LIVING ROOM

A 'living room', also known as 'sitting room' (especially in the UK), 'lounge room' or 'lounge' (in the United Kingdom and Australia), is a room for entertaining guests, reading, watching TV or other activities. The word Lounge is from the Latin, it was brought over later on by the French.
In modern homes and apartments the living room has replaced the old fashioned parlor. In the 19th century, the parlor was the room in the house where the recently deceased were laid out before their funeral. This became the more affirmative term "living room" in the 20th century.
The term marks the twentieth-century effort of architects and builders to strip the parlor of its burial and mourning associations. Typically, a living room will be furnished with a sofa, chairs, occasional tables, perhaps a television and stereo equipment, bookshelves, as well as other pieces of furniture. Traditionally a sitting room in the United Kingdom would have a fireplace.
In many homes, the living room is reserved for more formal and quiet entertaining while a separate recreation room or family room is used for more casual activities.
The term 'front room' can also used to describe a living room, because in many homes the front door opens into the living room.