Housing in Indonesia Part 2: Inside A Typical Indonesian Home
- Prelude to Indonesia
- 3 days ago
- 8 min read
Welcome y’all to part 2 of housing in Indonesia. In this post, I’ll try to describe what’s inside and around your typical Indonesian house: what rooms/spaces are in there plus what objects are commonly found inside each room, and who usually lives there. After reading this post, you might realize that many rooms in a house is called ‘ruang’ or ‘kamar’ followed by the purpose of the room. This is because ‘ruang’ means ‘space’ and ‘kamar’ means ‘room’. So for example, a bedroom is called ‘kamar tidur’ which literally means ‘sleep room’ because it’s the place to sleep.
Now, without further ado, let’s get to it!
Firstly, your typical Indonesian house would consist of one main building, with a garden and car garage in the front, separated from the outside (street) by a fence. In the garden, the main water pump is usually located, along with underground water reservoirs. The fences are usually made out of metal and painted to either blend with the house or to distinguish the house so guests (or food delivery drivers) can more easily find them. They can be high or low, and some houses even left the lock open during the day. In more upscale complexes, though, fences can go high, up to three meters, and even equipped with barb wires at the top. This one isn’t entirely legal, but some houses also built a wall with only a small opening for the fence. On the other hand, the newer developed areas might not even install fences on their homes because the housing complex has tight security. Outside of the fence, there’s also a small space where people usually plant things, and an empty space reserved for trash. The trash collection team, usually arranged by the neighbourhood association, would then collect your trashes, typically once a day, from that space.
Houses in areas prone to flooding would built their house higher than the main road, with slope built to ease access. The slope leads to a small carport where cars and motorcycles can be parked. It’s also common to find bicycles, basketballs, and gardening tools there. Most Indonesians take off their shoes before entering their house, so a shoe rack filled with shoes is also commonly found, either near the garage door or the main door to the house. In bigger houses, the outdoor carport continued into an indoor garage, with the two spaces divided by another fence/sliding door, made either out of metal or wood. The kitchen is usually connected to this indoor garage by a door, so unloading groceries can be done easier.
Right, before officially entering the house, a porch called teras, exists. You can find chairs and a small table there, as it is usually a place to hang out in the afternoon or to welcome casual or short-staying guests. It is located directly looking over the garden, perfect for relaxing. If the guests are more…distinguished, you can say, then there is a…reception? room just after entering the main door. This space, called ‘ruang tamu’ which directly translates to ‘guest room’, is where you receive your guests. Sofas, rather than simple chairs, are lined there, usually surrounding a low table with refreshments and snacks. Some people allows their guests to wear their shoes here, as lending indoor slipper is not common practice here. Picture frames and display cabinet filled with souvenirs or antiques can be found here, as a way to subtly show off. In some houses, this room doubles as the family room, or ‘ruang keluarga’. As such, TVs can be found there too.
In the case of people having a separate ruang keluarga, the space is usually filled with sofas or comfy chairs, TV and stereo, along with toys if there are small children in the house. Some parents install their child’s study desk in this room rather than in the bedroom, as it is said this can increase the child’s concentration (because they become used to ignoring the noises and distractions around them) and sleep quality (because then the bedroom doesn’t have the stressful atmosphere of a study/work space). In a two-story house, this room may be located on the second floor to further separate ‘private’ and ‘public’ spaces. For some, both ruang tamu and ruang keluarga might not have any chairs but equipped with carpets instead.
Alright, after the living room, comes the dining room, or ‘ruang makan’. A fridge is usually placed there, along with, of course, a dining table and chairs enough for the whole family plus some guests. Other than a sink, some dining rooms also have a mini kitchen, called ‘dapur bersih’ or ‘clean kitchen’, where simple cooking/reheating processes can be done; it is not usually used for cooking. Water dispenser and electronic appliances, such as microwaves, kettle, and rice cooker, are usually put in the dining room.
It is then connected to, or have, a kitchen. In the kitchen, stoves can be found, either electric or gas. Those who still uses the more traditional wood stove usually put this kind of stove a bit more outside to reduce smoke and fire hazard. Other than that, your typical cooking utensils and appliances can be found, along with another sink to wash the dishes and their drying racks. When separated into two, this part is called ‘dapur kotor’ or ‘dirty kitchen’, as the ‘dirtier’ parts of eating AKA preparing the ingredients and washing the dishes are done here. Cleaning equipment such as broom and mop are also typically placed here.
Another room that can be placed near the kitchen is the helper’s bedroom and bathroom. Some Indonesians, especially the middle-upper class, hires a helper (‘pembantu’) who assist them with daily household chores. These helpers, usually females, clean the house, wash clothes and dishes, tend to the garden and pets, shop for groceries, and cook if their masters asked them to (not every helper can cook deliciously, in which case their master usually orders out and the helpers will arrange them on plates). Some doubles as nannies for their young masters, and one household may have more than one helper. Helpers who lives in the house are usually given a room to be shared, near the kitchen or in the attic. Some house layouts put their space in a way so that they can be ‘confined’ when the masters are not home. This means they can be barred from entering the main house when necessary, and they may or may not have access to the front door.
Near the helpers’ bedroom, either in the first floor or not, the laundry room is usually located. A washing machine or at least a set of washing equipment and a set of iron and ironing table can be found, and not far from there the clotheslines are placed. These clotheslines are placed in the space with most sunlight, so sometimes they are installed on the rooftop or an open space accessible by a small set of staircases; this space is also where you may find an outdoor water reservoir and additional water pump. It is also not uncommon to use this space to play badminton or fly kites during the afternoon. In the same general area, a small storage room called ‘gudang’ can also be found, usually containing everything the household currently doesn’t need but might need someday, including carton boxes, floor tile and wall paint remnants (for example when needing to buy again, they said), handyman tools like saw and hammer, plastic boxes from food delivery, unused dishes and cutleries, old electronic appliances, old clothes, old toys, old books, well…you get the point.
Next, let’s talk about the bedrooms, or ‘kamar tidur’. The number of bedrooms in a house depends on the layout, size, and number of people in it. Usually, the biggest room AKA the master bedroom has a king-sized bed and connected to their own bathroom. The bathroom is also the biggest, equipped with bathtub rather than just a shower stall. The other bedrooms don’t have their own bathroom but rather share a communal one. In a multi-story house, bedrooms are mostly located upstairs. However, a bedroom is still provided downstairs for any guests who needed them, as well as a bathroom that is open for guests. There is a belief (I forgot whose exactly) that daughters should be placed on the first floor outermost bedroom, so some families do that.
Bedrooms consist of at least a bed, a desk and chair, and a wardrobe, same as everywhere I think. The room’s owner can decorate their room by painting the walls with their favourite colour or, if you’re rich enough, even design their own furniture. In a bedroom where more than one kids sleep, they can share a bed, have separate beds, or have a bunk bed. On the bed itself, other than sheet (‘sprei’), one can find pillow (‘bantal’), bolster (‘guling’), and (‘selimut’). Dolls can also be placed on the bed. I personally have a childhood bolster which I even carry when I moved to another city during university.
Next is the bathrooms (‘kamar mandi’), which we Indonesians use quite often. We typically take a bath twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. Usually inside a bathroom there are: a sink for washing face and brushing teeth; a shower or a bathtub with shower or a big basin we can fill with water and a dipper to take the water (or more than one, for example my parents’ bathroom has both a shower stall and a bathtub with shower, whilst my friend’s has both a shower and the big basin); a toilet, either modern (sitting) or traditional (squatting) equipped with a small shower; and bathing essentials like soap (‘sabun’) and shampoo (‘sampo’).
Any other rooms can be designed to match the owner’s aesthetics or need. For example, a friend of mine uses one of the empty rooms in her house as her sewing studio, and another friend uses hers as a make-up studio. Private library, personal gym, another storage room, another guest room, private cinema, art studio, gaming room, the possibilities are endless. If the land is big enough and there’s extra space at the back, a backyard may also be installed with a garden or pet space or even private swimming pool, though not many have this nowadays.
Nowadays, considering the weather in most of Indonesia, air conditioners are installed within the house, or at the very least in the bedrooms. Fans can also help with cooling, as well as indoor fountain/waterfall. As for lighting, lamps, especially LED ones, are commonly used now. The sun light in Indonesia tend to be strong enough that you don’t need lamps during the day, though, as long as the space has good enough exposure.
Now, as I’ve said above, helpers can work in an Indonesian house. A type of helper who doesn’t live in the house also exist; they usually came by in the morning and go home during the night. Nannies for kids and caretakers for the elderlies might also work in a house, though they’re usually more expensive than helpers as they needed certain education and qualifications. They may or may not live in the house, though. The one worker who more commonly not live in their master’s house is a driver. A driver would usually arrive early in the morning to bring the kids to school or their masters to work, then drives to wherever they’re needed, till the afternoon or evening. When not driving, they usually tend to the car(s), such as cleaning them or checking their machines. Some drivers are told to tend to the garden or take their master’s pets on a walk. The truly rich house owners also hire security/gatekeeper personnel, either directly or through outsourcing.
The family members inside a home is varied, and pets can also fill them. Dogs (as long as you’re not Muslim), cats, fish, turtle, birds, and hamster are the more common pets, with rabbit (they die very easily here), guinea pig, lizards, tarantula, and other more exotic pets are less common. Some ‘unofficial’ creatures can also live in a house: small lizards called cicak, medium lizards like tokek, ants, cockroaches, mosquitoes, flies, termites, and even spirits. Especially in empty houses, spirits are dubbed as the occupant, with saying ‘penghuni’, meaning resident or occupant, when referring to an empty house will more often than not being associated with the spiritual world.
Right, that’s all about housing in Indonesia for now!
See you next time with another topic~
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