I've been thinking about why I hate the word 'lounge'. I think it's partly because of the way it seems to want to be said, looouuuunge, all sort of louche and decadent, partly because of 'lounge lizards', and partly because I have enough trouble with being tempted to lounge around uselessly as it is, without giving it official sanction by having a whole room dedicated to the activity. (I think these reasons are all a bit connected, in my head.) Having a 'sitting room' is much safer, shades of exhortations to 'sit nicely', 'sit up straight' ;-)

Oddly enough, 'sitting room' was pretty much a conscious choice of mine (probably the only one of the ones I've mentioned, and as noted it doesn't count on the U/non-U scale anyway as it isn't given as an option); growing up, we had what was very practically called the 'front room', but I have never since then lived in a house with a front room. In our previous house the relevant room was at the back, in this one, really *everything* is a front room, so singling out just one would be silly. Skordh, I notice, tends to say 'living room' (also not a listed alternative), but I'm rather averse to that, as somehow it seems to imply other rooms aren't for living in, which feels a bit creepy.