It used to be the living room was where people entertained guests, displayed valuables or showed off their tastes and income levels, but it was never a place where they just lived. But as surely as style follows function, the look of living rooms is changing. They are easy, welcoming, usually in proximity to the kitchen or home office and filled with colors, fibers, furniture and fabrics that reflect their new status.

Sofas & chairs, always the centerpiece of living room furniture, remain the focal point in rooms designed for casual living. Leather seating is popular, as are slipcovered sofas and chairs — a style that’s both current and a wonderful look to the past. The popularity of slipcovered furniture is obvious when rooms are no longer off limits to kids and used for everything from formal entertaining to video games. Versatile and practical slipcovers are removable, easy to clean and care for and often feature a fully upholstered surface underneath.

For those with more traditional tastes, slipcovers offer a gracious but laid-back look without losing style or refinement. Soft lines, pleats and skirts deliver a relaxed but well-bred attitude. More contemporary slipcover styling is trim and tailored with exposed wooden legs to emphasize the slipcovered effect. This season’s slipcovered styles even include sectionals, enjoying their own revival thanks to their versatility and comfort.

The new living room is enjoyed every day, rather than waiting formally for the next cocktail party or book club. Multi-tasking is the buzzword at home as in business, calling for a new breed of furniture including entertainment cabinets and home offices tucked away in armoires and other clever storage pieces.

Even so, when it is time to entertain, these rooms transform beautifully. Comfort is key; deep, downy cushions invite family and friends to relax and stay awhile. Soft, tactile fabrics, like velvet and chenille, create spaces that welcome company with an assured, dressed-for-success look that speaks of hospitality and good taste without being stiff or formal.

If your taste is more pared-down, the return to natural simplicity is made for you. Natural fibers like linen, cotton and wool are highly popular for seating, windows and rugs. A new palette of natural neutrals offers soft greens, along with shades of khaki, beige, taupe and other tranquil tones to complement the easy lines of today’s preferred seating styles. Zen-like accessories such as candles, table-top fountains and dried branches add to the soothing ambiance.

It’s been said lately that the living room is dead. And it is true that some people are opting for environments like media rooms, exercise rooms, home offices or billiard parlors instead of traditional living rooms. But for the most part, today’s living rooms do all their predecessors did and more; they have simply stopped being a trophy room outside the stream of actual daily life. Versatile, easy and stylish, they are right in step with their owners and the times.