Types of Houses

Types of Houses

I think you will agree that everybody needs a home. It should not be just a shelter protecting you from bad weather, but a place where you can feel safe and confident, a place where you can relax and recreate your energy.

Fortunately, there are many types and categories of accommodation to choose from.

Many people want to live in a detached house. It’s a private house which stands alone and is not joined to any other houses. The largest and the most expensive kind of detached houses is a mansion.It has a lot of space around it for a yard or a big garden. Most of mansions have many bedrooms and at least several bathrooms. And a separate dining room. Living in a mansion gives you a lot of advantages. Your neighbours do not disturb you, so you can always have much privacy. You can plant trees and arrange flowerbeds, you can make any possible renovations. However, the upkeep of such houses can be more than most people can afford as all the expanses and repairs are yours to pay.

Semi-detached houses (or just semis) are much cheaper. Such houses are built in pairs – one house is joined to the other along one side, while the other side is detached. The houses are identical, so they are like “twins” having a common wall. It goes without saying that one part is owned by one family and they also have separate gardens. Semi-detached houses can still give you enough privacy since you have only one neighbor. The disadvantage is that you cannot just plan some renovations without discussing it with the owner of your twin house.

Cottages are small period village houses. They have thick walls, small windows and low ceilings. Such dwellings usually come with one and a half storeys and the top floor is smaller than the ground floor. Bungalows are small modern detached houses. They usually have only one floor which makes them especially popular with senior citizens.

In Great Britain you can also find terraced houses. Four or more houses are joined together in a row. They are cheap, small and have very little privacy. They usually have no yard or garden and the front door opens onto the pavement.

The most common type of accommodation in Belarus is a block of flats. Such houses have many storeys (sometimes over twenty) and several flats on each floor. The flats can be of different sizes, but as a rule they need lots of repairs and have problems with noise.

One more type has recently appeared in the UK – so-called shoebox houses. They are so tiny that you can clean the house, wash the dishes and answer the door at the same time! They are certainly cheaper, yet living in cramped conditions can cause various health problems like different infections or even depression.

Besides, there are many unusual types of accommodation these days. It seems that many people want to stand out and live somewhere out of the ordinary. Some can build a brand-new castle. Others choose to inhabit a former underground water tank. And some even prefer a tree house six meters above the ground.

It goes without saying that some houses are older and some are newer. There are those who won’t give a period housea chance – because of low ceilings, bad electricity wiring and water supply or problems with central heating. However, others are crazy about the style and charm of an old house. As for modern houses, they definitely have all modern conveniences, but also lack character, are made of cheap materials and won’t stand the test of time.

As you can see, we all can find something according to our tastes. Although, in my opinion the most important thing is to make your place as homey and cozy as possible. If you feel happy coming home, every house becomes a dream.

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