We just built our first custom home and somewhere during the decision between great rooms and living rooms, hearth rooms and family rooms, bonus rooms and bedrooms, I wondered, what happened to the traditional den?

I mean, when I grew up we had a 3 bedroom house with a formal living room, a family room, and  a den.  Our den was the coolest because we played games in there, watched TV in there, did puzzles in there and even ate dinner on TV trays in there. 

But what exactly is a den?  According to dictionary.com a den is "a room, often secluded, in a house or apartment, designed to provide a quiet, comfortable, and informal atmosphere for conversation, reading, writing, etc."  So, that leaves us with the question, do homes even have dens anymore?  Do families still use them or have they just been assigned new names like "media room" or "sitting room"?  I really don’t know.

If you know where all the good dens have gone please leave us your comments.  We would love to hear from you.  Do you have a designated "den" in your home and if so how and when do you use it?  Was it there when you moved in or did you design it yourself?  Send us a picture and we’ll post it in our blog.  It’s time to bring the dens out of hiding and into the 21st century!