I’m a product of the space age, (being born in the shadow of Sputnik), but when did the word “space” become a trendy replacement for “room” or “area”?

Admittedly, when speaking of a homes features, its always nice to use a word sparingly, and lets face it, the word room gets used a lot in this context, but now its been replaced with “space” and for some reason, it seems to take on an air of pretense., i.e., warm and welcoming living “space”, is that describing a living room or family room,? No, it’s a living space or family space; I always thought the word space denoted an area that was basically open and wall free, sorta…like…space?

I suppose I notice such mundane things as I am addicted to HGTV, but now I hear 10 year olds say it when they see their newly redecorated bedrooms! 

Popular words & phrases that infuse our vernacular come and go; however, I wish some would go sooner than others…

“What…ever”