Mrs. French, but not Mr. French, referred to the parlor as the "living room." Architecturally, it is an exact copy of the parlor in their grandfather's house (c. 1800) in Chester, New Hampshire. (Henry Flagg French was the Frenches' mutual grandfather because French and his wife were first cousins.) The architects, Brite & Bacon, sent a draftsman to the Chester parlor to make measured drawings, thereby ensuring a faithful reproduction of the room at Chesterwood.

The fireplace facings are of red Numidian marble with a lining of red brick. On the fireplace mantle, two bronze statuettes by French - Narcissa and Joy - sit. An eclectic collection of portraits grace the walls, demonstrating French's preference for realistic and classical portraiture.

French doors open to the west porch, which is contained within three wooden lattice arches. An inventive woodbox on the porch, an original feature of Bacon's plan, allows access from a closet between the parlor (hidden behind the bookcase) and study.

Unsurprisingly, there was a constant stream of visitors to Chesterwood, and many of French's friends were entertained in this parlor. Henry Bacon, the ornithologist William Brewster (1851-1919), and family members were frequent guests. Other visitors to Chesterwood included Edith Wharton, Henry James, the sculptor Paul Manship, John Burroughs, and Joseph H. Choate, the ambassador to Great Britain during the administrations of Presidents McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. A less conventional visitor to Chesterwood was dancer Isadora Duncan.