Sri Lanka is a small island in South Asia washed by the Indian Ocean on all sides. The country is so tiny that you can drive along it in 15 hours by bus. For beach lovers, this is paradise. And what it is – to be born and to live in a tropical climate all the time?
Beautiful Small house designs pictures in Sri Lanka
Exterior of the houses
The country’s economy has just begun to recover after a long civil war that ended eight years ago. The poverty level is quite high here – in large cities of the country, such as Colombo and Kandy, most of the population lives in barracks – in conditions that are not suitable for normal life.
Most of the houses are stone (concrete) structures no higher than four to five floors. On the flat roofs of such houses, as a rule, terraces are arranged – this applies not only to residential buildings, but also to restaurants and cafes.
Balcony for tea and monkeys
A house in Sri Lanka certainly has a balcony. Since the buildings are usually concrete, so are the balconies, respectively. The balconies here are always open, wide, the floor is tiled for beauty. A round table and wooden chairs are brought here from the house – for a morning cup of tea with milk. It is interesting that not only local residents like to eat on the balcony, but also the ubiquitous monkeys – if you get distracted, the animals immediately make their way into the house.
In the distant regions of Sri Lanka, in the wilderness of the Sri Lankan landscapes, the country’s economy has a pronounced agrarian character. Therefore, locals can often be seen sitting on a palm tree and knocking down, for example, coconuts.
The houses here have a slightly different look and are located at a considerable distance from each other. Buildings are rarely more than two stories high, but they are quite spacious. Roofs in these houses are usually sloping, covered with dark brown tiles.
In the photo: a local resident has just plucked a coconut and is processing it.
No fences
It is interesting that in Sri Lanka it is not customary to fence houses and plots. If “expensive properties” are surrounded by fences, then most often they are conditional – low, albeit stone ones. Most of the neighboring houses stand without a fence at all – the island’s population respects other people’s property and does not see the need for fencing.
Interiors
Interiors in Sri Lanka can hardly be called intricate: white or green walls (paint and only paint!), Ceramic floor in dark shades.
I would like to say “no carpets” (after all, the climate is already hot), but no – small carpets are found in houses and apartments quite often. As a rule, in the corridor, so that it is convenient to shake off dirt from your shoes during the rainy season.
Photo: hostel in Colombo rented for our group of volunteers
Sun and heat as the basis of design
Curtains on the windows of a Sri Lankan house are not hung for decoration – they protect from the active sun. In general, protection from bright light and heat is a top priority in home decoration in Sri Lanka. Air conditioners (and if there is no money for air conditioning, ceiling fans) are present in every home.
There is no heating
It seems, what would it be, if the tropics are always hot. This is true and not true. Residents of the central and southern regions of the island simply do not need central heating, but residents of the north of Sri Lanka or residents of the mountains (for example, in Nuwara Eliya) could come in handy: the temperature in these regions is surprisingly low – an average of about 20 degrees Celsius during the day, at night it can be cold enough.
Emptiness, wood, stone
The interior decoration of Sri Lankan houses is a mix of wood and stone. Wooden tabletops, chairs, stairwells and doorways, cabinets and armchairs, and sometimes even some decorative pillars inside houses in symbiosis with wooden ceiling overlays. And all this against the backdrop of stone walls and tiles. By European standards, this is an “empty” room; by Sri Lankan standards, it is quite a living room, furnished.
Furniture in the center
Furniture in the living room is most often installed next to the TV, but without fail – in the center of the room. The population of Sri Lanka believes that in order for life in the house to be prosperous, the center of the rooms should not be empty. For the same reasons, the bed in the bedroom is not placed in the direction from west to east.
Many flowers and geckos
The interior could be called ascetic, if not for the flowers – Sri Lankans actively decorate houses and apartments with live plants. Flowers in pots, usually large ones, are placed both in the yard and inside the house. Perhaps this is why the ubiquitous gecko lizards do not distinguish between garden and home. These cute slickers are not at all afraid of a person: they often run into local houses and apartments. The tenants in no way drive them away, on the contrary, they believe that the appearance of a gecko in the house, especially at housewarming, is a good luck.
Photo: veranda of a residential building in the village of Sigiriya
Locals – do not rent
Among local residents, renting an apartment or a house, and even buying a house is a rare phenomenon. The fact is that the family plays a key role in Sri Lankan identity, and children, even as adults, live with their parents – if not all their lives, then as long as it is still physically feasible. In Sri Lanka, it is not customary to leave home, move, move in with a boyfriend or girlfriend – this is taboo, bad manners.
When a young couple starts their own family, they are unlikely to buy an apartment. If the conditions of the parental home allow everyone to be accommodated, the family will live in the same house for three generations. If not, the newlyweds live under the parental wing until they build their own housing.
According to the locals, it is much more practical to build your own house and be responsible for it alone. It often happens that the parent is completed: an additional floor or two is built on a flat roof – as much as required. Convenient, right?
Read also:
- simple but attractive home interior.
- TOP 5 most popular architectural styles of country houses.
- simple interior design for studio type room.
Fan Palk
Tourists – rent a house without a refrigerator
Foreigners living on the island and visiting tourists mostly rent housing. Moreover, they rarely rent apartments – more often small houses. Tourism is one of the main sources of income for the local population; one in three in the country owns property for rent. Of course, the quality of housing and its cost vary.
Rental prices in Sri Lanka do not include utility bills, and rented houses often lack a refrigerator. When renting a property for a short period, keep in mind that the TV and air conditioning it contains are most likely not included in the payment (like drinks from European minibars). Discuss the use of the equipment with the tenant in advance, otherwise you will receive an additional invoice.
The price for an apartment with air conditioning and two rooms is about 20,000 LKR per month (approximately 7,500 rubles), excluding utilities. The price is attractive, but you need to make a deposit three months in advance. More modest apartments will cost 10-15,000 LKR (3700 – 5500 rubles, respectively). Electricity, water and telephone bills range around 4000 LKR (1500 rubles). Internet in Sri Lanka is also quite cheap: a 50 GB service package costs 2000 LKR per month (about 700 rubles).
