The house I grew up in (2 story built in 1963) had both. The family room was for the family. The living room was Mom’s place to have a formal sitting room to entertain friends, neighbors and relatives. As kids we barely stepped into it. When they sold the house almost 30 years later the original couch was almost as good as new. It was a different more formal world back then and the lving room is an artifact of that time.