In Western architecture, a living room, also called a lounge room, lounge or sitting room, is a room in a residential house or apartment for relaxing and socializing. 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 Queen’s Sitting Room and the Lincoln Sitting Room of the White House. The term living room was coined in the late 19th or early 20th century. A typical Western living room may contain furnishings such as a sofa, chairs, occasional tables, coffee tables, bookshelves, electric lamps, rugs, or other furniture. Traditionally, a sitting room in the United Kingdom and New Zealand has a fireplace, dating from when this was necessary for heating. In a Japanese sitting room, called a washitsu, the floor is covered with tatami, sectioned mats, on which people can sit comfortably.
