In the United Kingdom, 27% of the population live in terraced houses and 32% in semi-detached houses, as of 2002. In the United States as of 2000, 61.4% of people live in detached houses and 5.6% in semi-detached houses, 26% in row houses or apartments, and 7% in mobile homes. Shape Self catering in Italy Archaeologists have a particular interest in house shape: they see the transition over time from round huts to rectangular houses as a significant advance in optimizing the use of space, and associate it with the growth of the idea of a personal area (see personal space). Function Self catering in Italy A Nalukettu traditional Kerala house in IndiaSome houses transcend the basic functionality of providing "a roof over one's head" or of serving as a family "hearth and home". When a house becomes a display-case for wealth and/or fashion and/or conspicuous consumption, we may speak of a "great house". The residence of a feudal lord or of a ruler may require defensive structures and thus turn into a fort or a castle. The house of a monarch may come to house courtiers and officers as well as the royal family: this sort of house may become a palace. Moreover, in time the lord or monarch may wish to retreat to a more personal or simple space such as a villa, a hunting lodge or a dacha. Compare the popularity of the holiday house or cottage, also known as a crib.

See also: List of house types Structure Self catering in Italy A suburban neighborhood in San Jose, California. Wood houses in the Swiss Alps.The developed world in general features three basic types of house that have their own ground-level entry and private open space, and usually on a separately titled parcel of land: Single-family detached houses - free-standing on all sides. Self catering in Italy Semi-detached houses (duplexes) - houses that are attached, usually to only one other house via a party wall. Terraced house (UK) also known as a row house or townhouse - attached to other houses, possibly in a row, each separated by a party wall. In addition, there are various forms of attached housing where a number of dwelling units are co-located within the same structure, which share a ground-level entry and may or may not have any private open space, such as apartments (a.k.a. flats) of various scales. Another type of housing is movable, such as houseboats, caravans, and trailer homes.