Basement or Bonus Room

Growing up in Los Angeles, in a magnificent expanse of concrete, plastic, and steel, living in a particularly wealthy area, I never really experienced the magic of going over to a friend's basement or alternatively, an attic. My grandmother had a storage area we referred to as an attic, because of it's attic-like shape, but you didn't have to climb a special staircase to get there. I've never known of anyone having a basement either, although I suppose it's possible this resulted in me having only played Dungeons and Dragons once, in someone..s cold garage(and never being asked back(frowny face?)).

Instead, most of my friends had what was often referred to as a "bonus room." The Bonus Room came in two forms, an enormous family room on the second floor(usually containing a bar that was never used because we were always sneaking liquor out of the downstairs bar), or an extra bedroom that was generally extremely large for a second bedroom, thusly becoming "The Bonus Room."

I would love to hypothesize as to the differences in growing up without a basement versus with one, but again, because I never knew anyone that had a basement I can't think of anyone that exceptionally affected either way. Besides, the bonus room was really for kids, almost 100%. My memories don't recall any bonus room that wasn't dominated by a Sega Genesis, a box of GI Joes or My Little Ponies, or six tubs of Lincoln Logs. It was only when we got older that I started seeing grownups partake in the antics of the Bonus Room.

Keep in mind, I never had a Bonus Room, though many of my friends did. At our house we had a living room, a family room, and a den. However, my memory is a bit fuzzy, there was a recent argument about the validity of said Den. It could be an extension of the family room or an office. I claim that it is a den because that..s where my Dad still spends a lot of his time, at his desk or at his keyboard practicing- it..s really my Dad's room/office, which to me is a den.

I suppose I would like a basement someday to experience that feeling of going underground to hang out and listen to records and play Magic: The Gathering. But I'd just as much enjoy a Bonus Room, Library, Study, Den, or BackHouse.