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 will include some slang words as well, where appropriate.

You may hear them mentioned but not know to which rooms they refer.

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

A list of the names of rooms in a house

Foyer – (pronounced ‘foy-ay’ or /ˈfɔɪeɪ/).

It's a space where you welcome guests.

It's also an entrance hall, found usually in hotels. And also known as a lobby. But you'll find them in large houses or apartments.

Also less known as a vestibule or anteroom; foyer or lobby are preferable terms.

Kitchen – where you cook foods.

Pantry – a room where you keep food that does not need refrigeration.

Bathroom – where you bathe, shower, or wash your hands etc.

Toilet – in the US, this room is also called a washroom or bathroom.

Slang words include: dunny, loo, WC (for wet closet), or 'the bog'.

 (“Where’s your loo?” “Where’s your dunny?” refer to asking for the toilet in Australia).

Laundry - a room where you wash clothes. Equipment would include a washing machine, wash tubs, 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 nursery is a very young child’s room for sleeping or playing.

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 you store clothes. They are larger than freestanding wardrobes or closets for clothes and shoes etc.

Office/home office – a room where you might operate your business 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 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 people gather, to talk, watch TV, or relax on sofas or comfortable chairs. Also called a lounge room because people ‘lounge’ there. Or a 'family room'.

Games room – a room that contains indoor sporting equipment.

Here, you might find a pool table, a ping pong/table tennis table, dart board, or quoits board. Or 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 living room and dining room are combined.

Include the kitchen and it's 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 used to store wine. The cellar is often below ground level.

Basement – An American term for a room situated on a lower level. Most people use them for storage of equipment. Some people convert them into bedrooms.

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

Garage – a room to store vehicles. A garage may be part of the house or separate.

A car port is a simple covered area for car storage.

Not a room, but part of a house (less so an apartment) is a back or a front garden.

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

There may also 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

a bird aviary might also be here. Or a dog kennel.

A term that is come into usage recently is the ‘man cave’.

This is a place where a man has his hobbies, or interests – a place of retreat from women.

Mud room – a small room where you store dirty boots or shoes to avoid bringing mud into the house.

Conclusion

I hope you have found this article informative. And that 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.

Further Reading

The names of rooms in a house fall under the general topic of 'places' - and you can learn the vocabulary for that topic here.

As well, to remind you of the importance of always trying to expand your English vocabulary, in this article I explain how you might do that.

© Apex English Tutoring Dec 2020 - Updated January 2024

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My name is Michael Finemore and I am the owner-operator of Apex English Tutoring.

As an experienced English Teacher, I'm passionate about helping people turn their 'poor' English into great English, with easy and effective ways to practice.

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