The\_Unkempt\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Unkempt_One)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858/3 "2005-06-11T15:17:39Z")
What about the Arnold’s house in _The Wonder Years_? Wasn’t it a one story home? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858/4 "2005-06-11T16:11:07Z")
Malcolm in the Middle, The Golden Girls. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858/5 "2005-06-11T16:35:34Z")
Well, if you allow huts, then all the 4077th quarters in “M_A_S\*H” count. The Swamp, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858/6 "2005-06-11T16:47:36Z")
Huts and tents are stretching it a bit. They may be _homes_, but they aren’t _houses_. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858/7 "2005-06-11T18:05:53Z")
How about the Petrie house in _Dick Van Dyke_? I know Rob and Laura’s bedroom was on the main floor, and I think Richie’s was, too. ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858/8 "2005-06-11T20:24:56Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > I know this has been covered before, but I can’t seem to find it. > > In every TV show I can remember where the main characters live in a house, it’s always a two story house. Has there ever been a show where they lived in a one story house? _Little House on the Prarie_🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858/9 "2005-06-11T20:26:01Z")
So there are some one-story houses on TV. But not many, it seems. So why is that? Why do most TV families live in two-story houses? My WAG is that they tend to re-use sets from one series to the next, just repainting and redecorating so it looks different. So if a few houses are two-story, then almost all of them are… ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858/10 "2005-06-11T20:50:46Z")
> [@KlondikeGeoff](#): > > _Little House on the Prarie_🙂 The girls slept in the loft, which would count as a second floor, I think. ---
**Author:** ![chinbender](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@chinbender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chinbender)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858/11 "2005-06-11T21:20:21Z")
_The Flinstones_ featured single story houses I believe. And what about _Three’s Company_, I didnt watch much but I dont remember a second level. My WAG would be that it has more to do with the idea of how the “typical American” family lives. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858/12 "2005-06-11T21:24:54Z")
Plus, the bratty kids having a tantrum and running up the stairs to their rooms was too powerful a cliche to avoid! (Add Freaks and Geeks to the list. All of the main characters lived in one story homes.) ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858/13 "2005-06-11T21:31:52Z")
My guess is that a multi-level setup allows for stories, especially certain humorous ones: people accidentally overhearing things (easier to show someone ‘innocently’ eavesdropping from upstairs – you just tilt the camera up), kids sneaking out via a tree is much more fun than if they are in 1st floor bedrooms, people can fall down them, shout back and forth from living room to bedroom, etc. The staircases also allow people to make grander entrances, like little Miss Grown Up descending all dressed up for her first dance. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858/14 "2005-06-11T22:08:00Z")
> [@chinbender](#): > > And what about _Three’s Company_, I didnt watch much but I dont remember a second level. They lived in an apartment, rather than a house. And they lived on the second level of that apartment building. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858/15 "2005-06-11T22:08:24Z")
> [@chinbender](#): > > _The Flinstones_ featured single story houses I believe. And what about _Three’s Company_, I didnt watch much but I dont remember a second level. _Three’s Company_ was set in an apartment building. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858/16 "2005-06-11T22:12:53Z")
Life of Riley Wasn’t _I Dream of Jeanie_ in a one story? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858/17 "2005-06-11T22:29:53Z")
> [@TV time](#): > > Wasn’t _I Dream of Jeanie_ in a one story? Nope. Tony’s office was upstairs. ---
**Author:** ![sewalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@sewalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sewalk)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2005, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858/18 "2005-06-12T00:51:49Z")
Does _Grizzly Adams_ count? A log cabin shack isn’t a hut or a tent. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2005, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858/19 "2005-06-12T01:16:07Z")
> [@TJdude825](#): > > My WAG is that they tend to re-use sets from one series to the next, just repainting and redecorating so it looks different. So if a few houses are two-story, then almost all of them are… I heard somewhere where they definitely did this for two well-known shows, but I can’t remember which, and where I heard it. It was definitely one of the “stairs behind the couch” sets. Like: –Roseanne –The Drew Carey Show –That Seventies Show –Married With Children –Family Ties –Gimme a Break And about a zillion others. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2005, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858/20 "2005-06-12T01:21:16Z")
While flipping channels the other night, I came across a sitcom (possibly Yes, Dear) where the guy wanted to turn the couch with its back to the audience (the exact opposite of every sitcom living room). He does so and everybody notes that it doesn’t feel right. They’re not sure why. Pretty funny. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-architecture-any-show-with-a-one-story-house/307858.md?page=2)