Word for "a cluster of couches around a coffee table"

Is there a word for a cluster of couches around a coffee table, as seen in nightclubs and hotel lobbies? Something like this:

enter image description here


I have most often seen this referred to as a conversation area. For example, from an interior design textbook (italics original; bolding added):

Every living room requires an area for conversation. The dominant furniture grouping in the living room is called the primary conversation area
—Clois E. Kicklighter & Joan C. Kicklighter, "Chapter 3: Planning Living Areas", Residential Housing & Interiors, 4th Edition, 2005

Judging by multiple "how to" guides in magazines and online, the key elements of a "conversation area" are

  1. Multiple seating surfaces (couches, loveseats, chairs, benches, etc.);
  2. Arranged so that the people sitting on them can face one another (directly facing each other, or angled so people don't have to crane their heads; the "box" arrangement in your picture is common);
  3. At fairly close distance (many guides recommend no more than 9–10 feet/275–300 cm).

This guide is representative:

Create Conversation Areas

People should naturally be able to talk to each other without having to crane their necks or shout across the room. You want the sofas and chairs to face each other (not necessarily straight on, but close), and they should be close enough that you can have a natural conversation with the person seated across from you without having to raise your voice.

If the room is too large, create multiple conversation areas.
—Laura Flanagan, "10 Rules for Arranging Furniture", The Spruce, 12/06/17

As the article notes, rooms can have multiple conversation areas, as shown in your picture. An image search for hotel lobby conversation area returns many images similar to that in the question.


Note that both "conversation zone" and "seating area" are also used for the same concept; however, the former is less common, and the latter is general enough to include the whole hotel lobby, rather than just a particular cluster of furniture (it's commonly used for the eat-in section of a fast food restaurant, for example). In context, however, either could be understood.