Until the late 19th century the front parlour was the room in the house used for formal social events including where the recently deceased were laid out before their funeral.
Formal living room vs den. If you have one don t let it collect dust use it. Along with the kitchen the living room is the main common space in most family homes but the exact nature of how to use it has been mysterious for a long time. Sometimes i think living rooms are going the way of the dinosaurs. It is used to describe many different kinds of bonus rooms including studies family rooms home offices libraries home cinemas or even spare bedrooms.
The terms living room and drawing room were often used interchangeably in the world of interior design but now there are even more terms for the social spaces of a home. A den is a small room in a house where people can pursue activities in private. However the fact is that the living room is far from being the same thing as the family room and there are some remarkable differences between the two. According to joan dejean writing for the new york times living rooms started out as formal display spaces for welcoming guests in the 17th century but slowly morphed into the more casual gathering spaces that we know today.
Large living room with an area rug green accent wall and baby grand piano in the corner. Since people gather and sit in both rooms each type. 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. Family room den study and great room have sprung up in recent years.
Why not more. In the united states the type of rooms described by the term den varies considerably by region. The formal living room has become an endangered species. While a living room will usually have the same type of furniture as a family room will including chairs a coffee table and a sofa they are generally more stylish and formal than comfortable.
More and more folks buying and building homes are opting for more open spaces and less formality. Sometimes people get confused and as a result the terms become interchangeable. In some places particularly in parts of the british isles a. Both the living room and the family room are two important areas in a house.
But having a formal living room is a real blessing. The furnishings in both a living room and a family room tend to be similar in function but typically differ greatly in style. There was a time when everyone wanted three bedrooms two baths formal living and dining and a basement den but those days are over says angela williams a birmingham al based realtor at extreme agent realty. Small formal living room featuring a classy sofa set with a glass table on the center along with a black piano in the corner.
White formal living room with blue furniture and hardwood flooring. Freshome reached out to experts around the country and the responses were the same.


