18th Century Living RoomsPage 1
Parlours remained the main living space in the homes of the middling sort, where the family spent time and received guests, throughout the eighteenth century. Early in the century they were typically furnished with cane chairs and a gate-leg table, a style that continued into the 1720s. In the wealthier households, especially towards the end of the century, there might also be a drawing room, literally for withdrawing to after dinner, which was used for formal entertaining and which tended to be more expensively furnished than the parlour.
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'The Tea-Table', c.1710; print.
© Courtesy of The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University