A reception room was "de rigeur" for fashionable artists' studios of this time. It was used as a gathering place where visitors were received and the family's afternoon tea took place when inclement weather precluded the use of the piazza. It was also a place where French relaxed by doing oil or pastel portraits of friends, family, or neighbors in the excellent north light of the windows.

A variety of European and American furniture styles are featured in the reception room. A recess in the Eastern wall (dubbed the "Cozy Corner") contains a day bed along with a built-in bookcase for his art reference books. Across from the "Cozy Corner" is a marble cement fireplace, originally brick, which French re-designed to have a more elaborate surround and overmantel. In addition to the artwork, there is a piano and a gramophone that were used for entertaining.

Some sculpture highlights in the Reception room include "La Jeunesse" by Herbert Adams, a marble rendering of "Eve" by Thomas Ball, and a head by French's daughter, Margaret, called "The Klinks (Girl with Curls)".