![Louise Rayner Interior at Haddon Hall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Louise_Rayner_Interior_at_Haddon_Hall.jpg)
In Western architecture, a living room, also called a lounge room (
Australian English), lounge (
British English
British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...
), sitting room (
British English
British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...
), or drawing room, is a
room
In a building or large vehicle, like a ship, a room is any enclosed space within a number of walls to which entry is possible only via a door or other dividing structure that connects it to either a passageway, another room, or the outdoors, that ...
for relaxing and socializing in a
residential house or
apartment. Such a room is sometimes called a front room when it is near the main entrance at the front of the house. In large, formal homes, a sitting room is often a small private living area adjacent to a bedroom, such as the
Queens' Sitting Room
The Queens' Sitting Room is a small sitting room located in the northeast corner of the second floor of the White House. It was used as part of the president's offices until 1902 when the West Wing was built. The room became a sitting room for gu ...
and the
Lincoln Sitting Room of the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
.
In the late 19th or early 20th century,
Edward Bok
Edward William Bok (born Eduard Willem Gerard Cesar Hidde Bok) (October 9, 1863 – January 9, 1930) was a Dutch-born American editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author. He was editor of the ''Ladies' Home Journal'' for 30 years (1889–1919). He ...
advocated using the term ''living room'' for the room then commonly called a ''
parlo ">'' or ''
drawing room
A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name is derived from the 16th-century terms withdrawing room and withdrawing chamber, which remained in use through the 17th cent ...
'', and is sometimes erroneously credited with inventing the term. It is now a term used more frequently when referring to a space to relax and unwind within a household. Within different parts of the world, living rooms are designed differently and evolving, but all share the same purpose, to gather users in a comfortable space.
Overview
In
homes that lack a
parlour
A parlour (or parlor) is a reception room or public space. In medieval Christian Europe, the "outer parlour" was the room where the monks or nuns conducted business with those outside the monastery and the "inner parlour" was used for necessar ...
or
family room
A family room is an informal, all-purpose room in a house. The family room is designed to be a place where family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriag ...
, the living room may also function as a
drawing room
A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name is derived from the 16th-century terms withdrawing room and withdrawing chamber, which remained in use through the 17th cent ...
for guests.
Objects in living rooms may be used "to instigate and mediate contemplation about significant others, as well as to regulate the amount of intimacy desired with guests."
A typical Western living room may contain furnishings such as a
sofa
A couch, also known as a sofa, settee, or chesterfield, is a cushioned item of furniture for seating multiple people (although it is not uncommon for a single person to use a couch alone). It is commonly found in the form of a bench with up ...
,
chairs, occasional
table
Table may refer to:
* Table (furniture), a piece of furniture with a flat surface and one or more legs
* Table (landform), a flat area of land
* Table (information), a data arrangement with rows and columns
* Table (database), how the table data ...
s,
coffee tables,
bookshelves,
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
s,
electric lamps, rugs, or other
furniture. Depending on climate, sitting rooms would traditionally contain a
fireplace
A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design ...
, dating from when this was necessary for heating. In a Japanese sitting room, called a ''
washitsu
A , meaning "Japanese-style room(s)", and frequently called a "tatami room" in English, is a Japanese room with traditional tatami flooring. also usually have sliding doors (), rather than hinged doors between rooms. They may have and, if the ...
'', the floor is covered with
tatami
A is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Tatamis are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about 0.9 m by 1.8 m depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are the floor used for traini ...
, sectioned mats, on which people can sit comfortably. They also typically consist of
shoji
A is a door, window or room divider used in traditional Japanese architecture, consisting of translucent (or transparent) sheets on a lattice frame. Where light transmission is not needed, the similar but opaque '' fusuma'' is used (oshiir ...
,
fusuma
In Japanese architecture, are vertical rectangular panels which can slide from side to side to redefine spaces within a room, or act as doors. They typically measure about wide by tall, the same size as a ''tatami'' mat, and are thick. The ...
, and ramas which allow for the space to be very minimalistic and cohesive. Japanese living room design concepts contradicted UK and New Zealand ideals in the way that Japanese culture believed in warming the person, instead of the home. This consisted of owning a portable
hibachi
The is a traditional Japanese heating device. It is a brazier which is either round, cylindrical, or box-shaped, open-topped container, made from or lined with a heatproof material and designed to hold burning charcoal. It is believed date ...
for cooking needs rather than heating needs, meanwhile people in the UK and New Zealand used fireplaces to warm the space and not for cooking needs. Japanese cultural belief systems affected their design characteristics in the way that ornamentation should be minimal while incorporating natural elements.
From parlour room to living room
Until the late 19th century, the front
parlour
A parlour (or parlor) is a reception room or public space. In medieval Christian Europe, the "outer parlour" was the room where the monks or nuns conducted business with those outside the monastery and the "inner parlour" was used for necessar ...
was the room in the house used for formal social events, including where the recent deceased were laid out before their funeral. This room had only traditionally been used on Sundays or for formal occasions such as the ceremonies of deceased family members before proper burial; it was the buffer zone between the public and private area within the house. Sundays are now more typically used for watching football on large color televisions causing larger family rooms to become more popular during the 1970s. The term "living room" is found initially in the decorating literature of the 1890s, where a living room is understood to be a reflection of the personality of the designer, rather than the Victorian conventions of the day. Only the wealthy were able to afford several rooms within a space such as
parlors,
libraries
A library is a collection of Document, materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or electronic media, digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a ...
,
drawing room
A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name is derived from the 16th-century terms withdrawing room and withdrawing chamber, which remained in use through the 17th cent ...
s, and
smoking room
A smoking room (or smoking lounge) is a room which is specifically provided and furnished for smoking, generally in buildings where smoking is otherwise prohibited.
Locations and facilities
Smoking rooms can be found in public buildings suc ...
s.
The change in terminology is credited to
Edward Bok
Edward William Bok (born Eduard Willem Gerard Cesar Hidde Bok) (October 9, 1863 – January 9, 1930) was a Dutch-born American editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author. He was editor of the ''Ladies' Home Journal'' for 30 years (1889–1919). He ...
due to his accreditation of the magazine article,
Ladies' Home Journal. The article was specifically targeted to women and provided them with reliance of popular content in relation to home design at an affordable price and Bok's vision of the ideal American household and the roles of the women. Bok strongly believed that the space should be "lived in" rather than having an expensively furnished room that was rarely used within the household. He had promoted the new name to encourage people to use the room in their daily lives as a gathering space.
Evolution of the modern living room
![Soviet-era Estonian room in a museum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Soviet-era_Estonian_room_in_a_museum.jpg)
Interior designers and architects throughout time have continuously studied users within a space to design to best fit their needs and wants. King of France,
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Ver ...
’s
Palace of Versailles can be considered having one of the most lavishly decorated living rooms in the late 1600s. During King Louis XIV's reign, the architectural
Louis XIV style
The Louis XIV style or ''Louis Quatorze'' ( , ), also called French classicism, was the style of architecture and decorative arts intended to glorify King Louis XIV and his reign. It featured majesty, harmony and regularity. It became the officia ...
or ''Louis Quatorze'' was established. This style can also be identified as the French
Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthet ...
and had an influence on other countries. It included the bold use of marble and bronze materials. Louis XIV worked alongside
Louis Le Vau
Louis Le Vau (1612 – 11 October 1670) was a French Baroque architect, who worked for Louis XIV of France. He was an architect that helped develop the French Classical style in the 17th Century.''Encyclopedia of World Biography''"Louis Le Vau", ...
and
Augustin-Charles d’Aviler to design ''appartments de parade,'' otherwise known as formal rooms that usually consisted of discussing and conducting business matters. They also designed, ''appartements de commodité,'' which were rooms that the homeowners could relax and lounge in.
This style, known as the
Louis XV style
The Louis XV style or ''Louis Quinze'' (, ) is a style of architecture and decorative arts which appeared during the reign of Louis XV. From 1710 until about 1730, a period known as the Régence, it was largely an extension of the Louis XIV style ...
, or ''Louis Quinze'', was designed intentionally to combine formality with a new level of comfort that people were yet to discover.
Charles Étienne Briseux, French architect whose architectural style was prominently Louis Quinze, published ''Architecture moderne ou L’art de bien bâtir'' in 1728, introduced comfort which later became an obsession to have specific materiality and furnishings within the interior of a space. Its influenced began in Paris, France, and then quickly spread across Europe reaching the attention of the wealthy and lavish.
The
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
emerged in the late 1700s which completely shifted America from an artisan and handmade process to a society that was dominated by a machine manufacturing industry. This allowed the production of chairs, tables, light bulbs, telegraphs, and radios that allowed society to purchase at a reasonable price to add into their home. The rise of the Industrial Revolution played a huge role in the advancement of the living room because due to
mass production, decorative items became more available to the middle class.
An example of this evolution is the
Miller House designed by
Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer noted for his wide-ranging array of designs for buildings and monuments. Saarinen is best known for designing the General Motors ...
. Saarinen knew that he wanted to design a living room not only with an appropriate architectural style but to feature "
conversation pit" that sunk users to the ground making them feel a bit more "grounded."
It encouraged relaxation and conversing which the Miller House was one of the very first spaces to celebrate and introduce the conversation pit. The Miller House's architectural style was known as
Mid-century modern, this indicated that it was introduced after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
between 1945 and 1960. The movement was associated with minimal ornamentation, simplicity, honest materials, and craftsmanship.
Architectural styles
Romanesque (800–200):
* Thick walls
* Coffered ceilings
* Columns
* Neutral colors
Gothic (1100–1450):
* Stained glass windows
* Ribbed vaults
* Ornate decoration
* Pointed arches
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
(1400–1450):
* Plasterwork
* Color and geometric patterns
* Fine wall paintings
* Richly decorated
Baroque (1600–1830):
* Luxuriously decorated
* Rich color palette
* Carved detailing
* High-end materials
Rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
(1650–1790):
* Pastel color palette
* Elaborate ornamentation
* Sensuous curvy lines
* Superior craftsmanship
Neoclassicism (1730–1925):
* Muted hues of color
* Simple and symmetrical furniture
* Decorative motifs
* Geometric patterns
Art Nouveau (1890–1914):
* Inspiration from nature
* Flamboyant color palette
* Sensuous curvy lines
* Decorative and ornamental
Beaux Arts (1895–1925):
* Highly decorative surfaces
* Focus on symmetry
* Curves and arches
* Columns and detailed surfaces
Neo-Gothic
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
(1905–1930):
* Emphasis on vertical elements
* Natural lighting
* Stained glass windows
* Highly detailed surfaces
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
(1925–1937):
* Rich colors
* Bold geometry
* Decadent detail work
* Stylized geometric motifs
Modernist
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
Styles (1900–present):
* Simplicity
* Clean lines
* Natural lines
* Mixture of bold and neutral colors
Postmodernism (1972–present):
* Bold colors
* Asymmetrical
* Exaggerated scale
* Unnatural materials
Neo-Modernism (1997–present):
* Angles over curves
* Monochrome or vibrant
* Experiment with shapes
* Use metallic and eco materials
Parametricism (1997–present):
* Neutral colors
* Large in scale
* Sensuous lines
* Natural materials
See also
*
Drawing room
A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name is derived from the 16th-century terms withdrawing room and withdrawing chamber, which remained in use through the 17th cent ...
*
Lobby
Lobby may refer to:
* Lobby (room), an entranceway or foyer in a building
* Lobbying, the action or the group used to influence a viewpoint to politicians
:* Lobbying in the United States, specific to the United States
* Lobby (food), a thick stew ...
*
Lounge (disambiguation)
*
Parlour
A parlour (or parlor) is a reception room or public space. In medieval Christian Europe, the "outer parlour" was the room where the monks or nuns conducted business with those outside the monastery and the "inner parlour" was used for necessar ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Rooms