4 Housing and Home

Location
= on the beach, at the sea, river, lake
= in a city, village
= in the woods, mountains
= on an island
= in the countryside
Facilities near the house / surroundings:
shops, shopping centre, offices, schools, post office, police station, bus/train station, banks,
cinema, theatre, museum, gallery, factory, church, gym, fitness centre, tennis court,
playgrounds, football stadium, skating rink…
Kinds of houses:
Detached houses, semi-detached houses, terraced houses, bungalows, villas, skyscrapers,
(block of) flats, cabins, huts, cottages, mansions…
Describing a house
= old, new, modern, ancient, medieval
= comfortable, spacey, small, tiny, big, large
= luxurious, expensive, cheap
= made of wood, concrete, stone, glass, iron, steel, brick, metal
= beautiful, nice, attractive, ugly, horrible
= bright, cosy, original, elegant
Facilities and rooms:
Kitchen, dining room, sitting/living room, bedroom, study, bathroom, toilet, guest room,
pantry, hall, cupboard, workshop, cellar, attic, garage, drive, garden, swimming pool,
barbecue, fitness, balcony, terrace, tennis court...
Furniture:
(double / single / bunk) bed, (dining / coffee / bedside) table, desk, shelves, wardrobe, chest of
drawers, furniture unit, cupboard, chairs, carpet, rug, curtains, armchairs, sofa, fireplace, bath,
basin…
Decorations:
Pictures, photos, posters, souvenirs, flowers and plants, toys, books, lamps, CDs, clocks,
mirrors, cushions…

Advantages and disadvantages of living in a house

+ you have a lot of space, everybody has his own room
+ you have a lot of facilities (garden, barbecue, swimming pool…)
+ it is more comfortable
+ you can keep pets and domestic animals
+ you have flowers, fresh fruit and vegetables from the garden
+ you can have parties and barbecues in the garden
+ it is usually in a peaceful area, near nature
- you have to go upstairs, downstairs
- you have a lot of cleaning and tiding
- you have to take care of the house and garden
- you always have to repair something
- it is more expensive than living in a flat
- it is usually outside the city centre
- there are fewer shops and services, cultural sports and educational facilities
Advantages and disadvantages of living in a flat
+ it is less expensive - you have less space, you have to share rooms
+ you have less tidying and cleaning - you can have noisy neighbours
+ it is closer to shops and other services - you have less privacy
+ it is close to cultural, sports facilities - it is usually in a busy city area

Home means:
= place where you live: city/village, house/flat
= people you live with: your parents, your siblings, your grandparents, later your wife /
husband and your children
= emotions you feel: you feel safe and relaxed, loved, comfortable
=activities you do: you help each-other, talk together, spend free time together, celebrate
holidays and birthdays, solve problems, argue, share duties...

Describing a house/flat: (place, surroundings, facilities, rooms, furniture, decorations)

I live in …………..……….. It is a small/large village/town near ……………………….

I live in a big/small/new/old house/flat. It is situated near …………………….
Other facilities near our house/flat are ………………………………
The house/flat has got ...............floors and …… rooms.
On the first/second floor there are (rooms)………………………………..….
Downstairs/Upstairs there are (rooms)…………………………………………..
In the kitchen there is a table, …….. chairs, a cupboard, a fridge, a freezer, a microwave oven,
cooker, a dishwasher. It is in …………… colour.
In the sitting/living room there is a sofa, …… armchairs, a furniture unit, a coffee table, and a
lot of decorations, for example ………………………………………………………………
On the floor there is a (colour)………….… carpet/tiled floor/parquets/floating floor.
In my room there is a bed, a wardrobe, a desk with a computer and radio…………………….
The carpet is ………….. and the walls are ………………….
On the windows I have got …………………… curtains/blades.
It has got a lot of decorations for example ………………………………………………….
I like/don´t like my room, because ………………………………………………………….
I would change …………………………. because …………………………………..