For those fortunate enough to have extra rooms in their home, an array of options exist for how they can best be utilized. People will use spare main level rooms for everything from home office space to an extra guestroom, with many other options available. One classic use of an extra room that is starting to surge in popularity again is the den. If you have a room you're not using and are considering remaking it into a den, you will undoubtedly have questions about the process. To help get you started, we've researched how bit a den should be.
A den is typically a medium-sized room with dimensions of six feet by eight feet. If the room is too small, it's much more difficult to furnish. If the prospective room for your den is too large, then it can easily lose its cozy appeal.
Dens are a great addition to your home, whether used in the traditional sense or a more contemporary one. We've researched the den extensively and have provided lots of great additional information about dens in this post. What qualifies as a den? What do you use dens for? How would I turn my home office into a den? For the answers to these questions and more, please keep reading!
What qualifies as a den?
For a room to qualify as a traditional den, you need to ask yourself three questions:
- Is this room a separate room from the living room?
- Is it large enough to suit my needs as a den?
- Can I furnish it to satisfy the entire family?
The qualifications of a contemporary den are fairly loose and don't follow a lot of strict guidelines. For a room to be a den, it's usually located on the main floor of the home, away from the house's main living rooms. As dens are normally reserved for immediate household members, they are not a substitution for a living room, in which guests are more frequently entertained.
In the modern world, the den is more loosely considered any bonus room within your home in which the family gathers. While these bonus rooms are often used for home office space and guest bedrooms, they are also prime for becoming a den. These dens might be referred to as studies, family rooms, or rumpus rooms based on where you live. No matter what they are called, they're still the very room where the family can gather privately and informally to relax.
Dens can be filled with comfortable furniture and cozy fixtures. The type of furnishings you pick won't disqualify it as a den but should be comfortable things. The idea behind a den is to give household members a room where they can relax at the end of the day, socialize with one another, and play games or watch movies. Any furniture and fixtures that would facilitate these activities would be found in a typical den.
What do you do with a den?
Traditionally, dens have been used as an informal room for families to retire. While living rooms and parlors are mostly used to entertain friends and neighbors, dens are generally used more for the household members themselves.
Dens have been popularly used for family games and activities, reading rooms, and places where household members will gather to watch television. But they can also be used for members of the household to retreat alone, apart from others. In a general sense, you would do with a den what you might do with your living room. As mentioned earlier in this post, the difference is that dens are very informal and usually not a place to entertain guests.
How to turn my home office into a den?
If you currently use your bonus room as a home office and would like to change it into a den, doing so isn't complicated. Remember that dens are really all about how they are used and how you furnish them. Getting this process started is as easy as adding the sofas and chairs that will make your family comfortable while relocating your office furnishing to another part of your home.
From there, think of what household members like to do together when there are no visitors. Is your family partial to board games? Consider adding a board game table and cabinet.
To see this board game table on Amazon, click here.
To see this board game cabinet on Amazon, click here.
Comfortable furniture is a must in a den. Whether your family is relaxing and socializing with each other at the end of a long day or just lounging around on the weekend, you'll want all of you to be on furniture that is easy to sit on.
To see this chair set on Amazon, click here.
To see this love seat on Amazon, click here.
Whatever style of furniture and accessories you choose to retrofit your old home office into your new den, select ones that match your family's personality and aesthetic. And be sure that whatever you select will make you feel totally at home.
In Conclusion
In this post, we reviewed the standard size of the typical American den. We learned that traditional dens should be in medium-sized rooms, large enough to accommodate furnishings but small enough to retain a cozy atmosphere. We also learned that in the contemporary sense, a den is a loose term used to describe pretty much any kind of bonus room for the home. They are also commonly referred to as family rooms, rumpus rooms, and studies.
We hope you found this post about den sizes to be helpful. If you'd like to read more about how to furnish a den and other rooms in your home, we believe you'll find the following posts to be informative:
Where To Place A Console Table [7 Locations Explored]
How To Decorate A Living Room With No Entryway
Should An Entryway Have a Mirror (And How Big Should It Be)?.
21 Wall Decor Ideas For Hallway
How Big Should A Mirror Or Art Be Over A Console Table?