An Architect's Guide to Every Room in a Modern South African Home

These are the kind of rooms that are most frequently found in homes. Discover the features that will turn a house into your dream home by learning about each sort of room. Let's start with the first rooms you see when you enter a house to make this list as simple to understand as possible.

Foyer/Entrance Hall

Some people don't think entryways are among the most important spaces in a house. Why wouldn't they be? They are the first rooms you enter a house to view! You should also be very careful with what you put in the foyer because it serves as a direct link between the outer world and your private sanctuary. When you open the front door, you can hang your outerwear in the entry hall or entryway. Additionally, it's where visitors enter your house. It must have ample room to welcome guests.

Kitchen

The kitchen is unquestionably a significant room and a crucial component of the house. It may be the first room you enter after leaving the foyer or it may be found towards the back of the house. Most of the time, it faces the yard, if there is one. The latter arrangement permits the family to eat outside on the back porch instead of in the kitchen.

Typically, kitchens are arranged in one of six main ways. There are one or more sinks built into the counters, as well as a dishwasher and an oven concealed below. Appliances like a washing machine or dishwasher can be loaded by placing them on top of cabinets if you are unwilling or unable to bend to do so. It's essentially only one room, or two rooms if you have an adjacent utility or pantry room.

A variety of dishware is kept in the remaining cabinets and hanging items. To increase storage and prep space, if the area is large enough, an island could be built. Additionally, this piece might serve as a casual dining area.

Scullery

A scullery is a room in a home that is typically used as an extra kitchen or for dishwashing and clothing cleaning. Cleaning dishes and cooking utensils (or storing them), doing occasional kitchen work, ironing, bringing water to a boil for bathing or cooking, and soaking and washing garments are all tasks carried out in the scullery. Hot and cold sinks, occasionally slop sinks, drainpipes, storage shelves, plate racks, a worktable, various coppers for boiling water, tubs, and buckets are all common features in sculleries.

Pantry

If you've accumulated more kitchenware, spices, and cleaning supplies than you should have over the years, you should store them all. Thankfully, the pantry is designed just for that purpose.

These rooms typically have a wide variety of items, organized on shelves and in different containers. However, they serve mostly as storage spaces for items that don't fit in the kitchen. You'll store all your spices, excessively large ovenware, pickled foods, and preserves there.

You might be able to get away with putting a freezer there as well if your pantry is big enough. That's regrettably not always the case. A pantry may even be reduced to a kitchen cupboard in smaller dwellings. You'll simply have to work with what you have!

Family Room/ Sitting Room

The family room is a less formal version of the living room. The sitting room, which is another name for this space, is often smaller than the main living room and may be on the second or even the basement floor. If the furniture in the living room or Parlour is coordinated, the sitting room will have mismatched chairs, beanbags, and trinkets gathered over the years by different family members.

Like the main living room, the family room can accommodate some of the other rooms on this list. It may be readily converted into whatever the family wants: a game room, a home theatre, a music room, an entertainment room, etc. The sitting room also has a lot more character than the other common areas of the house, which are mostly used for practical purposes.

Dining Room

The place where formal or special family dinners are held is the dining room. Typically, it is a large, formal room with a large table and numerous chairs. Dining rooms can have high ceilings, room specific lighting and decoration.

There are also dining rooms, which are settings for more formal meals. They often have a longer table and more seats in comparison to a kitchen. Additionally, those furniture pieces are often the most expensive in the house. Some families have these specifically made for them.

The dining room continues to be a significant source of design inspiration despite the rise of open-plan living spaces. After all, even if your dining area is in a great room, there are still a lot of design considerations to make, especially when it comes to coordinating it with the surrounding living room and kitchen.

Living Room

In most homes, the living room serves as a greeting area where visitors can mingle briefly before entering or leaving. This applies to both guests and families.

Family members might use living rooms as areas for recreation, especially if they have televisions or other entertainment options.

A formal living room is normally found in the front of the house and is furnished and decorated with more opulent items.

Parlour

Most people will lead you to assume that a Parlour and a living room are nearly identical, but it isn't entirely accurate. The word "parlour" in this context refers to a public welcome area. Naturally, one room may serve as both depending on how big of a house we're talking about.

In a home with multiple living spaces, the parlour will be the one closest to the entrance. After all, guests are exclusively entertained in public reception rooms.

Pyjama Lounge

A pyjama lounge is essentially a relaxed living area that's typically located upstairs near the home's bedrooms. They are intended to serve as gathering spaces for the family away from the busiest parts of the house.

Additionally, if you're hosting guests at your house, there is a dedicated area upstairs where your children (or your spouse) may hide out to watch TV, do their homework, or simply avoid the gathering downstairs.

Home Office/ Study Room

The main function of the home office is to serve as your working place away from the office. A home office is the perfect place to focus without being distracted when you need a place in your house to do that. This is especially helpful for people who work from home are enrolled in college courses, and frequently carry work home with them.

A study might be the ideal room for your home if you want a place to relax with a good book or just have some peace and quiet as you do daily tasks. The study does not necessarily have to be used exclusively for work-related activities; the entire family can use it to unwind after a long day.

Do a home office and a home study vary from one another? Although they are quite similar, a study and a home office are not the same thing. While a study is frequently akin to a tiny library or common room, a home office is constructed with minimal distractions to allow a person to concentrate on their work.

Master Bedroom

The most important room in every house is without a doubt the master bedroom. After all, that is where the homeowners will spend their evenings. It must be stylish and comfortable. The room itself shouldn't be all that different from the others, even so. The master bedroom is the largest in the home or apartment, but the size of the space determines how big the master bedroom is. It should be able to fit a queen-size bed and a wardrobe to begin with. However, the room itself shouldn't be all that different from the others, even so. Some people can fit much more furniture and belongings in their master bedrooms. We also require end tables, lamps, alarm clocks, and perhaps some books. You might also place a vanity table right next to your bed so you can swiftly jump out of bed and get ready for work. They function as miniature living rooms with sofas and chairs, lavish primary bathrooms, entertainment areas, fireplaces, and sitting areas. In certain circumstances, they also function as full-fledged living rooms with couches and chairs. If your house is big enough, the master bedroom might additionally include a bathroom of its own.

Kids Bedroom

The kids' bedroom is smaller than the master bedroom, unless you decide to put your complete family in one room. They would then be entitled to the largest room in the house. However, because most children's bedrooms are so small, there are sometimes contentious debates regarding where to put the beds. However, don't forget that youngsters need more than just beds.

Children do everything in their rooms, unlike adults who don't have the time to lounge about doing nothing. Include desks and seats in your shopping because they need to be able to finish their homework and allow them have fun too.

A nice, traditional bookshelf is a great alternative if you're the kind of parent who doesn't want their kids exposed to unrestrained entertainment. However, once the beds and wardrobes are in place, all of that should be taken care of.

Guest Bedroom

After each family member has claimed a bedroom, if any are left empty, they are typically turned into guest bedrooms.

Frequently, guest rooms are just equipped with a bed, a couch or futon, and a few essential amenities. The family's rooms are full of charm, but since the guest rooms are spare bedrooms, they are typically vacant. They might also include some subtle, neutral decorative elements.

Between overnight guests, these rooms are routinely kept vacant to the point where the family won't enter until it has been cleaned. This ensures that the space is tidy and prepared for the subsequent visitor.

Nursery

A nursery typically serves as a baby's or toddler's bedroom. A crib, a changing table, and toy and clothing storage would all be in this room. It would be "baby proofed," making sure that there are no sharp edges or things that could hurt a baby or toddler.

A toddler may move into a different room when they are old enough, which would then serve as their bedroom. Sometimes a nursery would simply be transformed into a typical child's bedroom by switching out the furnishings and accents.

A room in the home designated for young children to play in, but which does not always serve as a bedroom, is frequently referred to as a nursery.

Library

If you have amassed a significant book collection, it must be properly organized! Contrary to popular belief, creating a library room or nook is not difficult. A few bookcases, a ladder or step stool to access the upper levels, and a seat will do.

Of course, the library should have plenty of light if you plan to read there. To accomplish this, pick a location with lots of windows that let natural light in. Instead of ceiling fixtures, you might choose standing or table lamps, but you shouldn't rely on them.

However, any other room might easily accommodate a library. Even better, keep it on a few bookcases in the workplace, living room, or bedroom. So don't be concerned if you're unsure of where to put all your books or whether you need to buy more to fill a room. You might simply fill a shelf with books and refer to it as your own private reading area.

Playroom

A Playroom is a room in a house that is set aside for children to play in. You keep all those playthings out of the rest of your house by having a space just for playing. Even if the room may constantly appear to be in disarray, at least the mess is contained to a small space. In addition, kids play more effectively when their toys are nearby.

Home Theatre Room

These rooms can provide you with a movie-watching experience that is superior to that of your neighborhood theatre. All you need is some comfortable chairs and sofas, some snack tables, and a television. Even better, display your image onto a white wall or blank screen using a projector.

To block out some of the noise from outside, make sure to keep your windows covered with thick drapes. You could also put down a carpet and put acoustic foam on the ceiling. The door should then be weather-stripped to prevent sound from entering the room. All that's left to do is get some munchies and start your movie marathon after everything is set up.

Additionally, the home theatre room may be equipped with a microwave and shelves of microwave popcorn if you don't want to walk to the kitchen for refreshments. As an alternative, if you have the money, buy a popcorn maker and bar fridge.

Gym Room

A gym room is a dedicated home workout space that can fit inside a small home gym. Before you begin, make sure you have a yoga mat, or a floor covered in interlocking gym mats. You can lift weights, skip rope, or practice yoga even if you have a small gym area. If your home gym is large enough, you might add a punching bag or exercise tools like treadmills or stationary bikes.

Ventilation is a crucial element in addition to the exercise equipment. It is necessary to have tools like an air conditioner, a fan, or at the very least an operable window. Additionally, one can design a snack bar, bar fridge, and ablution/sauna facilities for a home gym.

Basement

The area of a building that is entirely or partially below ground is known as the basement. Typically, several uses are made of basements.

In this location, most homeowners keep their water heaters, breaker panels, freezers, and furnaces. A basement can be used as an additional bedroom, storage, a cellar, a man cave, a home theatre, or for other purposes if it is adequately waterproofed and insulated.

Garage

The garage may be a separate building from the house, or it may be connected to it by an inside door. The main garage door, however, faces the driveway. Most houses include space for parking outside of the garage as well. The garage occasionally performs duties that are not related to its main function. For instance, it can be utilized to store various items needed for house upkeep.

Walk-in Closet

A walk-in closet's convenience is that it lets you examine your shoes, clothes, and jewellery items on display. Walk-in closets may hold a large amount of clothing in addition to having room for other goods like ironing boards and steamers.

You can see your clothes arranged by type of item on display in walk-in closets. Each pair of shoes may be stored on its own shelf. Watches, belts, and jewellery can all be kept in a drawer unit.

Gaming Room

A gaming room can be an entire room or a section of a building that has been set aside just for this use. For a gaming room layout, a workstation and a sturdy gaming chair would be sufficient. Every additional item is a benefit in and of itself.

If you enjoy playing video games, you might make your preferred console the centre of attention in your gaming space.

If you like playing more conventional video games, you may also get a pinball machine and other arcade games for your gaming area. You can use this area to play tabletop games if you're a different kind of gamer. To finish your gaming den, arrange a table and chairs and separate shelves for your favourite card and board games.

Music Room

Music rooms are generally used for practicing, producing, or performing music. Other than that, just like most rooms in the house, they are highly dependent on personal style and preference.

A music room is not essential. But if your family is musically inclined then it makes sense. The noise of musical instruments can become intolerable. To keep the noise under control, it is, essential to soundproof the room before moving the instruments in.

Display storage alternatives can be designed for each type of instrument. Guitars, for example, can be hung on the wall or strung on a stand-alone rack.

Some recording studio equipment can be found in modern music rooms. A laptop and a microphone may be sufficient for beginners.

Storage Room

Some homes frequently have unused spaces that are used to keep a variety of items. If your home has one of these rooms, it is typically used to store cleaning supplies or ironed linen. In that case, you'd probably refer to it as a broom or a linen closet.

Even though such a place wasn't intended to be part of the house plan, it could appear on its own. These turn into a multi-use storage area. To preserve order, a storeroom may be constructed with shelves, organizers, and bins.

Wine Cellar

Wine cellars provide continuous temperature, humidity, and darkness, shielding alcoholic beverages from potentially dangerous outside effects. Wine is a naturally occurring, perishable food product that results from fruit fermentation.

If the conditions are ideal, a regular basement could turn into a wine cellar. The recommended storage temperature for most wines is between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius. If there are no significant changes, it might be slightly higher. However, the humidity needs to be high to prevent corks from drying out.

Your cellar may start to develop mould and mildew if you let these conditions continue. The flavour of your wine should not be impacted, though, if the bottle seals are intact.