Lounging in Public

Frankie, Curator Cat of the Harrison House, is having a tough day . . .

Or not! Life is pretty cozy when you’re a historic house cat. ;)

Frankie gets to lounge wherever he chooses, naturally, but this week he’s chosen the front parlor. And why, you may wonder, does the Harrison House have multiple parlors? We see it fairly commonly with older, bigger homes. What were they doing with that space?

Well, first of all: the Harrison House does have two parlors, a “front parlor” and a “back parlor” directly behind it. The easiest way to describe the difference between the two? The front parlor was for entertaining guests: it was a public space within the home, meant to be tidy, welcoming, and maybe even a little impressive. Meanwhile, the back parlor was for family only: a place to gather and work on sewing, reading, or writing, for example. In fact, for many years, the back parlor in the Harrison House was used as an extra bedroom and sick room.

You can think of it like the difference between a dining room and a breakfast nook in the kitchen—or a modern living room and the game room in the basement!

Though the back parlor is meant to be a space where the family is more comfortable, this just goes to prove that a cat can be comfy anywhere.