A common room is a type of shared

lounge Lounge may refer to: Architecture * Lounge, the living room of a dwelling * Lounge, a public waiting area in a hotel's lobby * Lounge, a style of commercial alcohol-bar * Airport lounge, or train lounge (e.g., AMTRAK's Acela Lounge), a premium ...

, most often found in

halls of residence A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university ...

dormitories A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university ...

, at (for example)

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

colleges A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a University system, constituent part of one. A college may be a academic degree, degree-awarding Tertiary education, tertiary educational institution, a part of a coll ...

military bases A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

hospitals A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergenc ...

, rest homes,

hostels A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared b ...

, and even minimum-security

prisons A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

. They are generally connected to several private rooms, and may incorporate a

bathroom A bathroom or washroom is a room, typically in a home or other residential building, that contains either a bathtub or a shower (or both). The inclusion of a wash basin is common. In some parts of the world e.g. India, a toilet is typically i ...

. They may also be found in

secondary schools A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondar ...

and

sixth form colleges A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate Dip ...

. Regular features include

couch A couch, also known as a sofa, settee, or chesterfield, is a cushioned item of furniture for seating multiple people (although it is not uncommon for a single person to use a couch alone). It is commonly found in the form of a bench with u ...

es,

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

coffee table A coffee table is a low table designed to be placed in a sitting area for convenient support of beverages, remote controls, magazines, books (especially large, illustrated coffee table books), decorative objects, and other small items.R.W. Symon ...

s, and other generic lounge

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating ( tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks) ...

for socializing. Depending on its location and purpose of use, a common room may be known by another name. For instance, in

mental hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociati ...

s, where access is usually restricted to the daytime hours, this type of room is often called a "day room". In Singapore, the term usually refers to a

bedroom A bedroom or bedchamber is a room situated within a residential or accommodation unit characterised by its usage for sleeping and sexual activity. A typical western bedroom contains as bedroom furniture one or two beds (ranging from a crib fo ...

without attached bathroom in an HDB apartment unit. File:Common Room at I.I.T. Delhi.jpg, alt=Common Room at IIT Delhi, Common room from Karakoram Hostel, I.I.T. Delhi File:Kesgrave Hall School (Boys Common Room) - geograph.org.uk - 473960.jpg, Boys Common Room at

Kesgrave Hall School Kesgrave Hall School was a private boys' boarding school in Kesgrave, England, catering for pupils with high academic potential who were unable to flourish in mainstream schools. Incidents Alan Stancliffe was convicted, in 1982, in 1999, and ag ...

, United Kingdom File:Dialynas Hall common room.jpg, alt=Room in Dialynas Hall with sofas, a coffee table, a refrigerator, and plants. There is light streaming through two open windows, a warm earth-toned color palette, and an exposed concrete column., Private common room in a residential suite at

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it beca ...

in California

See also