A cabinet was a private room in the houses and palaces of early modern Europe serving as a study or retreat for a man. The cabinet would be furnished with books and works of art, sited adjacent to his bedchamber, the equivalent of the Italian Renaissance studiolo. In the Late Medieval period, such newly perceived requirements for privacy had been served by the solar of the English gentry house, a similar, less secular purpose had been served by a private oratory; such a room might be used as a office, or just a sitting room. Heating the main rooms in large palaces or mansions in the winter was difficult, small rooms were more comfortable, they offered more privacy from servants, other household members, visitors. Such a room would be for the use of a single individual, so that a house might have at least two and more. Names varied: cabinet, study, a range of more female equivalents, such as a boudoir. With its origins in requirements for increased privacy for reading and meditation engendered by the humanist avocation of many of the Italian noble and mercantile elite in the Quattrocento, the studiolo provided a retreat reachable only through the, comparatively public, bedroom.
This was true for the elaborate Studiolo of Francesco I de' Medici located in Palazzo Vecchio, Florence. The standard fittings of the late medieval and early modern study can be inventoried among the conventional trappings in portrayals of Saint Jerome in illuminated manuscripts, in paintings, or in engravings like those of Albrecht Dürer: a chair. In Domenico Ghirlandaio's Saint Jerome in his Study, shelving runs around the room at the level of the frieze, on it are curious objects, containers of various types, large volumes lying on their sides. Studioli inlaid in intarsia for the ducal palaces of Urbino and Gubbio with simulated shelves and built-in cabinets filled with books, scientific instruments and examples of geometric solids, all rendered in striking trompe-l'oeil evoke the character of the pursuits of the cabinet. For Ferdinando Gonzaga's studiolo at Mantua, in about 1619, Domenico Fetti painted a series of New Testament parables, suitable for private contemplation. Isabella d'Este called her room with paintings commissioned from Andrea Mantegna and others a studiolo.
A studiolo would have a Latin motto painted or inlaid round the frieze. Heraldry and personal devices and emblems would remind the occupant of his station in life. Series of portraits of exemplary figures were popular, whether the Nine Worthies or the classical philosophers, in imaginary ideal portrait heads; the grandest studiolo was the Camerino of Alfonso d'Este in Ferrara, for which the greatest painters of the day were commissioned from about 1512-1525 to paint mythological canvases large by the standards of the time. Fra Bartolommeo died before starting work, Raphael got no further than a drawing, but Giovanni Bellini completed The Feast of the Gods in 1514. Titian was brought in and added three of his finest works: Bacchus and Ariadne, The Andrians and The Worship of Venus, as well as repainting the background of the Bellini to match his own works better. Dosso Dossi, Alphonso's court painter, completed the room with a large painting and ten small oblong subjects to go as a frieze above the others.
In Elizabethan England, such a private retreat would most be termed a closet, the most recent in a series of developments in which people of means found ways to withdraw by degrees from the public life of the household as it was lived in the late medieval great hall. This sense of "closet" has continued use in the term "closet drama", a literary work in the form of theatre, intended not to be mounted nor publicly presented, but to be read and visualised in privacy. Two people in intimate private conversation were until said to be "closetted". In his closet at Christ Church, Robert Burton wrote The Anatomie of Melancholy. Cabinet in English was used for strongrooms, or treasure-stores - the tiny but exquisite Elizabethan tower strongroom at Lacock Abbey might have been so called - but in the wider sense. David Rizzio was murdered when dining with his putative lover Mary, Queen of Scots in "a cabinet abowte xii footes square, in the same a little low reposinge bedde, a table". A rare surviving cabinet, or closet, with its contents little changed since the early 18th century, is at Ham House in Richmond, England.
It is less than 10 feet square, leads off from the Long Gallery, well over 100 feet long by 20 feet wide, giving a rather startling change in scale and atmosphere. As is the case, it has an excellent view of the front entrance to the house, so that comings and goings can be discreetly observed. Most surviving large houses or palaces from before 1700, have such rooms, but they are often not displayed to visitors. Since the reign of King George I, the Cabinet – derived from the room – has been the principal e
The phrase common room is used in British and Canadian English to describe a type of shared lounge, most found in dormitories, at universities, military bases, rest homes and minimum-security prisons. It is connected to several private rooms, may incorporate a bathroom. However, they may be found in day schools and sixth forms. Regular features include couches, coffee tables, other generic lounge furniture for socializing. Depending on its location and purpose of use, a common room may be known by another name. For instance, in mental hospitals, where access is restricted to the daytime hours, this type of room is called a "day room". In Singapore, the term refers to a bedroom without attached bathroom in an HDB apartment unit. Common rooms are mentioned in the Harry Potter series. Common Room Student lounge Media related to Common rooms at Wikimedia Commons
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the Federal Government of the United States. The legislature consists of two chambers: the House of the Senate; the Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D. C.. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a gubernatorial appointment. Congress has 535 voting members: 100 senators; the House of Representatives has six non-voting members representing Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U. S. Virgin Islands, the District of Columbia in addition to its 435 voting members. Although they cannot vote in the full house, these members can address the house and vote in congressional committees, introduce legislation; the members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms representing the people of a single constituency, known as a "district". Congressional districts are apportioned to states by population using the United States Census results, provided that each state has at least one congressional representative.
Each state, regardless of population or size, has two senators. There are 100 senators representing the 50 states; each senator is elected at-large in their state for a six-year term, with terms staggered, so every two years one-third of the Senate is up for election. To be eligible for election, a candidate must be aged at least 25 or 30, have been a citizen of the United States for seven or nine years, be an inhabitant of the state which they represent; the Congress was created by the Constitution of the United States and first met in 1789, replacing in its legislative function the Congress of the Confederation. Although not mandated, in practice since the 19th century, Congress members are affiliated with the Republican Party or with the Democratic Party and only with a third party or independents. Article One of the United States Constitution states, "All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives."
The House and Senate are equal partners in the legislative process—legislation cannot be enacted without the consent of both chambers. However, the Constitution grants each chamber some unique powers; the Senate ratifies treaties and approves presidential appointments while the House initiates revenue-raising bills. The House initiates impeachment cases. A two-thirds vote of the Senate is required before an impeached person can be forcibly removed from office; the term Congress can refer to a particular meeting of the legislature. A Congress covers two years; the Congress ends on the third day of January of every odd-numbered year. Members of the Senate are referred to as senators. Scholar and representative Lee H. Hamilton asserted that the "historic mission of Congress has been to maintain freedom" and insisted it was a "driving force in American government" and a "remarkably resilient institution". Congress is the "heart and soul of our democracy", according to this view though legislators achieve the prestige or name recognition of presidents or Supreme Court justices.
One analyst argues that it is not a reactive institution but has played an active role in shaping government policy and is extraordinarily sensitive to public pressure. Several academics described Congress: Congress reflects us in all our strengths and all our weaknesses, it reflects our regional idiosyncrasies, our ethnic and racial diversity, our multitude of professions, our shadings of opinion on everything from the value of war to the war over values. Congress is the government's most representative body... Congress is charged with reconciling our many points of view on the great public policy issues of the day. Congress is changing and is in flux. In recent times, the American south and west have gained House seats according to demographic changes recorded by the census and includes more minorities and women although both groups are still underrepresented. While power balances among the different parts of government continue to change, the internal structure of Congress is important to understand along with its interactions with so-called intermediary institutions such as political parties, civic associations, interest groups, the mass media.
The Congress of the United States serves two distinct purposes that overlap: local representation to the federal government of a congressional district by representatives and a state's at-large representation to the federal government by senators. Most incumbents seek re-election, their historical likelihood of winning subsequent elections exceeds 90 percent; the historical records of the House of Representatives and the Senate are maintained by the Center for Legislative Archives, a part of the National Archives and Records Administration. Congress is directly responsible for the governing of the District of Columbia, the current seat of the federal government; the First Continental Congress was a gathering of representatives from twelve of the thirteen British Colonies in North America. On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, referring to the new nation as the "United States of America"; the Articles of Confederation in 1781 created the Congress of the Confederation, a
A bathroom is a room in the home or hotel for personal hygiene activities containing a toilet, a sink and either a bathtub, a shower, or both. In some countries, the toilet is included in the bathroom, whereas other cultures consider this insanitary or impractical, give that fixture a room of its own; the toilet may be outside of the home in the case of pit latrines. It may be a question of available space in the house whether the toilet is included in the bathroom or not. Bathing was a collective activity, which took place in public baths. In some countries the shared social aspect of cleansing the body is still important, as for example with sento in Japan and the "Turkish bath" throughout the Islamic world. In North American English the word "bathroom" may be used to mean any room containing a toilet a public toilet; the term for the place used to clean the body varies around the English-speaking world, as does the design of the room itself. A full bathroom is understood to contain a bath or shower, a toilet, a sink.
An ensuite bathroom or ensuite shower room is attached to, only accessible from, a bedroom. A family bathroom, in British estate agent terminology, is a full bathroom not attached to a bedroom, but with its door opening onto a corridor. A Jack and Jill bathroom is situated between and shared by the occupants of two separate bedrooms, it may have two wash basins. A wetroom is a waterproof room equipped with a shower. In the United States, there is a lack of a universal definition. Bathrooms are categorized as "master bathroom", containing a shower and a bathtub, adjoining to the largest bedroom. In some U. S. markets, a toilet and shower are considered a "full bath." In addition, there is the use of the word "bathroom" to describe a room containing a toilet and a basin, nothing else. Bathrooms have one or more towel bars or towel rings for hanging towels Some bathrooms contain a bathroom cabinet for personal hygiene products and medicines, drawers or shelves for storing towels and other items; some bathrooms contain a bidet.
The design of a bathroom must account for the use of both hot and cold water, in significant quantities, for cleaning the body. The water is used for moving solid and liquid human waste to a sewer or septic tank. Water may be splashed on the walls and floor, hot humid air may cause condensation on cold surfaces. From a decorating point of view the bathroom presents a challenge. Ceiling and floor materials and coverings should be impervious to water and and cleaned; the use of ceramic or glass, as well as smooth plastic materials, is common in bathrooms for their ease of cleaning. Such surfaces are cold to the touch, so water-resistant bath mats or bathroom carpets may be used on the floor to make the room more comfortable. Alternatively, the floor may be heated by strategically placing resistive electric mats under floor tile or radiant hot water tubing close to the underside of the floor surface. Electrical appliances, such as lights and heated towel rails need to be installed as fixtures, with permanent connections rather than plugs and sockets.
This minimizes the risk of electric shock. Ground-fault circuit interrupter electrical sockets can reduce the risk of electric shock, are required for bathroom socket installation by electrical and building codes in the United States and Canada. In some countries, such as the United Kingdom, only special sockets suitable for electric shavers and electric toothbrushes are permitted in bathrooms, are labelled as such. UK building regulations define what type of electrical fixtures, such as light fittings may be installed in the areas around and above baths, showers. Contrary to some information provided with bathroom light fittings and basins do not affect bathroom zones, as a bathroom is defined as a room containing a bath or shower, by wiring regulations, it is good practice to avoid installing unsuitable fixtures close to sinks, as damage from water splashes may occur. Bathroom lighting should be uniform and must minimize glare. For all the activities like shaving, grooming etc. one must ensure equitable lighting across the entire bathroom space.
The mirror area should have at least two sources of light at least 1 feet apart to eliminate any shadows on the face. Skin tones and hair color are highlighted with a tinge of yellow light. Ceiling and wall lights must be safe for use in a bathroom and therefore must carry appropriate certification such as IP44. All forms of bathroom lighting should be IP44 rated as safe to use in the bathroom; the first records for the use of baths date back as far as 3000 B. C. At this time water had a strong religious value, being seen as a purifying element for both body and soul, so it was not uncommon for people to be required t
A balcony is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, enclosed with a balustrade above the ground floor. The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a wall. By contrast, a'Juliet balcony' does not protrude out of the building, it is part of an upper floor, with a balustrade only at the front, like a small Loggia. Modern Juliet balconies involve a metal barrier placed in front of a high window which can be opened. Juliet balconies are named after Shakespeare's Juliet, who, in traditional stagings of the play Romeo and Juliet, is courted by Romeo while she is on her balcony—though the play itself, as written, makes no mention of a balcony, but only of a window at which Juliet appears. Various types of balcony have been used in depicting this famous scene; the Julian Balcony is a larger version of the well-known Juliet Balcony, protruding from the wall, unlike the smaller Juliet balcony, spanning at least two windows rather than one.
Sometimes balconies are adapted for ceremonial purposes, e.g. that of St. Peter's Basilica at Rome, when the newly elected pope gives his blessing urbi et orbi after the conclave. Inside churches, balconies are sometimes provided for the singers, in banqueting halls and the like for the musicians. A unit with a regular balcony will have doors that open up onto a small patio with railings, a small Patio garden or Skyrise greenery. A French balcony is a false balcony, with doors that open to a railing with a view of the courtyard or the surrounding scenery below. In theatres, the balcony was a stage-box, but the name is now confined to the part of the auditorium above the dress circle and below the gallery. Balconies are part of the sculptural shape of the building allowing for irregular facades without the cost of irregular internal structures. One of the most famous uses of a balcony is in traditional stagings of the scene that has come to be known as the "balcony scene" in William Shakespeare's tragedy and Juliet.
Manufacturers' names for their balcony designs refer to the origin of the design, e.g. Italian balcony, Spanish balcony, Mexican balcony, Ecuadorian balcony, they refer to the shape and form of the pickets used for the balcony railings, e.g. knuckle balcony. Deck Jharokha Loggia Mashrabiya Mezzanine Minstrel's gallery Patio Porch Verandah Balconing Media related to Balconies at Wikimedia Commons "Balcony". Encyclopædia Britannica. 1911
A restaurant, or an eatery, is a business which prepares and serves food and drinks to customers in exchange for money. Meals are served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants offer take-out and food delivery services, some offer only take-out and delivery. Restaurants vary in appearance and offerings, including a wide variety of cuisines and service models ranging from inexpensive fast food restaurants and cafeterias to mid-priced family restaurants, to high-priced luxury establishments. In Western countries, most mid- to high-range restaurants serve alcoholic beverages such as beer and wine; some restaurants serve all the major meals, such as breakfast and dinner. Other restaurants may only serve a single meal or they may serve two meals; the word derives from the French verb "restaurer" and, being the present participle of the verb, it means "that which restores". The term restaurant was defined in 1507 as a "restorative beverage", in correspondence in 1521 to mean "that which restores the strength, a fortifying food or remedy".
The first use of the word to refer to a public venue where one can order food is believed to be in the 18th century. In 1765, a French chef by the name of A. Boulanger established a business selling soups and other "restaurants". Additionally, while not the first establishment where one could order food, or soups, it is thought to be the first to offer a menu of available choices The "first real restaurant" is considered to have been "La Grande Taverne de Londres" in Paris, founded by Antoine Beauviliers in either 1782 or 1786. According to Brillat-Savarin, this was "the first to combine the four essentials of an elegant room, smart waiters, a choice cellar, superior cooking". In 1802 the term was applied to an establishment where restorative foods, such as bouillon, a meat broth, were served. Restaurants are distinguished in many different ways; the primary factors are the food itself. Beyond this, restaurants may differentiate themselves on factors including speed, location, service, or novelty themes.
Restaurants range from inexpensive and informal lunching or dining places catering to people working nearby, with modest food served in simple settings at low prices, to expensive establishments serving refined food and fine wines in a formal setting. In the former case, customers wear casual clothing. In the latter case, depending on culture and local traditions, customers might wear semi-casual, semi-formal or formal wear. At mid- to high-priced restaurants, customers sit at tables, their orders are taken by a waiter, who brings the food when it is ready. After eating, the customers pay the bill. In some restaurants, such as workplace cafeterias, there are no waiters. Another restaurant approach which uses few waiters is the buffet restaurant. Customers serve food onto their own plates and pay at the end of the meal. Buffet restaurants still have waiters to serve drinks and alcoholic beverages. Fast food restaurants are considered a restaurant; the travelling public has long been catered for with ship's messes and railway restaurant cars which are, in effect, travelling restaurants.
Many railways, the world over cater for the needs of travellers by providing railway refreshment rooms, a form of restaurant, at railway stations. In the 2000s, a number of travelling restaurants designed for tourists, have been created; these can be found on trams, buses, etc. A restaurant's proprietor is called a restaurateur, this derives from the French verb restaurer, meaning "to restore". Professional cooks are called chefs, with there being various finer distinctions. Most restaurants will have various waiting staff to serve food and alcoholic drinks, including busboys who remove used dishes and cutlery. In finer restaurants, this may include a host or hostess, a maître d'hôtel to welcome customers and to seat them, a sommelier or wine waiter to help patrons select wines. A new route to becoming a restauranter, rather than working one's way up through the stages, is to operate a food truck. Once a sufficient following has been obtained, a permanent restaurant site can be opened; this trend has become common in the UK and the US.
A chef's table is a table located in the kitchen of a restaurant, reserved for VIPs and special guests. Patrons may be served a themed tasting menu served by the head chef. Restaurants can charge a higher flat fee; because of the demand on the kitchen's facilities, chef's tables are only available during off-peak times. In China, food catering establishments that may be described as restaurants have been known since the 11th century in Kaifeng, China's capital during the first half of the Song dynasty. Growing out of the tea houses and taverns that catered to travellers, Kaifeng's restaurants blossomed into an industry catering to locals as well as people from ot
In a building, a room is any space enclosed within four walls to which entry is possible only by a door that connects it either to a passageway, to another room, or to the outdoors, large enough for several persons to move about, whose size, fixtures and sometimes placement within the building support the activity to be conducted in it. The use of rooms dates at least to early Minoan cultures about 2200 BC, where excavations at Akrotiri on Santorini reveal defined rooms within certain structures. In early structures, the different room types could be identified to include bedrooms, bathing rooms, reception rooms, other specialized uses; the aforementioned Akrotiri excavations reveal rooms sometimes built above other rooms connected by staircases, bathrooms with alabaster appliances such as washbasins, bathing tubs, toilets, all connected to an elaborate twin plumbing systems of ceramic pipes for cold and hot water separately. Ancient Rome manifested complex building forms with a variety of room types, including some of the earliest examples of rooms for indoor bathing.
The Anasazi civilization had an early complex development of room structures the oldest in North America, while the Maya of Central America had advanced room configurations as early as several hundred AD. By at least the early Han Dynasty in China, comfort room complex multi-level building forms emerged for religious and public purposes; some rooms were specially designed to support the work of the household, such as kitchens and root cellars, all of which were intended for the preparation and storage of food. A home office or study may be used for household paperwork or external business purposes; some work rooms are designated by the intended activity: for example, a sewing room is used for sewing, the laundry room is used for washing and ironing laundry. Other rooms are meant to promote comfort and cleanliness, such as the toilet and bathroom, which may be combined or which may be in separate rooms; the public equivalent is the restroom, which features a toilet and handwashing facilities, but not a shower or a bathtub.
In the 17th, 18th, 19th centuries, among those who could afford it, these facilities were kept in separate areas. The kitchen was detached from the main part of the house, or put in the basement, to reduce the risk of fire and keep the heat and smell of cooking away from the main house during the warm months; the toilet a simple pit latrine, was put in an outhouse or privy, to keep the smell and insects away from the main house. A variety of room types have been distinguished over time whose main purpose was socializing with other people. In previous centuries large homes featured a great hall; this room was so named because it was large, regardless of any excellence in it. It was a public room and most seen in the main home of a noble estate. In this room, people who had business with the local landowner or his household could meet; as the largest room, it could be used as a dining room for large banquets, or cleared of tables, provided with music, turned into a ballroom. Off the side, or in a different part of the house, might be a drawing room, used as a room with greater privacy, for the owner's family and their friends to talk.
A sitting room, living room, or parlour is a place for social visits and entertainment. One decorated to appeal to a man might be called a man cave; some large homes have special rooms for entertainment. A bedroom is the room where a bed is located, whose primary purpose is sleeping. A master bedroom may have an en suite bathroom. A guest room is a bedroom used by overnight guests; the nursery is a bedroom for young children. It may be separate from the playroom, a room where the children's toys are kept. Bedrooms may be used for other purposes. A large house might have separate rooms for these other functions, such as a dressing room for changing clothes. In Tudor times, a bedroom might have a separate closet, for seeking privacy. In the United Kingdom, many houses are built to contain a box-room, identifiable, being smaller than the others; the small size of these rooms limits their use, they tend to be used as a small single bedroom, small child's bedroom, or as a storage room. Other box rooms may house a live-in domestic worker.
Traditionally, seen in country houses and larger suburban houses up until the 1930s in Britain, the box room was for the storage of boxes, trunks and the like, rather than for bedroom use. A sick room is specialized room, sometimes just large enough to contain a bed, where a family member could be conveniently tended and kept separate from the rest of the household while recuperating from an illness. In smaller homes, most rooms were multi-purpose. In a bedsit, communal apartment, or studio apartment, a single main room may serve most functions, except the toilet and bath. Types of multi-purpose rooms include the great room, which removes most walls and doors between the kitchen and living rooms, to create one larger, open area. In some places, a lady's boudoir was a combination sleeping room and place to entertain small numbers of friends. In others, the boudoir