Your friend wants to decorate his/ her new flat. Give him/ her some advice how to furnish it

Let’s talk about different types of houses. Tell us about your dream house.

There are many types of housing: detached houses, semi-detached houses, terraced houses and flats. Some of the detached houses are cottages and bungalows.

One advantage of a detached house is the fact that the free space surrounding the building belongs to the family. You can do whatever you like in your house. The disadvantage is that all repairs in the house should be made by the owner.

A semi-detached house is a pair of houses that share one common wall. There is still some privacy even if one wall is shared by the two houses, but you are responsible for the upkeep of your side of the house. Another disadvantage is that you cannot just plan repairs or renovations as you have to consider your twin house.

Terraced housing is also known as townhouses. The origin of this type of dwelling was in the 17th century Europe. A row of identical looking houses share side walls. In the past, terraced housing used to be only associated with the working class for this type of housing was cheap, small and had very little privacy. As time went by, terraced housing became known as townhouses which were more associated with the rich.

Terraced housing is relatively cheaper than a semi-detached built in the same location. One great disadvantage is that there is typically no yard or garden. As two walls are shared, there is less privacy too.

A flat or an apartment is a part of a larger building. Such building is called an apartment building or a block of flats. A flat can be a studio unit, a one-bedroom, two-bedroom or three-bedroom unit.

Speaking about MY DREAM HOUSE, I would like to live in a detached house with a big garden.

It is large and has big windows. It is made of red brick and has tiling on the roof. It has two spacious bedrooms with large windows, a roomy kitchen with French windows and a back door. There is a lounge with one giant window. The house is supposed to be styl­ish and roomy but not too big; there is a fireplace in the lounge as I’d love to sit by the fire in winter. There are beautiful trees in the front garden. On a hot summer's day the trees shade the pathway leading up to the front door. In the back garden there is a barbecue as I love organizing parties for my numerous friends.

Do you find your flat/house a comfortable place for living?

Yes, I find my flat a comfortable place for living. We have a nice flat in a new block of flats. Our flat is on the fourth floor. It has all modern conveniences: central heating, gas, electricity, cold and hot running water, a lift and a chute to carry rubbish down. There are three rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and a hall in our flat. The warmest place in our flat is the kitchen, I think – the place where the whole family gathers every evening not only to have supper together, but also to speak and rest. I like the English proverb: “My home is my castle” because my flat is, indeed, my castle.

What questions will you ask your friend who is going to move about his/ her new home?

Your friend wants to decorate his/ her new flat. Give him/ her some advice how to furnish it.

I think it will be reasonable to surf the Internet in search of some examples of a design. If you choose a certain style then it will be easy to decide about the furniture. I wouldn’t recommend to overcrowd the room with the furniture. There should be everything that is necessary. In this case you’ll have enough space and air in your room. Besides it’s easier to clean such rooms.But the most important thing about the design of any room is to make it cosy.