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Patty
Immortal
Feb 14 2012, 8:08pm
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What do you call this room?
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We always say front room, because it stayed tidy so we could put on a "front" that the rest of the house was clean.
Seriously, isn't it a regional distinction?
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DanielLB
Immortal
Feb 14 2012, 8:15pm
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Here in the UK (I don't know where you are from Patty)
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It's (most commonly, although I'm sure that there are exceptions) the front room, living room or lounge. I grew up calling it the living room/lounge as ours was never the front room of the house. Even in my own house, despite being the front room, it's still the living room/lounge.
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acheron
Gondor
Feb 14 2012, 8:44pm
Post #3 of 68
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I like to think that I'm generally very familiar with regional differences in English, within the US and in other countries. But I have never heard of "front room" before that I can remember. 
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DanielLB
Immortal
Feb 14 2012, 8:49pm
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in North London, and for the majority of friends it was always called the "front room". Where are you from acheron?
Edit: Looked at your profile and I see you are from Virginia. I think "front room" is probably more popular over here? Although I have no idea about American names for such things.
(This post was edited by DanielLB on Feb 14 2012, 8:50pm)
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Patty
Immortal
Feb 14 2012, 9:16pm
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I'm thinking front room is "Southern"
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because that's what my mother called it, and she was from Kentucky. I'm from Indianapolis.
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Elizabeth
Half-elven
Feb 14 2012, 11:34pm
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Never heard "front room" in NC, VA, TN, GA, or AL.
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Dunno about Kentucky. Everyone I know calls it a 'living room'.
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Feb 15 2012, 12:54am
Post #7 of 68
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We've always called it a "living room" in New England, but in my grandparents' farmhouse in Ohio, it was called a "parlor".
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silneldor
Half-elven
Feb 15 2012, 2:57am
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Because i have a rather odd facing house. We do not have a front door, only two side doors. One goes via hallway to the kitchen and the other into the dining room between the living room and kitchen.
Big help aren't i .
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Hamfast
Rohan
Feb 15 2012, 3:42am
Post #9 of 68
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I guess I was raised by weirdos...
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we called it the den. My mom is from Minnesota, and my dad is from Norway, if that could explain anything
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sevilodorf
Tol Eressea
Feb 15 2012, 3:55am
Post #10 of 68
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The house I live in now has on only big room, so it's the living room. The house I lived in with my parents had two rooms. One was the living room which was where we did everything. The other was the front room and it was kept neat and tidy and was for visitors ... what I think of as a parlor though we never called it that.
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Gwytha
Rohan
Feb 15 2012, 4:10am
Post #11 of 68
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Living room--ours was actually in back of the house
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our front door opened onto the dining room. Grew up in Idaho but I also heard "front room"--my folks came from New York and Michigan and we did a lot of things different from the way most westerners seem to do them--we said "glove compartment" instead of :jockey box," and put our Christmas tree up exactly a week before Christmas instead of December 1st like most people around here (Western Washington)seem to do.
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acheron
Gondor
Feb 15 2012, 4:26am
Post #12 of 68
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Maybe I am not as familiar with regional names for things as I thought.
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acheron
Gondor
Feb 15 2012, 4:28am
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Though so was Patty, hence some of my confusion. If it were just an English thing I'd understand more. 
I've lived several places in the US, currently Virginia as my profile says.
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Gwytha
Rohan
Feb 15 2012, 4:29am
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At least, that's what people called it when I was a teenager in the 70's riding around in cars with other teenagers in northern Idaho.
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Patty
Immortal
Feb 15 2012, 5:34am
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That explains it. My mom was from London, Kentucky!
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No joke.
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Magpie
Immortal
Feb 15 2012, 5:48am
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My sister lives in Manchester!
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Kentucky, that is. She talks about going to London to shop.
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Magpie
Immortal
Feb 15 2012, 5:53am
Post #17 of 68
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Either living room or front room
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I think we currently use living room pretty exclusively but I seem to remember using either as we were growing up.
The thing is, neither the house we grew up in or the house we know live in have many rooms. There was/is only one room that is not for eating, sleeping, or toileting.
I think front room makes more sense when you have a back room. And den, rec rooms, and family rooms are the places that aren't as showplace looking as the 'living room' when you have both kinds of rooms.
In our house, the dining room and living room are only separated by a hint of a wall. The two rooms are quite open to one another. And there is no space for eating in the kitchen.
This is like the question of : do you call it supper or dinner. And when you visit friends, do you go to the front door or the back door?
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DanielLB
Immortal
Feb 15 2012, 9:16am
Post #18 of 68
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Over here, where you eat your dinner, is the dining room. Are there any variations on this (I think I've heard a few people call it the back room)?
And that answers your last comment Magpie. Being British, I have always called it dinner or tea. I always thought supper was very American ( ), and never heard anyone over hear call it that. And I always go through the front door of someone's house. Unless there is a reason why I can't.
(This post was edited by DanielLB on Feb 15 2012, 9:17am)
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Alassëa Eruvande
Valinor
Feb 15 2012, 2:29pm
Post #19 of 68
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My dad was born and raised in south Texas and called it a jockey box, too! //
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Alassëa Eruvande
Valinor
Feb 15 2012, 2:31pm
Post #20 of 68
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Mine is a "great room", but we always said "living room".
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Our current house has that annoying floor plan where everything is open--the living, dining, kitchen and front entrance. I wish my kitchen were closed and separated from the rest of it. I hate the whole house smelling like bacon, or whatever else I'm cooking.  Even a vented range hood doesn't help.
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Alassëa Eruvande
Valinor
Feb 15 2012, 2:34pm
Post #21 of 68
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My grandma said "front room", but she was from Montana.
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So I don't know where that originates. However, their "front room" was actually in the front of the house, so I never thought twice about it. They had a tiny little square shaped 2 BR/1Bath house when I grew up. They ate in the kitchen and we all hung out in the "front room".
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Alassëa Eruvande
Valinor
Feb 15 2012, 2:39pm
Post #22 of 68
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My sister-in-law says "den", too. 
They actually have two living areas. The "front room", which the front door opens into, is more of a sitting room. The "back room", which they call the den, was an add-on room and has the comfy couches and the tv and wii, and PS3. They actually do their "living" in the "den".
We're all Texans, btw.
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Faenoriel
Tol Eressea
Feb 15 2012, 2:58pm
Post #23 of 68
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We call it "olohuone" which translates into "the room where you are" or "the room where you hang out" (as opposed to doing something specific like washing, cooking or sleeping). I think it's pretty descriptive.
(This post was edited by Faenoriel on Feb 15 2012, 2:59pm)
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Hamfast
Rohan
Feb 15 2012, 3:03pm
Post #24 of 68
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Our front door opened to a short hallway, and the first room you came to had the tv, recliners, and couch, which was called the den. Our 'living room' was in the back of the house, nearer to the kitchen and dining room. The living room was where my folks would entertain guests because it was away from the tv, so they could chat without distractions. So I guess we did most of our 'living' in the den too
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Gwytha
Rohan
Feb 15 2012, 3:57pm
Post #25 of 68
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Dinner/supper, front room/back room let's call the whole thing off?
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I always say dinner though it seems I heard both terms interchangeably growing up. I've always held the vague notion that dinner was somehow more formal than supper and possibly more northeastern--although I can recall my New Yorker father saying supper sometimes while my midwestern mom always said dinner. But you would never say Christmas supper or Thanksgiving supper--the big holiday meals were always dinners, whether they were at 2pm or after sunset.
People we knew well usually came to the side door which was off the kitchen; everyone else came to the front door.
And my folks remained married for life, despite the fact they pronounced tomato differently!
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