House
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
![Adspectus Incauti Dispendium (1601), woodblock title page from the Veridicus Christianus](/images/thumb/200px-From_the_Waking_Dream_book.jpg)
"The house is a machine for living in" --Le Corbusier in Vers une architecture (1923) "…if I were asked to name the chief benefit of the house, I should say: the house shelters daydreaming, the house protects the dreamer, the house allows one to dream in peace."--The Poetics of Space (1958) by Gaston Bachelard "Not everyone understands house music; it's a spiritual thing, a body thing, a soul thing..."--"House Music" (1997) Eddie Amador |
![Theatrum Orbi engraving by Theodor de Bry from the chapter on ars memoriae in Utriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica by Robert Fludd](/images/thumb/200px-Theatre_from_Ars_Memoriae_by_Robert_Fludd.jpg)
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While a house is often referred to as a home, the concept of "home" is broader than a physical dwelling. Home is often a place of refuge and safety, where worldly cares fade and the things and people that one loves becomes the focus. Many people think of home in terms of where they grew up, or a time rather than a place. The word "home" is also used for various residential institutions which aspire to create a home-like atmosphere, such as a retirement home, a nursing home, a 'group home' (an orphanage for children, a retirement home for adults, a treatment facility, ect.), a foster home, etc.
There exist cultures lacking permanent homes, with nomadic people often moving their homes from place to place.
Parts
Many houses have several rooms with specialized functions. These may include a living/eating area, a sleeping area, and (if suitable facilities and services exist) washing and lavatory areas. In traditional agriculture-oriented societies, domestic animals such as chickens or larger livestock (like cattle) often share part of the house with human beings. Most conventional modern houses will at least contain a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen (or kitchen area), and a living room. A typical "foursquare house" (as pictured) occurred commonly in the early history of the United States of America, with a staircase in the centre of the house, surrounded by four rooms, and connected to other sections of the house (including in more recent eras a garage).
The names of parts of a house often echo the names of parts of other buildings, but could typically include:
- bedroom (or nursery, for infants or small children)
- conservatory
- dining room
- family room
- Fireplace (for warmth during winter; generally not found in warmer climates)
- foyer
- front room (in various senses of the phrase)
- garage
- hallway/passage
- hearth - often an important symbolic focus of family togetherness
- kitchen
- larder
- laundry room
- library
- living room or den
- lounge
- nook
- office or study
- pantry
- parlour
- recreation room / rumpus room / television room
- shrines to serve the religious functions associated with a family
- stairwell
- sunroom
- storage room / box room
- workshop
See also
- Architecture
- Domotics, home automation and domestic robots.
- House music
- Lodging
- Mobile home
- Prefabrication
- Squat
- Trailer
- Vernacular architecture