Living room

In West ern archit ect ure, a living room, also called a lounge room (Aust ralian English[1]), lounge
(Brit ish English[2]), sit t ing room (Brit ish English[3]), or drawing room, is a room for relaxing and
socializing in a resident ial house or apart ment . Such a room is somet imes called a front room
when it is near t he main ent rance at t he front of t he house. In large, formal homes, a sit t ing room
is oft en a small privat e living area adjacent t o a bedroom, such as t he Queen's Sit t ing Room and
t he Lincoln Sit t ing Room of t he Whit e House.[4] Aft er World War I t he living room was t he least
used space in t he house, and was referred t o as t he deat h room.[5] The t erm living room was
coined in t he lat e 19t h or early 20t h cent ury by Edward Bok. It is now a t erm used more
frequent ly when referring t o a space t o relax and unwind wit hin a household. Wit hin different
part s of t he world, living rooms are designed different ly and evolving, but all share t he same
purpose, t o gat her users in a comfort able space.

A Tudorbethan sitting room in the UK

A California tract home living room, with a kitchen behind a permanent space divider, 1960

Louise Rayner, Tudor Style Interior at Haddon Hall, UK, 19th century

Miller House, Mid-century Modern, Columbus, Indiana, 1953-57, "Conversation Pit"

Japanese minimalist interior living room, 19th century

Overview

In homes t hat lack a parlour or drawing room, t he living room may also funct ion as a recept ion
room for guest s.[6] Object s in living rooms may be used "t o inst igat e and mediat e cont emplat ion
about significant ot hers, as well as t o regulat e t he amount of int imacy desired wit h guest s."[7]

A t ypical West ern living room may cont ain furnishings such as a sofa, chairs, occasional t ables,
coffee t ables, bookshelves, t elevisions, elect ric lamps, rugs, or ot her furnit ure. Depending on
climat e, sit t ing rooms would t radit ionally cont ain a fireplace, dat ing from when t his was
necessary for heat ing. In a Japanese sit t ing room, called a washitsu, t he floor is covered wit h
t at ami, sect ioned mat s, on which people can sit comfort ably. They also t ypically consist of shoji,
fusuma, and ramas which allow for t he space t o be very minimalist ic and cohesive as t he space
allows users t o clear t heir mind int o complet e Zen.[8] Japanese living room design concept s
cont radict ed UK and New Zealand ideals in t he way t hat Japanese cult ure believed in warming
t he person, inst ead of t he home. This consist ed of owning a port able hibachi for cooking needs
rat her t han heat ing needs, meanwhile people in t he UK and New Zealand used fireplaces t o warm
t he space and not for cooking needs. Japanese cult ural belief syst ems affect ed t heir design
charact erist ics in t he way t hat ornament at ion should be minimal while incorporat ing nat ural
element s. [9]
Drawing room at the Harewood House, 18th century

From Parlour Room to Living Room

Unt il t he lat e 19t h cent ury, t he front parlour was t he room in t he house used for formal social
event s, including where t he recent deceased were laid out before t heir funeral. This room had
only t radit ionally been on Sundays or for formal occasions such as t he ceremonies of deceased
family members before proper burial; it was t he buffer zone bet ween t he public and privat e area
wit hin t he house. Sundays are now more t ypically used for wat ching foot ball on large color
t elevisions caused larger family rooms t o become more popular during t he 1970s.[10] The t erm
"living room" is found init ially in t he decorat ing lit erat ure of t he 1890s, where a living room is
underst ood t o be a reflect ion of t he personalit y of t he designer, rat her t han t he Vict orian
convent ions of t he day.[11] Only t he wealt hy were able t o afford several rooms wit hin a space
such as parlors, libraries, drawing rooms, and smoking rooms.[12]

The change in t erminology is credit ed t o Edward Bok due t o his accredit at ion of t he magazine
art icle, Ladies' Home Journal. The art icle was specifically t arget ed t o women and provided t hem
wit h reliance of popular cont ent in relat ion t o home design at an affordable price and Bok's vision
of t he ideal American household and t he roles of t he women. Bok st rongly believed t hat t he
space should be "lived" in rat her t han having an expensively furnished room t hat was rarely used
wit hin t he household. He had promot ed t he new name t o encourage people t o use t he room in
t heir daily lives as a gat hering space.

The Evolution of the Modern Living Room

Grand Trianon, Palace of Versailles, Commissioned by King Louis XIV, 17th century

Int erior designers and archit ect s t hroughout t ime have cont inuously st udied users wit hin a space
t o design t o best fit t heir needs and want s. King of France, Louis XIV’s Palace of Versailles can
be considered having one of t he most lavishly decorat ed living rooms in t he lat e 1600s. During
King Louis XIV's reign, t he archit ect ural St yle Louis XIV or Louis Quat orze was est ablished. This
st yle can also be ident ified as t he French Classicism and had an influence on ot her count ries.[13]
It included t he bold use of marble and bronze mat erials. Louis XIV worked alongside Louis Le Vau
and August in-Charles d’Aviler t o design appartments de parade, ot herwise known as formal
rooms t hat usually consist ed of discussing and conduct ing business mat t ers. They also
designed, appartements de commodité, which were rooms t hat t he homeowners could relax and
lounge in.[14] This st yle, known as The St yle Louis XV, or Louis Quinze, was designed int ent ionally
t o combine formalit y wit h a new level of comfort t hat people were yet t o discover. [15] Charles
Ét ienne Briseux, French archit ect whose archit ect ural st yle was prominent ly Louis Quinze,
published L’Archit ect ure moderne in 1728, int roduced comfort which lat er became an obsession
t o have specific mat erialit y and furnishings wit hin t he int erior of a space. It s influenced began in
Paris, France, and t hen quickly spread across Europe reaching t he at t ent ion of t he wealt hy and
lavish.

The Indust rial Revolut ion emerged in t he lat e 1700s which complet ely shift ed America from an
art isan and handmade process t o a societ y t hat was dominat ed by a machine manufact uring
indust ry.[16] This allowed t he product ion of chairs, t ables, light bulbs, t elegraphs, and radios t hat
allowed societ y t o purchase at a reasonable price t o add int o t heir home. The rise of t he
Indust rial Revolut ion played a huge role in t he advancement of t he living room because due t o
mass product ion, decorat ive it ems became more available t o t he middle class.

An example of t his evolut ion is t he Miller House designed by Eero Saarinen. Saarinen knew t hat
he want ed t o design a living room not only wit h an appropriat e archit ect ural st yle but t o feat ure
"conversat ion pit " t hat sunk users t o t he ground making t hem feel a bit more "grounded."[14] It
encouraged relaxat ion and conversing which t he Miller House was one of t he very first spaces t o
celebrat e and int roduce t he conversat ion pit .[17] The Miller House's archit ect ural st yle was
known as Mid-cent ury modern, t his indicat ed t hat it was int roduced aft er World War II bet ween
1945 and 1960. The movement was associat ed wit h minimal ornament at ion, simplicit y, honest
mat erials, and craft smanship.

Architectural Styles of Living Rooms

Romanesque (800-200): [18]

Thick walls

Coffered ceilings

Columns

Neut ral colors

Got hic (110-1450):

St ained glass windows

Ribbed vault s

Ornat e decorat ion

Point ed arches

Renaissance (1400-1450):

Plast erwork

Color and geomet ric pat t erns

Fine wall paint ings

Richly decorat ed

Baroque (1600-1830):

Luxuriously decorat ed

Rich color pallet e

Carved det ailing

High-end mat erials

Rococo (1650-1790):

Past el color palet t e

Elaborat e ornament at ion

Sensuous curvy lines

Superior craft smanship

Neoclassicism (1730-1925):

Mut ed hues of color

Simple and symmet rical furnit ure

Decorat ive mot ifs

Geomet ric pat t erns

Art Nouveau (1890-1914):

Inspirat ion from nat ure

Flamboyant color pallet e

Sensuous curvy lines

Decorat ive and ornament al

Beaux Art s (1895-1925):

Highly decorat ive surfaces

Focus on symmet ry

Curves and arches

Columns and det ailed surfaces

Neo-Got hic (1905-1930):

Emphasis on vert ical element s

Nat ural light ing

St ained glass windows

Highly det ailed surfaces

Art Deco (1925-1937):

 Rich colors

Bold geomet ry

Decadent det ail work

St ylized geomet ric mot ifs

Modernist St yles (1900-Present ):

Simplicit y

Clean lines

Nat ural lines

Mixt ure of bold and neut ral colors

Post modernism (1972-Present ):

Bold colors

Asymmet rical

Exaggerat ed scale

Unnat ural mat erials

Neo-Modernism (1997-Present ):

Angles over curves

Monochrome or vibrant

Experiment wit h shapes

Use met allic and eco mat erials

Paramet ricism (1997-Present ):

Neut ral colors

Large in scale

Sensuous lines

Nat ural mat erials

See also
 Lobby

Lounge (disambiguat ion)

Parlour

Drawing room

References

1. "lounge room" (https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/lounge_room) . OxfordDictionaries.com.

Retrieved May 26, 2019.

2. "lounge" (https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/lounge) . OxfordDictionaries.com. Retrieved

May 26, 2019.

3. "sitting room" (https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/sitting_room) . OxfordDictionaries.com.

Retrieved May 26, 2019.

4. "Living Room Furniture" (https://shoptherefuge.com/product-category/furniture/living-room-furnitur

e/) . The Refuge Lifestyle. Retrieved 2021-02-23.

5. "The Fascinating History of the Living Room" (https://www.builddirect.com/blog/the-fascinating-histor

y-of-the-living-room/) . BuildDirect Blog: Life at Home. 2015-11-04. Retrieved 2021-02-13.

6. Martin, Judith (2003). Star-spangled manners: in which Miss Manners defends American etiquette (for
a change) (https://archive.org/details/starspangledmann00mart/page/264) . New York: W.W. Norton
& Co. p. 264 (https://archive.org/details/starspangledmann00mart/page/264) . ISBN 0-393-04861-6.

7. Rechavi, Talya B. (March 2009). "A Room for Living: Private and Public Aspects in the Experience of
the Living Room". Journal of Environmental Psychology. 29 (1): 133–143.
doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2008.05.001 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jenvp.2008.05.001) .

8. "What do living rooms look like in other countries?" (https://www.hisandhersmag.co.uk/living-room

s/) . His and Hers Magazine. 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2021-02-12.

9. "Japanese architecture | History, Characteristics, & Facts" (https://www.britannica.com/art/Japanese-

architecture) . Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-03-15.

10. "Clipped From Tucson Daily Citizen" (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3179069/tucson-daily-citiz

en/) . Tucson Daily Citizen. 1973-08-06. p. 20. Retrieved 2021-03-14.

11. Halttunen, Karen (1989). "From Parlor to Living Room: Domestic Space, Interior Decoration, and the
Culture of Personality". In Bronner, Simon (ed.). Consuming Visions: Accumulation and Display of
Goods In America 1880–1920 (1st ed.). New York: Norton. ISBN 0-393-02709-0. OCLC 756964793 (htt
ps://www.worldcat.org/oclc/756964793) .
12. "Forget the Open Concept: It's Time to Bring Back Rooms" (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/feature
s/2018-08-06/death-to-the-open-floor-plan-long-live-separate-rooms) . Bloomberg.com. 2018-08-06.
Retrieved 2021-02-14.

13. "Louis XIV style" (https://www.britannica.com/art/Louis-XIV-style) . Encyclopedia Britannica.

Retrieved 2021-03-16.

14. Glancey, Jonathan. "The evolution of the modern living room" (https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20
171221-the-evolution-of-the-modern-living-room) . www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2021-02-15.

15. Glancey, Jonathan. "The evolution of the modern living room" (https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20
171221-the-evolution-of-the-modern-living-room) . www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2021-03-09.

16. Editors, History com. "Industrial Revolution" (https://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution/ind

ustrial-revolution) . HISTORY. Retrieved 2021-03-14.

17. "A History Of The Conversation Pit" (https://somethingcurated.com/2020/04/17/a-history-of-the-conv

ersation-pit/) . Something Curated. 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2021-02-15.

18. Doctor of Arts, University of Albany; M. S., Literacy Education; B. A., English; Facebook, Facebook;
Twitter, Twitter. "A Quick Tour of Architectural Eras" (https://www.thoughtco.com/architecture-timeline
-historic-periods-styles-175996) . ThoughtCo. Retrieved 2021-03-10.

External links

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