Home Economics / Home Management · Lesson 10

House types and acquisition, house and home, furnishing, interior decoration and flowers

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: Housing the family (definition, types, classification; choosing a family house: acquiring by renting, mortgage, building, buying, inheritance, gift; economic, social, psychological factors, sites, ventilation, design; guidelines); Setting up a home (house vs home; equipment and furnishing: large and small, hard and soft, furnishing, fixtures); Home improvement/interior decoration (meaning,…

WAEC: Housing the family (definition, types, classification; choosing a family house: acquiring by renting, mortgage, building, buying, inheritance, gift; economic, social, psychological factors, sites, ventilation, design; guidelines); Setting up a home (house vs home; equipment and furnishing: large and small, hard and soft, furnishing, fixtures); Home improvement/interior decoration (meaning,…

NECO: Housing the family (definition, types, classification; choosing a family house: acquiring by renting, mortgage, building, buying, inheritance, gift; economic, social, psychological factors, sites, ventilation, design; guidelines); Setting up a home (house vs home; equipment and furnishing: large and small, hard and soft, furnishing, fixtures); Home improvement/interior decoration (meaning,…

What you will learn

Distinguish a house from a home and classify houses.
Explain ways of acquiring a house and relevant documents.
Calculate housing affordability and NHF contributions.
Explain factors and guidelines for choosing a family house.
Select and arrange furniture, furnishings and equipment.
Apply elements and principles of design in interior decoration.
Make and care for a flower arrangement.

Key points

House vs home.
Types of houses and classification.
Acquisition: rent, buy, build, mortgage, inherit, gift.
NHF: 2.5% of basic salary; FMBN 6% loans.
Housing should cost about one-third of income or less.
Choice: economic, social, psychological, site, ventilation, design.
Furnishings: hard, soft, fixtures; choose for function and fit.
Elements of design: line, colour, texture, shape, space, light.
Colour schemes and effects: warm advance, cool recede.
Principles: balance, proportion, emphasis, rhythm, harmony.
Flower arrangement: styles, steps, care.

Start here: House, home and types of houses

A house is a building or structure where people live; it provides shelter. A home is a house plus the people living in it, their relationships, love, care and sense of belonging. “A house is built with hands; a home is built with hearts.” A family can make a small rented room a happy home, while a mansion may be an unhappy house.

Functions of a house

Shelter from weather; protection and security; privacy; rest and sleep; space for family activities (cooking, eating, recreation); storage of property; a base for work for some (home-based tailoring, hair salon); social status.

Classification of houses

By number of floors: bungalow (one storey), storey building (two or more), high-rise.
By number of families: single-family (detached house, duplex) and multi-family (blocks of flats, tenement “face-me-I-face-you” rooms, terraces).
By attachment: detached, semi-detached (sharing one wall), terraced (row).
By materials: traditional (mud, thatch, bamboo, raffia), modern (cement blocks, steel, glass, aluminium roofing), mixed.
By ownership: owner-occupied, rented, government quarters, company quarters.
By location: urban, rural, estate.

Traditional Nigerian housing

Compound houses with rooms around a central courtyard (Yoruba agbo ile; Hausa compounds with an entrance hut zaure), round mud huts with thatched roofs in parts of the north and middle belt, and Igbo compounds with an obi (the head’s reception house). Mud walls keep interiors cool; thatch insulates but needs regular renewal and is a fire risk.

Modern housing issues

Nigeria has a large housing deficit, especially in cities. Problems include high rents and land costs, slums, overcrowding, poor drainage and building collapse from substandard materials or no approvals. Government responses include site-and-service schemes, mortgage finance through the National Housing Fund, estate development and enforcement of building codes.

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Practice questions

1. A bedroom 4 m × 3.5 m with walls 3 m high has a wall area of

45 m²
14 m²
21 m²
42 m²

Show answer

A: 45 m²
Perimeter 15 m × 3 m.

2. A floor of 14 m² needs about how many 60 × 60 cm tiles before wastage?

Show answer

D: 39
14 ÷ 0.36 ≈ 38.9.

3. Light colours in a small room

absorb more heat
look dirtier
make it look larger
make it look smaller

Show answer

C: make it look larger
They reflect light.

4. The National Housing Fund deduction is

25% of salary
2.5% of basic salary
10% of salary
8% of salary

Show answer

B: 2.5% of basic salary
NHF Act 1992.

5. The FMBN NHF loan interest rate to contributors is

6%
15%
25%
2.5%

Show answer

A: 6%
Up to 30 years.

Key words

House: Building that provides shelter.
Home: House plus family relationships.
Bungalow: Single-storey house.
Duplex: Two-storey house for one family.
Mortgage: Long-term loan secured on a house.
NHF: National Housing Fund (2.5% contribution).
C of O: Certificate of Occupancy under the Land Use Act.
Tenancy agreement: Written rental contract.
Fixture: Item fixed to the building.
Soft furnishing: Fabric item such as curtains.
Hue: Name of a colour.
Tint: Colour plus white.

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