Welcome back to Room Reno #70 here at The Sims Resource! Today we’re helping a Sim who wants to turn a spare room in his home into the ultimate den and office space for both work and family time! Let’s meet the Sim we’re helping!
Meet the Navarros!
The Navarros are a family of four who have been living in Brindleton Bay for a few months now and are mostly settled in to their new home–except for the spare room. Right now it’s literally empty other than a few random bins and shelves, and that just won’t do. Since Jeffrey, the dad of the family, often works from home, it makes sense for him to have an office space there. But he also wants it to be a cozy spot for his kids and wife to enjoy as well, so the room is going to be a dual purpose space: an office and a den.
Just what is a den? I feel like it’s a very 1990’s term overall, so I went to Google to make sure my idea of the space wasn’t complere people can pursue activities in private”. This sounds pretty much like a hobby room, though whenever I imagine dens I always picture them as being second living rooms, especially in homes with multiple living rooms. Have you ever been to a house like that? There’s a fancy living room for guests and then a cozy living room for actual living in, and they always call that one a ‘den’ or a ‘family room’. Super weird when you think about it for any amount of time. Pretty strange that we call rooms ‘living rooms’ in general, actually, since we live in every room of our homes. But I digress, let’s see what we’re working with!
The Before
As I explained above, this room is pretty bare and boring overall, used for moving crates that haven’t been unpacked yet and pretty much nothing else. That means that we have a lot to work with, though! The room is huge for a spare room and has a couple different areas that can make the layout interesting. I think a desk by the big windows and a sitting area for the family over by the big door makes the most sense, but there’s definitely wiggle room there. Overall, I think there’s a lot of potential in this space, especially with all the natural light.
Since it’s November at the time I’m posting this, I cannot emphasize the importance of sunlight any harder. Please go outside and get some sun. Or at least open your blinds a few hours a day. Even the most seasoned of indoor people (me) needs a little bit of sun this time of year, or else you’re in for a world of the Winter Sads (TM). So make use of your spaces with great natural lighting and soak up a little vitamin D, even if you’re chained to your desk for a lot of the day. 100% worth it, I promise you. Jeffrey will be getting sun at his desk, too! You’ll find out more about that in the planning section.
The Planning
Planning here was really easy, probably because this is a small space and I’ve also just been doing this whole renovation thing for a while now–almost two years (gasp!). I want the desk by the windows for all the reasons I described in the earlier section–having some sunlight while you work will save you from being too weak and pale when the spring comes. Also, it’s just nice and warm when the days get chilly. The sitting area is by the french doors to the patio, so when things get warmer they can be left open for a nice breeze to come into the room and really air it out. Plus, Jeffrey can stretch his legs on the balcony and look out into the Brindleton Bay wilderness, which has gotta be a pretty good view (ngl I did not check because I wasn’t playing the family for all that long).
L shaped rooms can pose some challenges when it comes to the entryways, because you don’t want to block the door but you also don’t want there to be an entire big empty space by it either. I put the chairs facing the desk at an angle to help with this, and also made the wall immediately next to the door into a gallery wall so that it still holds visual interest while being walkable for anyone trying to enter.
The After
I’m really happy with how this build turned out, but I think I would change some aspects of it while I look over the final pictures again. My main gripe is the wall color–I know I tried a few different ones before settling on the original gray, but I think I should have looked harder for something that really suited the darker tones of the space more, or even gone for something warmer toned to compliment all the cherry woods I chose for the furniture. Not a huge qualm, just something I noticed as I was looking over the images again. A good learning lesson for the future!
There’s a lot I did like about this room, though! I really love how the sitting/TV area turned out, even if there wasn’t a ton of space to make the area super customized or artistically decorated. I still got to add some clutter, which is really my main objective when it comes to most of these builds. I also love the desk clutter, which I think just makes the space look like Jeffrey is really using it for his work instead of a sterile Sims room.
Thanks for checking out this edition of Room Reno #70! If you liked this blog, check out Room Reno #68: Danish Pastel Kitchen or our Gilmore Girls inspired lookbook. Looking for something else? Read about my thoughts on the Pastel Pop Kit or about the latest game updates! Have a great day 😎
