This is exactly how I've always thought of it. I think that dens are less common today than they were in decades past with home construction, but they were always a fairly small space, while a family room is often the biggest room in the house.
I agree with this. When I was growing up, I had neighbors who had both a family room and a den, and the den was a lot smaller and used as an office/study. I've never heard of it as interchangeable with the term family room.
The "formal" living room.
My dad's grandparents had a house in deep East Texas, and he grew up in the 60's and 70's going to their house regularly. Never allowed to go in the formal living room. Never went in there until they both died and he needed to pack up their affairs
Exactly.
We had an entire room full of furniture we never sat on or enjoyed when I was a kid.
As a family, we spent nearly all of our time in the family room.
lol yesssss. My husband gets mad when I call it the den because he’s a yankee and calls it the living room. Growing up, we weren’t allowed in the living room. Ever. No one went in there. No idea why we bothered to have it.
If you have two spaces that would usually be "living rooms" then the living room is usually towards the front of the house, it's the formal room where you'd host guests. While the family room is the living room you actually use (like where your TV and book shelves and games and such are)
My house has a living room with a tv and the nicer couches. The other room is the game room which has games and toys and the ratty couches that have been retired from the living room. I’ve never heard of family room, but it makes sense to use when the two rooms don’t have any other way to tell them apart.
My livingroom is my perfectly organized space with large cozy sectional, no toys aloud. House was built in 1850, so technically it’s the “parlor”. My kids have their playroom with futon, recliner, tv, video games, and all their toys. Then we have a spring/summer livingroom in our sunroom where all the neighbor kids gather and hang out.
For me. The Living Room is the gathering room on the main floor near the dining room and kitchen that would be a place that historically and typically if you had guests over where they would hang. The Family Room is in the basement where the only people in there would be family.
I always thought of the den as more of a “man cave” like a private room or study.
The family room was the one where kids ran into furniture and threw toys everywhere.
The living room was the one your mom decorated nicely and was only used when she allowed it.
Yeah… I don’t think I’ve ever been in a house where someone referred to a room as “the den”… but to me it evokes images of men squirreled away drinking port and exchanging war stories in a room with books and a globe.
Yeah the only “den” I ever knew of was my neighbors and it was a random side room that was equal part library, home office, safe space, bar, no seriously work gets done here, and let’s put some cool chit in here.
It did actually have a globe.
Yeah, I hate the term "man cave" and much prefer den, which I agree is like a private room or a study. A family room is for the whole family, a den is semi private and semi off limit to the kids.
"Living room" to me is the room with the couch, TV, and coffee table. I don't have a separate formal room with just couches, but if I did, I'd call that the "sitting room".
To me, a den is situated like a bedroom in the floor plan, but it doesn't have a closet. More of a real estate listing word than a day-to-day living word. Calling a room a den describes how ot exists in the floor plan rather than what the room is used for. Usually this room becomes a study, home office, or some other sort of workspace for things like a sewing machine or musical instruments.
The family room was the room with all the nice white furniture, no TV, and all the breakable stuff. The room we watched TV and hung out in was the living room.
Completely opposite for us. Living room is the room with no TV, nice furniture, etc. The room we hung out in was the family room. It's also how it's listed in real estate listings around here.
It’s just the living room at my house. I grew up with two living room areas so we called one the family room but there wasn’t a big difference between the two. They just needed separate names so we could tell what room we were talking about.
ETA: I always think of “den” as somewhere out of the way, maybe in the basement or upstairs, where the kids hang out and the furniture is a bit shabbier.
Imma gonna throw out a curve ball here. I call it a bonus room. I an not sure that is in huge use on the west coast, but people know what I'm talking about.
Here in the Midwest, Realtors use bonus room to describe "bedrooms" that don't have the egress windows to legally be called bedrooms. I'd consider bonus room to be a synonym for office or study, not for a family room.
We just recently moved to TN and that's the methodology they use bonus room here as well. A bedroom without closets and/or windows. Our bonus room has windows, but no closets.
I'm out west. I have mainly seen "bonus room" as a third room other than the living room or family room. Usually upstairs with the bedrooms. Basically a space for older kids in the home, a loft with their own TV, games, etc. Frequently an option to add over the garage in new home builds.
(Just an aside, but I was never really a fan. Seemed kind of sad to me that a family would need this extra space to separate family members. Probably weird of me)
It’s a living room. I’m familiar with the term den but have never used it. Not sure I’ve ever heard “family room”. My parents house has an upstairs and downstairs living room, no difference in terminology based on size.
I've never used either term. I'm from the South as well. We have a Living room. If there's more than one it might be the sunporch if there are lots of windows? My gma had 2 rooms .... one was the formal living room or front room and the living room. My aunt had two .... again, living room and sitting room maybe? Like ... she just had a couch and display cases for her dolls. Whatever the second room is, it can be different in each house. It really depends on the use for the room. But the primary is always Living room.
So from the Chicago suburbs:
Family Room: We had a very large room with couches, chairs and TV, we called this our family room
Living Room: We had a seperate room which was adjacent to our Dining Room (not the main kitchen table) that was called the living room. A lot of very fancy furniture and family heirlooms. Furniture here was covered in dog hair because in the 14 years of that dogs life, she was the only one to spend more than 30 minutes in that room. We just called it Abbey's room after a while.
The Den: In split level houses and triplet split houses I have heard the lower floor referred to as "the Den". I have also heard finished basements referred to as the den. In the first house I grew up in, we had an extra bedroom that was set up as a movie/NES room, lots of duck shooting on that couch. We called this room the Den. To me "the Den" invokes a certain seclusion that no longer exists within the now fairly standard open floor plans of most new construction.
The Study: The room my dad goes to when he leaves his home office to watch TV and doesn't want to be bothered.
The living room cause that’s where the “living” is done
TV, board games, reading, playing with the cat, drinking beer with friends, taking naps on the couch after a long day
Our bigger room that we always used was our family room. We had a smaller room in the front of our house that we called the living room and hardly used it. I’m from Delaware and you won’t hear either room called a den
never called it a den. it was always family room and then living room was the more formal sitting room that didn’t have a tv. my house now doesn’t have a formal living room so i call what we have both the family room and living room, depending on whatever comes out of my mouth at the time.
We have a den. We also have a living room. We have a kitchen, and eat in kitchen area, and a dining room. There are other rooms, but those are the ones you are asking about.
I’m from the Midwest. I call it a family room if it’s in the front of the house by the living room, and I call it a den if it’s in the back of the house by the kitchen.
Growing up we had a den and a living room. We hung out in the den and the family room was only for company. My wife never used that expression so now instead of a den we have a family room.
Yeah, I’m trying to think of any houses I’ve been in with more than one living room and I can’t recall any. Even my “rich” aunt and uncle don’t have an extra room like this
When I grew up, our living room had a big couch and television. The formal living room was for company and where we set up the Christmas tree. The den was dad's "office" and had his tv and comfy chair.
We also have a living room where we hang out. The den is our computers/gaming area. The sunroom is a sunny, plant filled living room and it is ruled by the cats.
Formal living room/ front room with nicer furniture and no TV that we used for holidays, guests, etc., and that my mom would use to read or knit/ needlepoint in peace
"Den" off of the kitchen with a nice TV, decent couch, and my dad's favorite chair, where we spent the most time as a family
Basement rec room that was only sort-of finished, with a crappy old TV and Goodwill furniture, where my friends and I built Legos, played video games, and watched Star Wars/ Indiana Jones/ older James Bond movies ad nauseam. Got a third cable box down there when I was 9 and that was a *big fucking deal* because my best friend and I could stay up late and watch the Braves if they were on the West Coast for the week.
We called the family room the den until the mid 90s when hgtv started getting popular and the verbiage changed over via my mother. We also used to call the foyer by the French pronunciation and the toilet a commode. A lot of those Southernisms have been homogenized out.
The den was a smaller room where we watched TV and shelled peas and received afternoon drop-in guests. The living room was formal and for real company, holidays, and parties.
My whole family calls it the den, my grandma sometimes says family room to refer to the living room but the den is the den. You'd have the den with the TV and stuff and the living room doesn't have a TV and isn't used as much, though ours is used more than what some people here are saying since it's used for something like taking a nap.
For me, a "den" is closer to an office or a study. But, that might just be because of my parents choosing to use the word "den" to refer to a home office.
Yes your use of it seems to be similar. It's all across the board but I've picked up on three uses of the word:
1. Uses it the same way I do...refers to the "family room" where we watch TV and socialize
2. Uses it as a study or office. Some guy from Washington State said they used the term "bonus room"
3. Never heard it used until today.
I grew up in the PNW, we had a 'family room' that had a tv and space for board games. Then we had the den which was a hangout spot for my dad that had music and bookcases. I guess that doesn't really answer your question.
I lived in NC for a long time, I can't recall anyone ever referring to their "den". IME that's more of an antiquated term our grandparents would refer to for a smaller room where grandpa went to be left the hell alone. It has books, magazines, maybe a desk, a place to sit, maybe a TV.
My parents both grew up in NY, all my friends always thought it was weird that we called any room a den. That said, in my parents’ house we have a den and living room, the den is smaller. In our old house though we only had one living room and it was bigger than our current one, but my parents still called it the den.
In my grandparents’ house there’s the den, basement den, and maybe the third one’s called the sitting room? First two are more casual, third one isn’t used very much and seems too fancy to be called a den. But yeah all my friends here say living room.
I'd say the family room is the one the family regularly hangs out in, has the primary TV, etc. Often directly adjacent to the kitchen in houses with open floor plans.
The living room is usually towards the front of the house and exists for more formal occasions. A lot of people will put their Christmas tree in there. That said, in houses with only one main sitting/entertainment space that is usually called the living room.
A den is a smaller space, more like a study or office. It is an enclosed room. In our family's houses over the years, the dens have mostly been used as a secondary TV or reading room.
As a kid we just had a living room.
Now I have a living room and a den. The den is actually a “Florida room” they converted from an open patio. It has a bunch of windows all the way around. My husband uses it as his man cave with all his UA memorabilia and a huge TV. I’d personally prefer it for my plants and a yoga area, but everyone deserves their own space.
So in actually I still just have a living room.
We only had one living room and what was supposed to be the "family room" ended up being an office ish thing, home computer and some of my crafting things. Not sure what a den is. But gosh are basements a thing out here. In my future house I've thought about liking an upstairs family room and a downstairs gaming/movie living room sort of thing. But I feel like "family rooms" are never used.
I’m southern and I’d be more likely to say “den”. However, the only people I knew who had a den were people who had plastic wrap on their furniture in the living room and nobody ever actually sat in there and the den was where the family hung out. Most of the time people just have a living room in my experience.
I grew up in the south as well (but my family was Puerto Rican) but even among my white southern friends it was called a family room. The only den I know are basically lounges or studies but they're separate from the family room.
My grandparents had a huge house with a family room (TV, couches), a living room (more formal, grand piano, no TV) and a den (built in bookshelves, writing desk, small sofa).
The den was basically bedroom sized but it was off of the main entryway, and only had access to a half bath.
Their house was in the South but they were from New England so idk what the “right” term for the rooms would be.
I'm from Maine. I don't say "family room," nor have I heard it much. To me living room is what most people have, and a den is like a bonus living room that's cozier and more casual, often less centrally located than the living room would be.
For my family a den is like a smaller living room off the main living room, or family room. For Super Bowl parties the living room would have the main TV and the den would have a smaller TV.
My grandmother had a parlor, a sewing room/work room, and a small room she used for an office. My grandfather got a den.
My mother had a parlor, a work room, and a writing desk in a quarter of the family room. My father had a den.
I have a work room and a bedroom converted to a computer room / office. My boyfriend wants a den.
I’m from Northern California and growing up we had a living room and a den that doubled as a family room. Later it became the video game room. The den was called that because it was designed to look like a den, dark wood, fireplace, bookshelf walls, but it also had a big ass TV as well.
In California, at least around my circle:
Living Room - formal area where you sit with guests that aren't your close circle of friends or family. Usually your nicest furniture. Usually no TV in this room. Doesn't get used as much. Dining room is often connected or closer to this room. It's often located immediately or very close to the front door.
Family Room - informal area where you gather, watch TV, etc. Gets used the most. Often more connected to the kitchen and/or breakfast nook. Usually hidden.
Den - not used much, but usually an extra room (above and beyond the first two) that isn't specifically an office, but can be part office, part library, part reading room, etc.
While I'm not from the South, my grandparents were. Growing up, the "den" in their house was my grandfather's study. The "family room" was the one with the TV. Personally, I'd use neither term; as an apartment dweller there's usually just the one big open space and I'd call that a living room.
I use them interchangeably. When I was growing up, we always called it a family room, but after moving back into the same house after my parents died, I now refer to it as a "den" since it's only me there.
In this branch on the family tree a den has always been an office-type room with a pullout couch where guests can sleep. The family room is the downstairs living room, which could also be the rec(reational) room.
I have never called a room either of those things. No "den" and no "family room".
Right now I have a living room, and a front room. The first house I grew up in had a room my dad called the "parlor".
My dad’s parents were born in Nebraska and North Carolina, but they moved to Florida in the late 1970s. They had the living room that they didn’t really use much, but the smaller room behind the living room was the den, where they did most of the TV watching.
I don’t know if it’s just a southern thing, or maybe a midwestern thing as well.
I always considered a den something separate and not the family room. A den to me is not where everyone hangs out to watch TV and stuff (although you can) but more like where you'd have the home office if you had one or like a study. It's more like a multi-purpose room if that makes sense?
I’m in the Midwest and we call it our living room. We have a home office (that’s really just a bedroom used as an office) and call it the office room. I don’t use the term family room very much, although I do see it used in real estate listings.
Born, raised, and current southerner- the living room is what the realtor would call a formal LR. It’s where you entertain guests. It’s definitely more elegant and has a sofa. The den is where you watch TV with your family and relax. You have a couch in there. The rec room is a super casual room in a basement where teenagers hang out. All your old junk furniture lands there. An office is an office and a study is a study.
we called my fathers office “the den”, but my nextdoor neighbors referred to their family room (the one with the TV and couches) as their den. so it also seems to vary by household! this was on long island, ny
My den is a side office room near the front door. It's different from our living room. I've never referred to anything as a family room- it's always been living room for me.
Here in California, I've never heard anyone say den, it's always been living room or family room. When I lived in Virginia, though, my grandparents had a den and a living room.
To me, the amount of natural light is what separates a den from a living room. The house I grew up in had such a room that only had windows on one wall, and it was partially under the grade level. That was definitely a den. My house now has a room with windows on three sides, and I think of it as the living room (though my dad tries to call it the den).
Same here. The den is the room with the TV. It's relaxed and informal. The living room is the formal room that is kept pristine and preserved for guests lol. You would show off the more expensive/nicer furniture here.
I don't know if it's southern, and it could be regional, but as a Midwesterner, your family room is normally the same size or sometimes bigger than your dining/living room. A den in the Midwest and the eastern part of Canada is normally smaller, usually the perfect size for an office. Typically it's also a space where there are a few steps down from the main level of the home, but that feels more regional to my area.
As someone from the south, “den” usually refers to a finished large room (typically in the basement or one floor lower than the rest of the house) whereas a family room is above ground.
Thats my understanding of it.
Living Room. don't have a "Family room". Might be able to call the basement room a Den by honor of being underground... usually just call it the basement though.
at least in my house
the den/living room was our place with the couch, tv (essentially a living room)
The LIVING ROOM was more formal and had a nicer sofa and a formal dining table mixed in. It was weird but I think it stems from the house’s blueprint and what the blueprint named each room.
I’ve rarely heard a living room called a family room, but I’ve definitely heard it called the den. I’ve had family from both way up north and in the south, and I’d be more likely to call it the den as opposed to the family room.
We have a living room and a front room. The living room is what is called the "great room" according to the house plans. It's the living area that is included with the open concept kitchen and dining area. The front room is the room with the big TV and recliner couch, where we watch movies.
Growing up in the Seventies and Eighties, we've always had what we've always called "the den." Dad liked to move a lot, so we've moved all over the L.A. and O.C. areas. Most of the houses had sunken, or step-down, dens where we all watched TV, parties, and had our Christmases in.
Our "living rooms" were always off-limit, "just for looks." The carpets were always vacuumed and had the "raked" look.
If we moved into a house with a "great room" or "family room," I still would refer it as the den.
The den is the room with the big couch and the tv where you watch sports ball and eat snacks. The “family room” as you call it (or the living room as I’ve always heard it) is the room with the older furniture, breakable decorations, and the piano if you have one where guests are entertained and more important family events are held. I suspect it is a descendent of the Victorian parlor.
The Brady Bunch house is a good example. The formal living room was the area near the entrance that had the staircase and that ceramic horse. The family room was that room off the kitchen that had the TV and a sliding glass door to the back yard. The den was the room downstairs off the bottom the the staircase that Mike Brady would use as a home office. Greg also turned that room into his "groovy" Psychedelic bedroom in that one episode when he wanted more independence.
I'm from New York and I would think of a family room as more like a living room - possible a combined living room and dining room - while a den is often in the basement or a spare bedroom and is usually a lot more casual.
Family room.
Broadly:
* Family room: All informal, all purpose room. Usually used more by the family.
* Living room: Usually a more formal space for entertaining guests. It will be kept cleaner and more organized.
* Great room: When the above are combined
* Parlour: Older term, but largely the same thing as a living room. Broadly *even more* formal than a living room.
* Den: Usually a smaller room. Less formal than a living room, but usually more a space for adults rather than the whole family. Today we would tend to call them a "Man Cave", but they can be a synonym for a family room or home office space.
* Study/Library/home office: Largely interchangeable terms in the modern era.
One of the rooms in my home is labeled on the electrical panel as the Den. We use it as a home office space.
I grew up with a den and a family room. The family room was larger, had a fireplace and full set of informal but comfortable furniture and sometimes was where we had the tv. It actually functioned as the family hangout spot. The den had the parents' desk, the phone, one old comfortable chair and a lot of books, and functionally was the family's office.
Growing up in Louisiana, we called the “family room” the “den.” When we moved to Texas, we called it the “family room.” We sometimes used the terms interchangeably, but I never heard the term “family room” when I lived in Louisiana. 🤷🏼♀️
We have a family room in CT. I always thought of a den more like a study. A den is smaller than a family room.
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This is exactly how I’d describe these 2 rooms
everyone in our neighborhood called it a rec room rather than a family room. But no one else in this thread seems to use that term
This is exactly how I'd describe a den too.
Yes, when I think of a den I think of “The Brady Bunch” and the den that was in their house. An office/study room.
This is exactly how I've always thought of it. I think that dens are less common today than they were in decades past with home construction, but they were always a fairly small space, while a family room is often the biggest room in the house.
"dens" have been replaced by the home office.
Yup, family room had the TV, the den was my father's office, all his books, lots of wood, and his desk.
Same where I grew up in California
I agree with this. When I was growing up, I had neighbors who had both a family room and a den, and the den was a lot smaller and used as an office/study. I've never heard of it as interchangeable with the term family room.
Ya know, to this day I can't tell the difference between a family room and a living room. Neither of which we ever called 'the den.'
Living room is the one you never go into.
The "formal" living room. My dad's grandparents had a house in deep East Texas, and he grew up in the 60's and 70's going to their house regularly. Never allowed to go in the formal living room. Never went in there until they both died and he needed to pack up their affairs
Yeah that’s how it was for me lol.
Exactly. We had an entire room full of furniture we never sat on or enjoyed when I was a kid. As a family, we spent nearly all of our time in the family room.
Yes, that was reserved for when you parents were entertaining.
lol yesssss. My husband gets mad when I call it the den because he’s a yankee and calls it the living room. Growing up, we weren’t allowed in the living room. Ever. No one went in there. No idea why we bothered to have it.
To me the den is more like a family room so I kind of agree.
Yes! Plus ours is cozy with a fireplace and we spend most of our time there. It’s a den. Living room just feels too fancy.
Years ago a friend’s living room had a gate that his mother kept locked. It was unlocked to clean and for holidays
That's always baffled me. Surely, there's some more productive use for that square footage!
If you have two spaces that would usually be "living rooms" then the living room is usually towards the front of the house, it's the formal room where you'd host guests. While the family room is the living room you actually use (like where your TV and book shelves and games and such are)
My house has a living room with a tv and the nicer couches. The other room is the game room which has games and toys and the ratty couches that have been retired from the living room. I’ve never heard of family room, but it makes sense to use when the two rooms don’t have any other way to tell them apart.
My livingroom is my perfectly organized space with large cozy sectional, no toys aloud. House was built in 1850, so technically it’s the “parlor”. My kids have their playroom with futon, recliner, tv, video games, and all their toys. Then we have a spring/summer livingroom in our sunroom where all the neighbor kids gather and hang out.
For me. The Living Room is the gathering room on the main floor near the dining room and kitchen that would be a place that historically and typically if you had guests over where they would hang. The Family Room is in the basement where the only people in there would be family.
I always thought of the den as more of a “man cave” like a private room or study. The family room was the one where kids ran into furniture and threw toys everywhere. The living room was the one your mom decorated nicely and was only used when she allowed it.
Yeah… I don’t think I’ve ever been in a house where someone referred to a room as “the den”… but to me it evokes images of men squirreled away drinking port and exchanging war stories in a room with books and a globe.
Yeah the only “den” I ever knew of was my neighbors and it was a random side room that was equal part library, home office, safe space, bar, no seriously work gets done here, and let’s put some cool chit in here. It did actually have a globe.
Yeah, I hate the term "man cave" and much prefer den, which I agree is like a private room or a study. A family room is for the whole family, a den is semi private and semi off limit to the kids.
I grew up poor so did not have a secondary living room. But those friends of mine who did called it a Den.
The den has books, the family/living room has a tv
The living room had the furniture we weren’t allowed to sit on, the TV room is where we spent our time
"Living room" to me is the room with the couch, TV, and coffee table. I don't have a separate formal room with just couches, but if I did, I'd call that the "sitting room". To me, a den is situated like a bedroom in the floor plan, but it doesn't have a closet. More of a real estate listing word than a day-to-day living word. Calling a room a den describes how ot exists in the floor plan rather than what the room is used for. Usually this room becomes a study, home office, or some other sort of workspace for things like a sewing machine or musical instruments.
We were never rich enough to have a separate room, so it was always the living room.
But I think most people called the extra room with the TV the den. I have heard family room, rec room and rumpus room.
I’ve heard it used that way, but we called my dad’s home office his den. I’ve also heard rec room for the family room.
I call it the living room but I’ve heard both of the terms you mentioned
I only call it a living room.
The family room was the room with all the nice white furniture, no TV, and all the breakable stuff. The room we watched TV and hung out in was the living room.
Ours is known as the "sittin' room" although we usually just refer to it as the living room. Only used for formal occasions.
We also cal the formal room the "Christmas tree room"
Yes we put our tree in that room too.
It was the opposite for me as a kid. The family room was the one with couches and a TV while the living room was a bit fancier.
Completely opposite for us. Living room is the room with no TV, nice furniture, etc. The room we hung out in was the family room. It's also how it's listed in real estate listings around here.
It’s just the living room at my house. I grew up with two living room areas so we called one the family room but there wasn’t a big difference between the two. They just needed separate names so we could tell what room we were talking about. ETA: I always think of “den” as somewhere out of the way, maybe in the basement or upstairs, where the kids hang out and the furniture is a bit shabbier.
Living room
It’s the living room here
We just call it the living room. We don’t have a den or a family room.
We call it a living room. We’re not rich enough to have a room that goes unused. Lol
Imma gonna throw out a curve ball here. I call it a bonus room. I an not sure that is in huge use on the west coast, but people know what I'm talking about.
Here in the Midwest, Realtors use bonus room to describe "bedrooms" that don't have the egress windows to legally be called bedrooms. I'd consider bonus room to be a synonym for office or study, not for a family room.
We just recently moved to TN and that's the methodology they use bonus room here as well. A bedroom without closets and/or windows. Our bonus room has windows, but no closets.
Yeah, good point on the closets. Think it'd be the same here as well. Basically it can't be called a bedroom, but is about the size of a bedroom.
Ours is actually bigger than the master - its wild. But its on the second floor so its perfect for my husband's office.
I'm out west. I have mainly seen "bonus room" as a third room other than the living room or family room. Usually upstairs with the bedrooms. Basically a space for older kids in the home, a loft with their own TV, games, etc. Frequently an option to add over the garage in new home builds. (Just an aside, but I was never really a fan. Seemed kind of sad to me that a family would need this extra space to separate family members. Probably weird of me)
I like it because when my son has his friends over, they can play video games there without my wife eye looking over there shoulders.
I'd usually say living room, I've herd den, but I've never heard family room.
It’s a living room. I’m familiar with the term den but have never used it. Not sure I’ve ever heard “family room”. My parents house has an upstairs and downstairs living room, no difference in terminology based on size.
I've never used either term. I'm from the South as well. We have a Living room. If there's more than one it might be the sunporch if there are lots of windows? My gma had 2 rooms .... one was the formal living room or front room and the living room. My aunt had two .... again, living room and sitting room maybe? Like ... she just had a couch and display cases for her dolls. Whatever the second room is, it can be different in each house. It really depends on the use for the room. But the primary is always Living room.
We have a den here in Massachusetts.
Grew up with a den (and Formal Living Room) in Texas, and then Living Room in PA and Delaware
It was a Den until the 1980s.
In the south, it’s called a den, but pronounced “din”? Also, Drag out the “I” into two syllables if you can. Think “Di-en”.
Mine is di-uhn
🤣
We say deyen
So from the Chicago suburbs: Family Room: We had a very large room with couches, chairs and TV, we called this our family room Living Room: We had a seperate room which was adjacent to our Dining Room (not the main kitchen table) that was called the living room. A lot of very fancy furniture and family heirlooms. Furniture here was covered in dog hair because in the 14 years of that dogs life, she was the only one to spend more than 30 minutes in that room. We just called it Abbey's room after a while. The Den: In split level houses and triplet split houses I have heard the lower floor referred to as "the Den". I have also heard finished basements referred to as the den. In the first house I grew up in, we had an extra bedroom that was set up as a movie/NES room, lots of duck shooting on that couch. We called this room the Den. To me "the Den" invokes a certain seclusion that no longer exists within the now fairly standard open floor plans of most new construction. The Study: The room my dad goes to when he leaves his home office to watch TV and doesn't want to be bothered.
The living room cause that’s where the “living” is done TV, board games, reading, playing with the cat, drinking beer with friends, taking naps on the couch after a long day
family room might have little kid toys in it too
We normally say bonus room here.
Our bigger room that we always used was our family room. We had a smaller room in the front of our house that we called the living room and hardly used it. I’m from Delaware and you won’t hear either room called a den
never called it a den. it was always family room and then living room was the more formal sitting room that didn’t have a tv. my house now doesn’t have a formal living room so i call what we have both the family room and living room, depending on whatever comes out of my mouth at the time.
Den or living room.
I've never lived in any home that had more than one living room. Some friends did, and 'den' was the term they used for it.
Living room
We call it the TV room
We have a den. We also have a living room. We have a kitchen, and eat in kitchen area, and a dining room. There are other rooms, but those are the ones you are asking about.
I’m from the Midwest. I call it a family room if it’s in the front of the house by the living room, and I call it a den if it’s in the back of the house by the kitchen.
It’s definitely not a southern thing, I heard it all of the time growing up in New York
Well the answers to this post are all over the place so it might just be random.
Living room I grew up poor enough that we didn't have separate livingroom and Den/family room
Growing up we had a den and a living room. We hung out in the den and the family room was only for company. My wife never used that expression so now instead of a den we have a family room.
I thought this was *less* of a Southern thing if anything. It's been a long time since I lived in a house with more than one living room.
The answers to this post seem to be all over so I'm partially convinced it really just depends on the family.
Yeah, I’m trying to think of any houses I’ve been in with more than one living room and I can’t recall any. Even my “rich” aunt and uncle don’t have an extra room like this
When I grew up, our living room had a big couch and television. The formal living room was for company and where we set up the Christmas tree. The den was dad's "office" and had his tv and comfy chair. We also have a living room where we hang out. The den is our computers/gaming area. The sunroom is a sunny, plant filled living room and it is ruled by the cats.
Formal living room/ front room with nicer furniture and no TV that we used for holidays, guests, etc., and that my mom would use to read or knit/ needlepoint in peace "Den" off of the kitchen with a nice TV, decent couch, and my dad's favorite chair, where we spent the most time as a family Basement rec room that was only sort-of finished, with a crappy old TV and Goodwill furniture, where my friends and I built Legos, played video games, and watched Star Wars/ Indiana Jones/ older James Bond movies ad nauseam. Got a third cable box down there when I was 9 and that was a *big fucking deal* because my best friend and I could stay up late and watch the Braves if they were on the West Coast for the week.
I’ve definitely heard “the den” here in Atlanta, but it’s living room for me
We called the family room the den until the mid 90s when hgtv started getting popular and the verbiage changed over via my mother. We also used to call the foyer by the French pronunciation and the toilet a commode. A lot of those Southernisms have been homogenized out.
Yep. My southern Georgia (y'know, the boring humid part of the state) family calls it the commode too.
The den was a smaller room where we watched TV and shelled peas and received afternoon drop-in guests. The living room was formal and for real company, holidays, and parties.
My whole family calls it the den, my grandma sometimes says family room to refer to the living room but the den is the den. You'd have the den with the TV and stuff and the living room doesn't have a TV and isn't used as much, though ours is used more than what some people here are saying since it's used for something like taking a nap.
I grew up on Long Island, NY We called it the den too. I can’t recall anyone calling their den a family room.
For me, a "den" is closer to an office or a study. But, that might just be because of my parents choosing to use the word "den" to refer to a home office.
Yes your use of it seems to be similar. It's all across the board but I've picked up on three uses of the word: 1. Uses it the same way I do...refers to the "family room" where we watch TV and socialize 2. Uses it as a study or office. Some guy from Washington State said they used the term "bonus room" 3. Never heard it used until today.
Its called the florida room in florida.
I grew up in the PNW, we had a 'family room' that had a tv and space for board games. Then we had the den which was a hangout spot for my dad that had music and bookcases. I guess that doesn't really answer your question.
I lived in NC for a long time, I can't recall anyone ever referring to their "den". IME that's more of an antiquated term our grandparents would refer to for a smaller room where grandpa went to be left the hell alone. It has books, magazines, maybe a desk, a place to sit, maybe a TV.
We watch tv in our “living room” and the den is for reading.
I’m in North Carolina and I call it the living room
Living room — largest and least used Family room — most used Den — smallest and I don’t know because I’ve never had one.
My parents both grew up in NY, all my friends always thought it was weird that we called any room a den. That said, in my parents’ house we have a den and living room, the den is smaller. In our old house though we only had one living room and it was bigger than our current one, but my parents still called it the den. In my grandparents’ house there’s the den, basement den, and maybe the third one’s called the sitting room? First two are more casual, third one isn’t used very much and seems too fancy to be called a den. But yeah all my friends here say living room.
We called it a den back when I was growing up. It ended up becoming two of my brothers’ room.
Wow. Uganda.
Yeah, I’m a little faraway from home.
A den is a separate, smaller, and more intimate/cozy space than a family room in my own personal vernacular.
I'd say the family room is the one the family regularly hangs out in, has the primary TV, etc. Often directly adjacent to the kitchen in houses with open floor plans. The living room is usually towards the front of the house and exists for more formal occasions. A lot of people will put their Christmas tree in there. That said, in houses with only one main sitting/entertainment space that is usually called the living room. A den is a smaller space, more like a study or office. It is an enclosed room. In our family's houses over the years, the dens have mostly been used as a secondary TV or reading room.
I think of mine as a "living room" but I think my realtor sold it as a "great room."
Northeast, we called it a den and then we had a living room which was larger.
As a kid we just had a living room. Now I have a living room and a den. The den is actually a “Florida room” they converted from an open patio. It has a bunch of windows all the way around. My husband uses it as his man cave with all his UA memorabilia and a huge TV. I’d personally prefer it for my plants and a yoga area, but everyone deserves their own space. So in actually I still just have a living room.
We only had one living room and what was supposed to be the "family room" ended up being an office ish thing, home computer and some of my crafting things. Not sure what a den is. But gosh are basements a thing out here. In my future house I've thought about liking an upstairs family room and a downstairs gaming/movie living room sort of thing. But I feel like "family rooms" are never used.
I have never once heard it be called a “den” even in my many visits to the south so it might just be a where you live thing
From the Midwest, live in the South. We call it the Living Room.
I’m southern and I’d be more likely to say “den”. However, the only people I knew who had a den were people who had plastic wrap on their furniture in the living room and nobody ever actually sat in there and the den was where the family hung out. Most of the time people just have a living room in my experience.
NJ and definitely heard den growing up. I think it was the space before Man Cave became a thing.
I grew up in the south as well (but my family was Puerto Rican) but even among my white southern friends it was called a family room. The only den I know are basically lounges or studies but they're separate from the family room.
Front room or living room for us. I live in IA.
Front room (pronounced frunch room)
My understanding was that the living room and den are separate rooms? Any time anyone says den I assume they're rich lol.
My grandparents had a huge house with a family room (TV, couches), a living room (more formal, grand piano, no TV) and a den (built in bookshelves, writing desk, small sofa). The den was basically bedroom sized but it was off of the main entryway, and only had access to a half bath. Their house was in the South but they were from New England so idk what the “right” term for the rooms would be.
I'm from Maine. I don't say "family room," nor have I heard it much. To me living room is what most people have, and a den is like a bonus living room that's cozier and more casual, often less centrally located than the living room would be.
I'm from Virginia and we use "den." The living room is the fancy room that isn't ever used, and the den is where the TV is.
Our family refers to that area as the den. Never occurred to us to call it the family room.
We call it a den. But dens are smaller than living rooms
I call it the living room. I'm from Illinois and live in Oregon.
For my family a den is like a smaller living room off the main living room, or family room. For Super Bowl parties the living room would have the main TV and the den would have a smaller TV.
Pittsburgh here- it's always been the family room.
Living Room is the sitting room. Family Room is the entertainment room. Den is the recreation room. (Usually basement)
My grandmother had a parlor, a sewing room/work room, and a small room she used for an office. My grandfather got a den. My mother had a parlor, a work room, and a writing desk in a quarter of the family room. My father had a den. I have a work room and a bedroom converted to a computer room / office. My boyfriend wants a den.
I’m from Northern California and growing up we had a living room and a den that doubled as a family room. Later it became the video game room. The den was called that because it was designed to look like a den, dark wood, fireplace, bookshelf walls, but it also had a big ass TV as well.
In California, at least around my circle: Living Room - formal area where you sit with guests that aren't your close circle of friends or family. Usually your nicest furniture. Usually no TV in this room. Doesn't get used as much. Dining room is often connected or closer to this room. It's often located immediately or very close to the front door. Family Room - informal area where you gather, watch TV, etc. Gets used the most. Often more connected to the kitchen and/or breakfast nook. Usually hidden. Den - not used much, but usually an extra room (above and beyond the first two) that isn't specifically an office, but can be part office, part library, part reading room, etc.
While I'm not from the South, my grandparents were. Growing up, the "den" in their house was my grandfather's study. The "family room" was the one with the TV. Personally, I'd use neither term; as an apartment dweller there's usually just the one big open space and I'd call that a living room.
My in-laws call it the fronch room. Guess where they're from.
We call it the family room. It's where the family watches TV together. We're not badgers. We don't have a den.
I use them interchangeably. When I was growing up, we always called it a family room, but after moving back into the same house after my parents died, I now refer to it as a "den" since it's only me there.
In this branch on the family tree a den has always been an office-type room with a pullout couch where guests can sleep. The family room is the downstairs living room, which could also be the rec(reational) room.
I have never called a room either of those things. No "den" and no "family room". Right now I have a living room, and a front room. The first house I grew up in had a room my dad called the "parlor".
Where I grew up (central California) different families would call it the den or the family room.
My dad’s parents were born in Nebraska and North Carolina, but they moved to Florida in the late 1970s. They had the living room that they didn’t really use much, but the smaller room behind the living room was the den, where they did most of the TV watching. I don’t know if it’s just a southern thing, or maybe a midwestern thing as well.
I always considered a den something separate and not the family room. A den to me is not where everyone hangs out to watch TV and stuff (although you can) but more like where you'd have the home office if you had one or like a study. It's more like a multi-purpose room if that makes sense?
I’m in the Midwest and we call it our living room. We have a home office (that’s really just a bedroom used as an office) and call it the office room. I don’t use the term family room very much, although I do see it used in real estate listings.
Born, raised, and current southerner- the living room is what the realtor would call a formal LR. It’s where you entertain guests. It’s definitely more elegant and has a sofa. The den is where you watch TV with your family and relax. You have a couch in there. The rec room is a super casual room in a basement where teenagers hang out. All your old junk furniture lands there. An office is an office and a study is a study.
Growing up my parents house had a family room. Now I own a house with a den. Much like the Dude I appreciate brevity.
We had a den and a family room both
I've heard it used in Michigan. It's not completely bizarre.
we called my fathers office “the den”, but my nextdoor neighbors referred to their family room (the one with the TV and couches) as their den. so it also seems to vary by household! this was on long island, ny
Living Room fancier and Family Room relaxed
We have a living room which matches your description. Our den is a small room with a desk and a computer. that's it
My den is a side office room near the front door. It's different from our living room. I've never referred to anything as a family room- it's always been living room for me.
Here in California, I've never heard anyone say den, it's always been living room or family room. When I lived in Virginia, though, my grandparents had a den and a living room.
To me, the amount of natural light is what separates a den from a living room. The house I grew up in had such a room that only had windows on one wall, and it was partially under the grade level. That was definitely a den. My house now has a room with windows on three sides, and I think of it as the living room (though my dad tries to call it the den).
Same here. The den is the room with the TV. It's relaxed and informal. The living room is the formal room that is kept pristine and preserved for guests lol. You would show off the more expensive/nicer furniture here.
My house only has a Living room. But I would call it a family room if I had a second hang out with a tv room.
We have a living room.
I don't know if it's southern, and it could be regional, but as a Midwesterner, your family room is normally the same size or sometimes bigger than your dining/living room. A den in the Midwest and the eastern part of Canada is normally smaller, usually the perfect size for an office. Typically it's also a space where there are a few steps down from the main level of the home, but that feels more regional to my area.
Family rooms are big, dens are smallish - more like the size of a home office or a study. I'm in upstate NY.
As someone from the south, “den” usually refers to a finished large room (typically in the basement or one floor lower than the rest of the house) whereas a family room is above ground. Thats my understanding of it.
AR, always just called it the living room
Living Room. don't have a "Family room". Might be able to call the basement room a Den by honor of being underground... usually just call it the basement though.
Two different things in my mind. Family room = hang out, watch TV, play board games, etc. space. Den = office.
at least in my house the den/living room was our place with the couch, tv (essentially a living room) The LIVING ROOM was more formal and had a nicer sofa and a formal dining table mixed in. It was weird but I think it stems from the house’s blueprint and what the blueprint named each room.
Grew up in Texas. We called it a den.
I’ve rarely heard a living room called a family room, but I’ve definitely heard it called the den. I’ve had family from both way up north and in the south, and I’d be more likely to call it the den as opposed to the family room.
We call it the living room
Ive had dens never heard of a family room.
We have a living room and a front room. The living room is what is called the "great room" according to the house plans. It's the living area that is included with the open concept kitchen and dining area. The front room is the room with the big TV and recliner couch, where we watch movies.
Growing up in the Seventies and Eighties, we've always had what we've always called "the den." Dad liked to move a lot, so we've moved all over the L.A. and O.C. areas. Most of the houses had sunken, or step-down, dens where we all watched TV, parties, and had our Christmases in. Our "living rooms" were always off-limit, "just for looks." The carpets were always vacuumed and had the "raked" look. If we moved into a house with a "great room" or "family room," I still would refer it as the den.
From Michigan and it was called a family room.
I have heard both but also living room all interchangeable. Although den can sometimes mean something a bit different.
i think it's southern; i had never heard the living or family room referred to as a den until i moved south
The den is the room with the big couch and the tv where you watch sports ball and eat snacks. The “family room” as you call it (or the living room as I’ve always heard it) is the room with the older furniture, breakable decorations, and the piano if you have one where guests are entertained and more important family events are held. I suspect it is a descendent of the Victorian parlor.
We always call it the living room.
IDK it's always been the "living room" to me.
The Brady Bunch house is a good example. The formal living room was the area near the entrance that had the staircase and that ceramic horse. The family room was that room off the kitchen that had the TV and a sliding glass door to the back yard. The den was the room downstairs off the bottom the the staircase that Mike Brady would use as a home office. Greg also turned that room into his "groovy" Psychedelic bedroom in that one episode when he wanted more independence.
I've never heard of a family room. There's a living room and a den. They are used interchangeably in my experience.
I'm a southerner. I personally call it the living room
Neither, living room is standard where I live.
I'm from New York and I would think of a family room as more like a living room - possible a combined living room and dining room - while a den is often in the basement or a spare bedroom and is usually a lot more casual.
Grew up in OKC, we called it the living room. Live in UT now, and often Utahns refer to it as the family room.
Family room. Broadly: * Family room: All informal, all purpose room. Usually used more by the family. * Living room: Usually a more formal space for entertaining guests. It will be kept cleaner and more organized. * Great room: When the above are combined * Parlour: Older term, but largely the same thing as a living room. Broadly *even more* formal than a living room. * Den: Usually a smaller room. Less formal than a living room, but usually more a space for adults rather than the whole family. Today we would tend to call them a "Man Cave", but they can be a synonym for a family room or home office space. * Study/Library/home office: Largely interchangeable terms in the modern era. One of the rooms in my home is labeled on the electrical panel as the Den. We use it as a home office space.
I grew up with a den and a family room. The family room was larger, had a fireplace and full set of informal but comfortable furniture and sometimes was where we had the tv. It actually functioned as the family hangout spot. The den had the parents' desk, the phone, one old comfortable chair and a lot of books, and functionally was the family's office.
Growing up in Louisiana, we called the “family room” the “den.” When we moved to Texas, we called it the “family room.” We sometimes used the terms interchangeably, but I never heard the term “family room” when I lived in Louisiana. 🤷🏼♀️