Television placement has emerged as one of the most challenging design problems facing American homeowners today, according to interior design professionals who are increasingly advocating for the return of dedicated TV rooms, or "dens," as a solution to the ongoing struggle of integrating large screens into open-concept living spaces.
Claire Keane, a New Jersey-based interior designer and co-founder of design consultancy House Friends, explains that clients routinely ask her to design their homes around televisions rather than other focal points. "What to do with the TV is among the most challenging design problems in today's American home," Keane writes in a recent opinion piece. The problem has been compounded by two major trends in American housing: the dramatic increase in home sizes and the popularity of open floor plans.
Between 1973 and 2015, Americans added approximately 1,000 square feet to their homes on average while simultaneously embracing open floor plans that eliminated walls separating kitchens, dining rooms, and living rooms. This combination has created a perfect storm for TV placement issues, as fewer walls mean fewer corners and mounting locations, while larger rooms demand bigger televisions to maintain proper viewing experiences.
The most common solution in open floor plans involves mounting televisions above fireplaces, but this approach creates significant problems. "Clients often don't like this solution because they don't want the TV to be the focal point or detract from the character a fireplace offers," Keane explains. The placement typically results in uncomfortable viewing angles that require special mounts and brackets to angle screens downward, creating what she describes as "a screen looming overhead."
The fundamental issue stems from the impossibility of successfully arranging furniture to orient toward two different focal points in the same room. When homeowners try to accommodate both a fireplace and a television in the same space, the result is often a compromised design that satisfies neither function effectively.
Keane and other designers are responding to client frustration by reviving the concept of dens, also known as "snugs" in the United Kingdom. These dedicated spaces offer a retreat from multi-purpose open-plan rooms and provide an ideal environment for television viewing, reading, or playing games. "It's a retreat within your home, a space designated for a break, rather than yet another multi-purpose open-plan room," Keane notes.
Jourdan Fairchild, an interior designer based in North Carolina, believes the trend represents a reaction to broader social pressures. "We are all craving cozier spaces, actual rooms, and a cocoon in a crazy world," Fairchild recently told Keane. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified this desire as people focused their creative energy on making their homes more livable and functional.
Beyond addressing TV placement issues, dens serve a social function by removing distracting screens from spaces meant for interaction. Keane's experience shows that social spaces not dominated by televisions encourage more conversation and connection among family members and guests. Fairchild reports that her clients specifically request "spaces where the TV is tucked away in darker, cozier, more intimate settings."
The den concept doesn't require a purpose-built room. Keane encourages clients to think creatively about existing spaces and break free from traditional room designations. Her business partner, Linny Giffin, experimented by switching the contents of her living and dining rooms, placing the dining table in the bright, open living area and moving the sofa and TV to the smaller, darker former dining room. The arrangement proved so successful that both rooms now see increased use.
Fairchild is implementing similar creative solutions in her own home, planning to move her kitchen into her current large, light-filled family room while converting the small, dark kitchen into a snug with a sectional sofa and small wall-mounted TV. This arrangement will allow children to watch movies in the snug while adults gather in the kitchen when entertaining guests.
For homeowners interested in creating a TV-focused den, Keane suggests choosing rooms that lack natural light and embracing the contrast a dark environment provides. She recommends rich wall colors and comfortable, layered furniture, with a preference for second-hand pieces that offer more character and quality within typical budgets. When purchasing new furniture like sectional sofas, she advises looking for natural upholstery and paying attention to manufacturing locations.
The designer encourages homeowners to experiment with removing televisions from their main living spaces to observe how the change affects daily routines and social interactions. Alternative spaces for TV viewing might include dining rooms, basements, or home offices, depending on the household's specific needs and layout.
By separating television viewing from communal spaces, families can create environments that encourage socialization while maintaining dedicated areas for entertainment and relaxation. "When we break free of the TV as the centerpiece, we get to have more fun designing communal spaces that encourage socialization, as well as the den we want to retreat to at the end of a long day," Keane concludes.
