Single-family home

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A Northern European single-family home in Germany.

A single-family home or detached house (see below) is a free-standing residential building, generally found in less dense urban areas, the suburbs of cities, the exurban region, and rural areas. Most single-family homes are built on lots larger than the structure itself, adding an area surrounding the house, which is commonly called a yard in American English or a garden in British English. Garages can also be found on most lots. In older homes, they are typically detached, standing as a separate building, either near a driveway or facing an alley in urban areas. Newer homes in North America favor attached garages, often facing the street, as most recent developments do not include alleys.

Literally only members of a single family live in this type of house, yet in the wider sense it refers to a single party of people. The counterparts to single-family homes are apartment complexes, condominiums, duplexes, semi-detached houses, or townhomes/terrace houses, where several families live in the same structure.

There are advantages and disadvantages to single family homes. Advantages are that the entire space around the building is private to the owner and family, in most cases (depending on federal, state/provincial and local laws) you can add on to the existing house if more room is needed and there are generally no property management fees such as the ones associated with condominiums and townhomes.

There are also many disadvantages to owning a single-family detached home. All maintenance and repair costs—-interior, exterior and everything in between-—are at the owner's expense. There is often a lack of amenities such as pools and playgrounds (although some single-family homes do have these features within the lot or nearby, their owners are commonly required to pay a homeowners fee as those in condos or townhomes). Landscaping and lawn upkeep costs are at the owner's expense.

Large, inner city neighborhoods are so densely populated that there is generally not room for houses devoted to just a single family. Yet the outer districts of larger cities are usually transitional areas with equal shares of smaller apartment buildings and single-family homes. Among the wealthy industrialized nations, single family homes are most common in the United States, Canada, Australia, Northern Europe and New Zealand.

1 Inside: rooms
2 Terminology
3 Separating types of homes
4 Galleries
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Inside: rooms

A sample floorplan of a single-family home

A single family house in Western culture usually has at least the following rooms:

Living room (formerly, Parlor): Most of the time the largest room of the house where the owners spend time relaxing or entertaining guests.
Kitchen: Food preparation is done here. Some homes feature eat-in kitchens where the family has their meals in the same room as the food is prepared in.
Bedroom: Any type of house features at least one bedroom providing a space to sleep.
Bathroom: The room where grooming is taken care of, a bathroom features a toilet and sink, and (except for so-called half-baths) a shower and/or a bathtub.

Furthermore, most average houses feature some or many of these rooms:

Front room: The room that you first step into upon entering a house; for bigger homes this room is commonly called a hall, foyer, vestibule, or entry hall; for small houses on the other hand it may be titled hallway; in more simple places this is the room where outer garments are kept as are shoes.
Dining room: When more space is available, the food is eaten in a room separate from the kitchen, the dining room; sometimes the room may be referred to as a formal dining room to highlight the fact that casual everyday meals are commonly eaten in the kitchen, a breakfast nook, or a family room.
Family room: Most often the casual living room that is set apart from the living room by its use, this room is less formal and thus children's toys may be kept out and most often this is the spot for any multimedia entertainment equipment. It is designed to support the need for relaxation and ease of the owner as compared to the following room.
Formal living room: the formal room of the house used for representative purposes such as picture taking and entertaining guests.
Storage room: Bulky goods such as suitcases are stored here; sometimes this is the spot for the washer and dryer in case the following room is not a part of the house.
Laundry room: The big appliances are situated in this space as may be a storage of linens or cleaning supplies.
Study: For self-employed workers and home-workers this may also be called home-office and features the office furnishings one needs for work, such as desks, computers, telecommunication devices and peripherals.

The following rooms can be found in more spacious or luxurious homes:

Library: A more imposing study, usually featuring a great selection of books, artwork and trophies.
Wine cellar: In case the owner is interested in wine, a special room can be added to the house where wine is kept in the dark and at the right temperature.
Studio: For artists and art-lovers this room is used as a creative space.
Game room: For games like pool/billiards, table tennis, or darts; it may feature a bar.

[edit] Terminology

Canada and United States: single-family home
United Kingdom: detached house
New Zealand: separate house

In the United Kingdom the term single-family home is sparsely used. What is referred to as single-family home in the U.S. and Canada is rather called detached house. While in the U.S. housing is commonly divided into "single-family homes", "multi-family homes", and "Condo/Townhouse" etc., the countries of the United Kingdom focus merely on "houses" (including "detached", "semi-detached" and "terraced") versus "flats" (i.e. "apartments" or "condominiums" in American English).

[edit] Separating types of homes

House types include:

Cottage, a small house, with a typical floor plan of four main rooms, two either side of a central corridor. It is common to find a lean-to added to the back of the cottage which may accommodate the kitchen, laundry and bathroom. In Australia, it is common for a cottage to have a verandah across its front.
Bungalow, describes a medium to large sized freestanding house on a generous block in the suburbs, with generally less formal floor plan than a villa. Some rooms in a bungalow typically have doors which link them together. Bungalows may feature a flat roof.
Villa, a term originating from Roman times, when it was used to refer to a large house which one might retreat to in the country. Today villa tends to suggest a freestanding comfortable sized house, on a large block, generally found in the suburbs. A villa house will typically have an asymmetrical floor plan, where rooms open on to a central corridor.
Mansion, a very large house, usually of more than one story, on a very large block of land or estate.

[edit] Galleries

Common Single-family homes in the United States and Canada

Small North American single-family home	Smaller midsize North American single-family home	Midsize North American single-family home	Large North American two-story single-family home
Midsize North American two-story single-family home	Very large North American two-story single-family home as found in Milton, Ontario	Big North American two-story single-family home	A large suburban home, valued at roughly 1 million dollars in Salinas, California

Homes around the world

River house on the River Kwai in Thailand	Traditional plastered home in Germany	Wattle and daub mud house in Cameroon	Traditional thatched house in Cameroon
Portuguese house of uncut stones	Traditional Japanese home