Growing Your Vocabulary: Rooms in a House

The living room is one of a number of rooms in a house or apartment.

Introduction - Growing your English vocabulary

In this article, I will name the rooms found in the typical house or apartment.

Many of these I am sure you will be familiar with but there may be some that you are not.

I shall include some slang words as well, where appropriate, because you may hear them mentioned but not know to which rooms they refer.

So, here is a list - in no order of importance.

Foyer – (pronounced ‘foy-ay’ or /ˈfɔɪeɪ/) a space where guests are welcomed, an entrance hall, found usually in hotels – also known as a lobby - but increasingly in large houses or apartments. Also less known as a vestibule or anteroom; foyer or lobby are preferable terms.

Kitchen – where cooking is done.

Pantry – a room where food is kept that does not require refrigeration.

Bathroom – where bathing, showering, or washing hands etc. is done.

Toilet – in the US, this room is also called a washroom or bathroom. Slang words include: dunny, loo, WC (for wet closet), the bog, (“Where’s your loo?” “Where’s your dunny?” refer to asking for the toilet in Australia).

Laundry - a room where clothes are washed. Equipment would include a washing machine and/or a drier.

Hall – or hallway – a space that flows often through the centre of a house with rooms branching off left and right.

Bedroom – a room for sleeping. Also, master bedroom (usually the parents’ bedroom). Spare bedroom, or guest bedroom are extra rooms. A sleepout is a bedroom developed from a veranda space in Australia. A small child’s room for sleeping is called a nursery.

Ensuite – (pronounced ‘on-sweet’) a room attached to a bedroom for bathing or showering.

Walk-in robe – a space often attached to a bedroom where clothes are stored. Larger than a freestanding wardrobe or closet for clothes and shoes etc.

Office/home office – a room where a business may be operated from, or where someone may work from home via computer, with equipment such as a printer installed. There may be a desk and a swivel chair.

Veranda – a space that is neither inside nor outside – a combination of both. Verandas may be at the front, the sides or at the back of a house. They may be open or closed.

Sunroom – a room that is located to take advantage of the sun’s warmth in winter.

Patio (pronounced 'patty-oh', sometimes 'pay-she-oh') or porch – like a veranda but smaller.

Deck – like a patio or porch or veranda, often made of slatted timber flooring – for relaxing or entertaining. May be a front or back deck.

Living room – a room where occupants or visitors gather – to talk, watch TV, or relax on sofas or comfortable chairs. Also called a lounge room because people ‘lounge’ there.

Games room – a room that contains indoor sporting equipment – such as a pool table, a ping pong/table tennis table, dart board, or quoits board, perhaps even computer game equipment.

Gym (gymnasium) – a home gym – a place for exercise.

Dining room – a room in which people dine or eat together. Sometimes the lounge/living room is combined with the dining room, and even the kitchen area in an ‘open plan’ style of house.

Nook – often attached to the kitchen/dining room – a small space for one or two people.

Cellar – a room that is used to store wine.

Basement – more of an American term for a room that is situated on a lower level. It could be converted into a bedroom or used for storage of equipment.

Attic – a room located in the ceiling space of a house. Could be a bedroom but also for storage of non-essential items.

Garden shed – a storage space outside that is used to store garden tools and equipment, such as a lawn mower.

Garage – a room to store vehicles. A garage may be part of the house or separate. A simple covered area for car storage is called a car port.

Not strictly a room, but part of a house (less so an apartment) is a back or a front garden. There may be a barbecue area (for outdoor cooking), a pizza oven, a gazebo, a swimming pool or hot tub, a vegetable garden/patch or flowers and trees/shrubs. A fishpond, a fountain, or a bird aviary might also be found here. Or a dog kennel.

A term that is come into usage recently is the ‘man cave’ – a place where a man has his hobbies, or interests – a place of retreat from women.

Mud room – a small room where dirty boots or shoes can be stored to avoid bringing mud into the house.

Conclusion

I hope you have found this article informative and it has helped you with growing your English vocabulary. As I said, many of the rooms will be familiar to you, but I hope some have been pleasant surprises.

Finally, if you enjoyed this article, please share it on your socials with your friends. It's easy: just copy the URL and post.

(c) Apex English Tutoring Dec 2020 - Updated Nov 2023

Michael

About the Author

Michael Finemore, MA (Research) CQU, TEFL/TESOL Certificate, an experienced English Teacher, is the Owner-Operator of Apex English Tutoring.