A bonus room, flex room, multiuse room or spare room (though the latter often means an extra bedroom) is a room created by remodeling or adding an addition that does not meet local building code definitions for traditional rooms, or is designed for multiple possible uses. For example, codes will typically require that a bedroom have a window and a certain number of electrical outlets. Such a room might actually be intended for sleeping, but will be described as a "bonus room" in rental and sales listings.
Etymology
The term ''bonus room'' is mainly used in the United States. One early use is from ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' in 1991, which wrote that "A recent solution to the problem of noisy teen-agers is the enticingly titled bonus room, which is a spare room on the bedroom floor that can be used as a den, television room or guest room."
The Bonus Room: A “Hot Button” in Architectural Design
Rexy Legaspi. 8 October 2015
References
Rooms
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