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American country house. Interior layout of American houses. Deep penetration primer prices

The origins of the American style originate in old European houses - because after emigrating to the United States, the British, Germans, Italians, Poles and other inhabitants of the old world imported their architectural styles and trends to America, which first took root, and then began to develop independently. It is the old European architecture, and in particular the English projects of the Victorian era, that is the foundation projects in american style that combine simplicity and functionality. As a rule, American-style houses have light colors, large windows that provide natural light to the project, and a spacious covered terrace.

american house layout

The classic layout of American houses also has some distinctive features. The rooms are usually large and spacious, as a rule, the kitchen area is combined with a dining and living room. There is a wardrobe, a laundry room, a nursery, an office and personal bathrooms in such a house. American-style houses must have a garage for at least two cars, the entrance to which is possible both from the outside and from the inside.

Characteristic features of American houses

classic houses, made in the American style, have some special characteristics:

  1. Non-standard roofs. This characteristic is especially obvious if the house has several floors. In this case, projects have gable roofs with an acute angle of inclination of a complex broken shape at several levels.
  2. The appearance of the building. A feature of this house is a bright facade, as well as the presence of a spacious terrace. The use of natural materials - wood for finishing facades and shutters, natural or artificial stone when finishing foundations and pipes.
  3. The presence of a significant amount large windows. They help with lighting the house and visually increase the interior space due to the large amount of natural light. Due to the milder climate, a completely justified decision.
  4. Very well maintained adjoining territory with clear zoning.

American style is a special chapter in architecture and design. He has next characteristic features which distinguish it from the rest. These features attract many, so American-style houses are increasingly being built in the expanses of the CIS countries. They are many-sided and have a lot of advantages and disadvantages.

Let us consider in detail in the article what a typical American house is. Layout and architecture of cottages, features interior decoration premises will be described below.

How did it all start?

The American style, which we all know very well, evolved from the old European style. Emigrants from England and Europe brought the architectural trends of their countries, which took root in the United States for many years. Of course, everything has changed over time, but the projects of old European dwellings stand at the origins.

The architecture has features such as spaciousness, symmetry, numerous cascades of roofs, a large number of windows, columns and a minimum of relief details. The layout of American houses, the photo of which is presented in the article, is characterized by the absence of a full-fledged entrance hall, the original arrangement of the kitchen and dining areas. The main idea of ​​the premises is first of all convenience and comfort. Let's dwell on this in more detail.

Architectural features of American houses

The architecture of American cottages combines simplicity and intricacy. What are the cascades worth gable roofs! Along the perimeter of the house you can often find a spacious terrace, and through the numerous windows a large amount of natural light enters. By the way, shutters are also quite common.

American-style houses are usually light or pastel shades. And some elements (for example, a foundation or a chimney) are made of natural stone or sandstone. But most of all, the choice of materials from which houses are built, and appearance buildings is affected by the specific location of the house.

In all states, the weather is different from each other, and this affects construction as well. For example, the terraces mentioned above are mandatory attributes of cottages located in the southern regions of America. In the northern regions of the country, houses with thick walls and basements are more appropriate. It follows from this that, although all cottages belong to the American style, each has its own characteristics.

What is the American layout?

As mentioned above, the American promotes convenience and comfort. This is primarily about simplicity and freedom. Therefore, American houses are characterized by the absence of a full-fledged hallway and partitions between the dining area and the living room. And this is despite the fact that the American layout of the house initially involves fairly spacious rooms. Not only the living room and dining room have a wide area, there is plenty of space in the bathroom, kitchen, nursery.

But, no matter how strange it may be, the American layout of the house provides only that one family will live in the cottage, and not several generations. Therefore, they most often provide only two bedrooms: the master and the guest. And each house assumes the presence of at least two exits: front and backyard. Also, the front door can be located in other rooms on the first floor (for example, in a bedroom or office). There may be an entrance to the garage if it is attached to the house.

We must not forget about them. They are also included in the layout and are a mandatory attribute of every American-style house.

One-storey cottages

American layout one-story houses striking in its diversity. Quite often, such cottages are made with a wide porch or veranda. There is no vestibule in the usual sense. At best, the entrance will be fenced off from the rest of the premises by an arch or columns.

The dining area is usually connected to the kitchen or living room. Usually, one-story houses have two bedrooms and one nursery. Also in the cottages there is space for three bathrooms and several dressing rooms.

Quite often, garages are attached to the house, so there must be an entrance to the parking lot, next to which there is a place for a laundry corner (washing machine, dryer, ironing board, and so on). Usually it is placed behind the walls of the built-in wardrobe.

Two-storey cottages

Buildings with two floors are compact and take up less space, so their number prevails over one-story cottages. The layout of the American usually looks like this.

On the ground floor there is a spacious kitchen, dining room and living room. All three rooms are often interconnected. There is also a toilet, a pantry, if the garage is attached to the house, then the entrance to it. There may also be an office and a guest bedroom.

If the first floor is intended for receiving guests, then the second is completely the owner's territory. There is a master bedroom, children's room, bathrooms, dressing room. If the size of the room allows, often on the second floor they equip another living room.

Interior decoration

Wood is often used. The floor is covered with real parquet, there are decorative beams on the ceiling, and the walls are finished with wooden panels.

The bathroom uses traditional materials - tiles, tiles. In the kitchen, the floor is also tiled, but the walls can be very diverse. It all depends on the features of the layout. For example, if the kitchen area is not separated from the dining room and living room, then everything is done in the same style.

In most rooms, the walls are painted. As decorative elements friezes, moldings and panels are used. For the fireplace area, choose either wood or stone. Main principle American interior - everything should be harmonious and not irritate the eyes.

Furniture

The layouts of private American houses are not complete without providing space for furniture, and it occupies a rather large space. After all, the furniture in American cottages is large in size, it is customary to arrange it almost in the center of the room. But it is usually very soft and comfortable. And this proves the principle of American style - comfort and coziness.

The rest of the furniture is no less bulky. Dining rooms in American homes are often decorated with natural wood tables and chests of drawers. The same principle is present in the classrooms. But in the bedrooms, among the furniture, there is usually a bed with a massive headboard and a couple of bedside tables. Sometimes you can find a chest of drawers, dressing table, pouffe or armchair.

As a place of storage, the American layout of the house provides dressing rooms, which are located not only in the bedrooms, but throughout the house (for example, near the front door and in the kitchen).

Who suits the American

Despite all its advantages, the described type of premises is not suitable for everyone. The layout of American-style houses involves frequent communication with family and friends. Therefore, it is recommended to build such cottages for people:

  • active and sociable (large space and combined living and dining rooms incline to this);
  • family-oriented (a large number of wardrobes allows you to store expensive things, and the interior is conducive to placing frames with cute photos and various cozy accessories);
  • loving travel (remember about cozy furniture, in which it is pleasant to sit down on returning home).

If you are more inclined towards a clear division into zones and love corridors, then this layout will definitely not bring you joy.

Author: This summer we went to Pocono, about which I wrote several posts, and at the same time we stopped by to look at the house that our good friends are selling. We dream sometime in the future to move away from New York, closer to nature and all that, and if possible, we study various options. From more or less nearby, everyone praises Pocono. This is a resort town in Pennsylvania, where quite a lot of Russians live and relax, and which is considered a fairly popular place for recreation and permanent residence many New Yorkers. Of the benefits: relative proximity to New York (only two hours by car), beautiful nature (mountains), infrastructure (shops, restaurants, etc.), low housing prices (compared to New York). Of the minuses: relative proximity to New York (as much as two hours by car), lack of railway communication (you can only get there by car or bus), provinciality (this is not New York). The Poconos aren't close enough to drive to work every day (although some do), but not so far away that you don't have to drive to New York on business a couple of times a week if necessary. In general, what we need when working from home is the desire to live in a beautiful place in nature, and at the same time we want to be able to get to New York in a sane time.
There are no questions about the place itself. Pocono is a really great place to live, where everyone will find what they are interested in. It has everything you need for life and recreation: an excellent water park, and a bunch of different shops, and shooting clubs, and decent restaurants, and hunting, and fishing, and wild nature, and skiing, and so on, and the like. This is certainly not New York, but it is difficult to call this place a wilderness. A sort of village with a minute transport accessibility to urban civilization. Even in Pennsylvania, laws are more loyal and you can, for example, own a weapon without any problems. You can even buy black bread and boiled sausage - the Poles sell it (for some reason, I have a special attachment to these products). Car insurance is much lower there than in New York, many Russians buy land or a house there, and then drive around New York on Pennsylvania numbers (this is illegal, but if you are careful, you can). Pocono also compares favorably with New York in terms of real estate prices. If in New York with 100,000 dollars in your pocket there is nothing to catch, then in Pocono you can already look for something. With two hundred thousand dollars, you can choose picky. With three, you can begin to realize childhood dreams.
Our friends are selling a house located in a gated community. Quite a popular format of living outside the city, which can be compared with a gardening partnership. The limited territory in which they live in accordance with additional rules and agreements. This is both good and bad. It's good that you live in a territory that is protected, cleaned and lives according to certain laws. It’s bad that you have to pay extra for this and you have to obey these laws. But here everyone chooses what he likes.
The central road of the community.

This community, for example, has its own beach, a swimming pool with a restaurant and a chic playground. The entrances are guarded, and the territory is patrolled around the clock by the local security service, which replaces the police in terms of functions. Of the minuses of such a life, for example, a speed limit of 15 miles on the territory.

I like living in a house outside the city, and I have a decent experience - two years before leaving for the USA, I lived in own house in gardening next to Peter. True, it will not be possible to compare adequately, the Russian reality is too different from the American one.

One could only dream of such roads in our gardening. The limit is to throw rubble with neighbors on Kamaz for dumping. Here all the roads are like that, and no one rushes along them. The local guards have a favorite pastime - to catch for speed.

The house is a classic frame, stands on strip foundation and lined with siding. Everything here is like in Russia, except for the decorative outer doors. I would also make a canopy over the porch. But here the climate is better and the canopy is not so relevant.

In America, they love to make terraces. It's called spoilage. This house is no exception.

Porch is clearly better than an arbor or bare ground, but in Russia such a use of space would be considered wasteful and a covered veranda would be made.

In America, there are slightly different rules of life and, in addition to the desire to increase the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe house, there is also a reasonable attitude towards property taxes and difficulties with permits for any construction works. You, for example, can be a super builder, but you will never be able to build a house yourself if you do not have the appropriate license. So the terrace is something that you can do yourself, but the veranda covered on all sides is no longer there.

These are neighboring houses. Everything is like gardening. Everything is in plain sight. Unless nobody puts up fences.

But if you look only back, then there will be a forest and no neighbors. Not everyone has this look, of course.

In the bushes on the site you can find living creatures. She grazes along the roads and sometimes jumps right under the wheels.

Life is larger. The presence of a man a meter away from her did not bother the living creatures at all.

Inside the house. Entrance door with glass. Not a very popular solution for Russian life. The door in Russia must be iron and impregnable. In America, the issue of security is not at all worth it. The lock on the door to the house is no different from the cabinet lock inside the Russian office.

In the US, all new homes are sold with finishing, equipped kitchen and bathrooms. It is a standard kitchen with stove, refrigerator and dishwasher. Parquet by local standards is considered not exactly cool, but it seems like an advantage. Here it is made of bamboo. I've always had a soft spot for windows opposite the sink.

The house is small by American standards. But I'm all for those sizes. Cleaning and heating such a house is easier and cheaper than a three-story mansion. I'm talking about taxes.

Living room with gas fireplace. I have a question about the wisdom of using a gas fireplace, but the owners say that it heats well and does not burn oxygen. Let's take their word for it. Even in America, ceiling fans are insanely popular. Cool stuff actually. They say Pocono doesn't get as hot as New York, and you can live here without air conditioning. Of course, I don’t believe them, but there really aren’t as many air conditioners in our houses as we have.

The bathroom is really with fittings and furniture. All that is needed at the entrance to such a house is only to buy furniture for the rooms.

One of the rooms. The house has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms in total. On the floor is a popular carpet in the USA. Heating is carried out electric convectors.

The classic American window, about which I already wrote.

Such a house is good for a young family in which there are (or will be) children and pets. The house is medium in size, but there is enough space for everyone. Each child has their own room. Such houses are in demand among buyers for whom the phrase "American home" is consonant with the "American dream".

american house design

The first thing that catches your eye when you see a photo of an American house is a wide veranda with a neat fence. There are always a few chairs on the veranda, sometimes a table. Such a living room fresh air. And in front of the house - a well-groomed lawn. This pleasant picture is the face of the whole house, as if saying “Welcome”, hospitable people live here!

Such a house is most often two-story, on a low foundation. The front door is equipped with a wide porch (covered terrace) with stairs. Mostly houses without architectural frills. White facade, dark shutters on the windows. Moreover, the shutters perform a purely decorative function. Sloping roof. A spacious garage is invariably attached to the house. A well-groomed lawn is required in front of the house.

The back yard is spacious, if the size of the site allows. Sometimes there is a pool in the backyard. If there is not enough space for a pool, then at least a barbecue lawn. Often, a golf lawn or a basketball court is equipped in the backyard.

The simple arrangement and design of the American home is due to its history. Not so long ago, cottages in America were built not to last too long. The outer walls are plywood, the inner walls are plasterboard. Causes:

  • mild climate, allowing you to neglect the insulation of the house;
  • frequent hurricanes destroying houses (thus the house was easy to rebuild);
  • and of course, the relative cheapness of such buildings.

Over time in frame construction technologies were introduced to combine the ease of construction with the strength of materials. For example, the use of SIP panels, which we will discuss later. All this helped to become similar houses not only as an economical dwelling, but also to withstand the test of time and weather conditions.

There are several main styles of American houses:

  • colonial;
  • Tudor style;
  • Victorian style;
  • rustic;
  • ranch style.

Layout and interior

The layout of American homes implies a combination of comfort and practicality. Rooms for the rest of the family are a must here. At the same time, there is a place for everyone to retire. Each has its own bedroom. And often, their own bathroom with a toilet.

The house can be entered not only through the front door. Most often on the first floor there are two or three entrance doors. Front door or front door, pressed wood or MDF. Backdoor(often glass) leads to the backyard. The third door is to the workshop, through which you can go to the garage.

All auxiliary rooms are usually located on the first floor. The living rooms are on the second floor. So, on the first floor there is a kitchen, a living room, a hall, a dining room. Also on the ground floor one room can be reserved for an office. The basement is equipped for a library, gym, bar or games room.

The bedrooms are located on the second floor. Sometimes the children's rooms can be on the second floor, and the parents' bedroom on the first. Each bedroom has a dressing room and, as already mentioned, a bathroom with a toilet. On the ceiling, often instead of a chandelier, there is a fan. Lighting is provided by spotlights or floor lamps.

Auxiliary or working premises:

  1. Wardrobes, built-in wardrobes and pantries are provided for storage.
  2. The washing machine is not installed in the bathroom, but in a special laundry room. Linen can also be dried and ironed here.
  3. The kitchen is always spacious. And very comfortable. Often the kitchen is combined with the dining room, where there is a large dinner table and the whole family gathers.

The layout of a one-story American house is similar. The bedrooms are located in the part of the house furthest from the garage. Adjacent to the garage is a workshop, a laundry room, and sometimes a kitchen-dining room.

Building the American way

Built using American technology frame houses that are easy to build and rebuild. The advantage of such technologies is the speed of construction of buildings. Of the main types of construction of American houses, the most popular are:

  • frame modular housing construction;
  • frame-panel house or frame-panel house.

Modular building. Buildings are built in the form of sections (modules). The projects of such American houses are of the same type. It is cheaper to assemble the house directly at the factory and transport it to the place with a special carrier trailer. Often, this mobile homes that have no foundation. The modular house-constructor can be assembled directly at the factory, but it can also be done at the construction site. While the foundation is being poured, sections of the house are mounted nearby. Factory assembly provides for built-in communications and even furniture.

Panel or panel house. The essence of the technology is that the building is assembled from panels (shields, blocks) sewn onto a pre-built wooden frame. Various materials can be used as panels:

  1. OSB board or plywood. Previously, they were widely used to build houses in areas with a mild climate. Not applicable in our context.
  2. Thermoblock. At the heart of the thermoblock is a polystyrene foam insulation in a metal frame. Expanded polystyrene has excellent heat-saving properties.
  3. The so-called SIP panel. The outer walls of the panel are made of OSB, and inside - polystyrene foam. Due to the three-layer structure, such a panel can withstand longitudinal and transverse loads well. Therefore, a SIP house is very durable.

Decoration Materials:

  1. Outside, the house is sheathed with siding or wooden clapboard. Less common brick cladding and tiles.
  2. Interior decoration of walls and ceiling - drywall or lining.
  3. Floor covering - carpet, wood or tile.

The disadvantage of American wooden houses is an increased fire hazard. If the whole area consists of such houses, then everyone can burn down. Therefore, houses are necessarily equipped with smoke detectors. Also, to reduce the fire hazard, OSB boards are treated with a flame retardant, which gives the material the quality of self-extinguishing.

If you are planning to build a house using American technologies, first of all, you need to choose high-quality panels. When buying panels, you must be one hundred percent sure that they are not made in a handicraft way. Make sure that the manufacturing technology meets the standards. Otherwise, the house you built risks collapsing like a house of cards. The fire-fighting treatment of the plates is also important.

The term for the construction of a frame-panel house is from one to three months. It is not difficult to choose a house project suitable for your individual conditions.

Construction stages:

  • foundation pouring;
  • frame construction;
  • installation of floors and roofs;
  • arrangement of all internal communications (sewerage, electricity and others);
  • Finishing work.

The frame is assembled from a bar 150 * 50 mm. Mineral wool is placed between the racks of the frame. outer wall mounted from OSB. Then the horizontal crate is mounted. A heater is placed between the crate. If you use SIP panels or thermal blocks, then the horizontal crate with insulation can be omitted.

The horizontal crate is covered with a vapor barrier membrane. And already on top of the membrane they mount a vertical crate for the external finishing material. A vapor-tight membrane is also laid on the inside of the frame. Then drywall.

Internal partitions can be mounted from a bar 150 * 50 or 100 * 50 mm. Also between the racks is a mineral wool or other roll insulation. A membrane is attached to both sides of the frame. Then the permanent drywall.

For finishing work, everyone chooses materials to their taste. You can traditionally perform external cladding with siding, or you can use plaster. The interior of American houses is also a matter of taste. Since America is a colonial territory, each nation created interiors of different styles in the same American cottages. Therefore, do not look for a standard, but give scope to your imagination.

Some consider frame houses unsolid, unfounded. Is it a matter brickwork. Let's face it: American frame houses are not castles. However, most people with average incomes will agree that the cost-effectiveness of building such houses is a big plus. In the end, comfort is more important for a family than pretentious surroundings. But this does not mean that frame houses are gray and inconspicuous. Photos and videos of American houses made in different design styles are the best proof of this.

American houses, photo:

we've looked at past posts. Now let's look at the layout of American houses.

In American homes, you almost never find a hallway or hallway. Instead, all front doors lead directly to the living room or other living room. The house can be entered not only through the front door. Most often there are at least two or three front doors. Front door or front door. The back door (usually glass) leads to the backyard. The third door is to the garage. Sometimes the door to the outside can be found in the very unusual place e.g. in the toilet. This is explained quite simply - so that you can go to the toilet from the pool without entering the house.

When you ask an American about the size of a house, you will almost always hear three parameters - the number of bedrooms, the number of bathrooms, and total area. For example, 3/2 1600 sq. ft. means that this is a house with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a size of about 150 square meters. m.

Private rooms

The interior space of American homes is divided into a private area and a public area. The private area primarily includes bedrooms. Bedrooms are divided into "master bedroom" and all other bedrooms. A separate bedroom is for the parent couple, and each adult family member. Children of the same sex, up to a certain age (12 years old), can share one bedroom, and then get their own. For example, a family of 4 will almost always live in a house with 3-4 bedrooms. The bedroom must have a window. If the room does not have a window, then it cannot be a bedroom. Also, almost always in the bedroom there should be a built-in wardrobe or pantry.

The master bedroom is the largest bedroom and usually has a walk-in closet or even two. wardrobe rooms s, and almost always has its own separate bathroom with toilet and bath. In expensive homes, the master bathroom can be very fancy, with a Jacuzzi, multiple sinks, fancy showers, and so on.

The rest of the bedrooms usually have smaller wardrobes. The rest of the bedrooms may not have their own toilet and bath, and they can combine one toilet / bathroom for 2 bedrooms.


For children's bathrooms, a fairly typical layout is washbasin>toilet>bathroom. Also, very often in children's bathrooms, lower washbasins, toilets, and bathtubs are installed.

Here is an example of a typical plan for an inexpensive American home.

Sometimes there is a configuration where the toilet has two doors, and access from two different bedrooms is possible (this is called the Jack and Jill Bathroom).

There is almost never a chandelier on the ceiling of the bedroom. Often, instead of a chandelier, there is a fan (with or without a lamp). And the main lighting in the bedrooms, as a rule, is not very bright, and is arranged with the help of spotlights or floor lamps.

public rooms

If the house is two-story, then the private zone is located on the second floor, and on the first there will be a public zone - kitchen, living room, hall, dining room. If the house is one-story, then the public area will be in the center. Also, one room can be reserved for an office or a library. The basement, if any, will be equipped as a library, gym, bar or games room.

The public area is usually not divided into separate rooms, instead the whole space is open and divided only by arches, partitions, shelving. The kitchen is most often separated from the dining room only by a bar counter or not separated at all. For example, on this plan, the family room (family room), dining room (dining room), living room (living room / living room) and kitchen (kitchen) are actually combined into one space. It is worth remembering that in English language, the word room means both a room with 4 walls and just a place / space, so a dining room can be either a dining room or just a place for a table.


In addition, there is often half the bathroom in the public area. What is half a bathroom? This is a toilet with a hand wash basin so that guests do not go to the toilet through the bedrooms.

The patio is not just welcome, but considered a must. There you can arrange a nursery playground, a small garden, swimming pools are often found, and there will almost always be a place for a barbecue.

Auxiliary or working premises:
There are ba large number of built-in wardrobes, pantries, a basement and an attic equipped for storage, and a spacious garage attached to the house. The washing machine is installed not in the bathroom and not in the kitchen, but in a special laundry room. Sometimes they are put in the garage. Linen can also be dried and ironed here.



Inside American homes, you almost never see wallpaper on the walls. Internal walls almost always painted. Light and plain walls dominate


Worth mentioning separately internal doors. In addition to conventional hinged doors, American homes have a wide variety of other options:
1. Barn door (barn door), moves sideways on the rail.

2. Folding doors, usually used for dressing rooms and other utility rooms.

3. Sliding doors

4. Pocket doors that go into the wall are also common.

A few more different plans