House and Home Vocabulary: Rooms, Furniture and Objects

Learn English house and home vocabulary, including rooms, furniture, appliances, household verbs and practice exercises with answers.

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Introduction to House and Home Vocabulary

House and home vocabulary is useful for everyday conversation, travel, renting, describing where you live and talking about daily routines.

You might need to describe:

  • the type of home you live in
  • the rooms in your home
  • furniture
  • household appliances
  • objects you use every day
  • chores and activities around the house

For example:

I live in a small flat with two bedrooms and a balcony.
There’s a sofa, a coffee table and a television in the living room.
We keep most of our food in the fridge and the kitchen cupboards.

This guide covers common rooms in a house vocabulary, furniture, appliances, household objects and useful verbs for talking about your home naturally.

Types of homes

English has several common words for different kinds of homes.

Types of homes vocabulary with simple meanings
Word / expression Meaning
1 house a building designed for one household
2 flat a home on one floor of a larger building
3 apartment the American English word commonly used for flat
4 detached house a house that is not joined to another house
5 semi-detached house a house joined to one other house
6 terraced house one house in a row of connected houses
7 cottage a small traditional house, often in the countryside
8 bungalow a house with only one main floor
9 studio flat a small flat with one main room
10 townhouse a tall, narrow house, often in a row
11 block of flats a building containing many flats
12 student accommodation housing provided for students

Examples:

They live in a semi-detached house in the suburbs.
I rented a studio flat when I first moved to the city.
My grandparents live in a small bungalow.

In British English, flat is more common than apartment, although both are widely understood.

Rooms in a house

The rooms in a home depend on its size and design.

Common examples include:

Rooms in a house and their main uses
Room Main use
1 living room relaxing, watching television and spending time together
2 kitchen preparing and cooking food
3 bedroom sleeping
4 bathroom washing and bathing
5 dining room eating meals
6 study working or studying
7 hallway connecting different rooms
8 utility room washing clothes and storing household equipment
9 spare room extra bedroom for guests or other uses
10 basement room or floor below ground level
11 attic space directly under the roof
12 garage storing a car, tools or other items

Examples:

We usually eat in the dining room.
I work from home, so I use the spare bedroom as a study.
Most of our storage is in the garage.

Living room or lounge?

In British English, living room and lounge are both common.

We were sitting in the living room.
Let’s watch the film in the lounge.

Sitting room is also used, although it can sound slightly more traditional.

When describing where furniture and household objects are positioned, it also helps to understand prepositions of place such as in, on and at.

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Furniture vocabulary

Furniture refers to larger movable objects used in a room.

Common furniture vocabulary includes:

Furniture vocabulary and typical locations in the home
Furniture Typical location
1 sofa living room
2 armchair living room
3 coffee table living room
4 dining table dining room or kitchen
5 chair many rooms
6 desk study or bedroom
7 bookshelf living room, study or bedroom
8 wardrobe bedroom
9 chest of drawers bedroom
10 bedside table bedroom
11 bed bedroom
12 cupboard kitchen or storage area
13 cabinet kitchen, bathroom or living room
14 stool kitchen or bar area

Examples:

There’s a large sofa opposite the television.
I keep my clothes in the wardrobe.
She has a small desk in the corner of her bedroom.

Remember that furniture is uncountable.

Correct:

We bought some new furniture.

Incorrect:

We bought some new furnitures.

To count individual pieces, say:

three pieces of furniture

Household objects and appliances

Household objects are the smaller items we use around the home. Appliances are electrical machines designed for particular tasks.

Kitchen appliances

fridge
freezer
oven
cooker
microwave
kettle
toaster
dishwasher
coffee machine

Examples:

Put the milk back in the fridge.
I heated the food in the microwave.
The plates are still in the dishwasher.

Cleaning and laundry

washing machine
tumble dryer
vacuum cleaner
mop
broom
bucket
iron
ironing board

Examples:

I need to put these clothes in the washing machine.
We usually vacuum the floor once a week.

Bathroom items

shower
bath
sink
toilet
mirror
towel
toothbrush
hairdryer

Examples:

There’s a large mirror above the sink.
I left my towel in the bathroom.

Other household objects

lamp
curtains
blinds
rug
cushion
clock
bin
shelf
plug
socket
remote control
light switch

Examples:

Can you put this in the bin?
The remote control is on the sofa.
There’s a rug under the coffee table.

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Useful verbs for the home

Learning verbs together with household nouns makes the vocabulary much easier to use.

Cleaning

clean the kitchen
vacuum the floor
sweep the floor
mop the floor
dust the shelves
wipe the table

Laundry

do the washing
do the laundry
hang out the washing
fold clothes
iron a shirt

Cooking

cook dinner
prepare a meal
boil water
bake a cake
wash the dishes
load the dishwasher
empty the dishwasher

General household activities

make the bed
tidy the room
take out the rubbish
put something away
turn on the heating
turn off the lights
lock the door
open the curtains
close the blinds

Examples:

I usually make the bed before I leave for work.
Can you take out the rubbish?
I need to tidy the living room before our guests arrive.

In British English, do the washing or do the laundry both refer to washing clothes. Many of these household activities also form part of your everyday routine, so you can continue with our Daily Routine Vocabulary.

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Describing your home

A simple description can follow this structure:

type of home → location → size → rooms → favourite feature

For example:

I live in a two-bedroom flat near the city centre. It’s fairly small, but it has a bright living room, a separate kitchen and a small balcony. My favourite part is probably the balcony because I can sit outside when the weather is nice.

Useful adjectives include:

  • spacious
  • small
  • cosy
  • modern
  • traditional
  • bright
  • dark
  • quiet
  • noisy
  • comfortable
  • tidy
  • messy
  • well-equipped
  • newly renovated

Examples:

The kitchen is quite spacious.
Our flat is small but very cosy.
The bathroom was recently renovated.
The apartment is well-equipped with modern appliances.

If you are preparing for IELTS, practise putting this language into complete answers with our IELTS Speaking Part 1 Home and Accommodation questions.

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Common British and American differences

Some house vocabulary changes between British and American English.

British and American English house and home vocabulary
British English American English
1 flat apartment
2 lift elevator
3 ground floor first floor
4 first floor second floor
5 garden yard
6 cooker stove
7 tap faucet
8 rubbish trash / garbage
9 bin trash can
10 wardrobe closet
11 washing-up liquid dish soap
12 estate agent real estate agent

The floor numbering difference is especially important.

In British English:

ground floor → first floor → second floor

In American English:

first floor → second floor → third floor

So a British first-floor flat may be one level above the ground, while an American first-floor apartment is normally at ground level.

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Exercises and answers

Exercise 1: Choose the correct word

  1. You normally keep clothes in a __________.
    • wardrobe
    • oven
    • sink
  2. You cook food in an __________.
    • armchair
    • oven
    • wardrobe
  3. A room used mainly for sleeping is a __________.
    • bedroom
    • hallway
    • garage
  4. You can sit on a __________ in the living room.
    • sofa
    • fridge
    • cupboard
  5. A machine used to clean clothes is a __________.
    • dishwasher
    • washing machine
    • kettle
  6. A space under the roof is called an __________.
    • attic
    • basement
    • driveway

Exercise 2: Complete the collocations

Use: make, take, vacuum, wash, turn off, tidy

  1. __________ the bed
  2. __________ the dishes
  3. __________ the floor
  4. __________ the rubbish out
  5. __________ the lights
  6. __________ the living room

Exercise 3: British or American English?

Complete the British English word.

  1. apartment → __________
  2. elevator → __________
  3. faucet → __________
  4. trash can → __________
  5. closet → __________
  6. yard → __________

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Answers

Exercise 1

  1. wardrobe
  2. oven
  3. bedroom
  4. sofa
  5. washing machine
  6. attic

Exercise 2

  1. make the bed
  2. wash the dishes
  3. vacuum the floor
  4. take the rubbish out
  5. turn off the lights
  6. tidy the living room

Exercise 3

  1. flat
  2. lift
  3. tap
  4. bin
  5. wardrobe
  6. garden

When learning house and home vocabulary, do not memorise nouns separately. Learn useful combinations such as sit on the sofa, put clothes in the wardrobe, load the dishwasher, tidy the bedroom and take out the rubbish. This will make the vocabulary much easier to use naturally in conversation.

More Home and Everyday English

  • Daily Routine Vocabulary
  • IELTS Speaking Part 1: Home and Accommodation
  • Prepositions of Place: In, On and At

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