At a glance:

A general overview of a house consists of a treasury and study in the North, prayer room in the North-east, bath, dining in the East, kitchen in the South-east, bedroom, dining in the South, master’s room, store in the South-west, children room in West and granary, toilets, guest rooms in the North west.

The figure on the previous page gives a general overview of the many rooms in your house.
It is adviseable to have the edifice or building constructed in south-west portion of the plot. More space on the north and east may be allowed.

The classical works recommend the paisacha (which is one-ninth of the site) zone to be kept free.

The centre of the plot is known as brahmanabhi and the centre of the building is known as grihanabhi. The grihanabhi should either be to the southwest or the northeast of the brahmanabhi. This way the happiness in the family is greatly enhanced.

If the centre of the building is displaced either to the southeast or northwest of the centre of the plot, it is said to be bad

The ancients speak of four types of houses.

Ekasala: Courtyard surrounded by chambers on one side.

Dwisala: Courtyard surrounded by chambers on two sides.

Trisala: Courtyard surrounded by chambers on three sides.

Chatussala: Courtyard surrounded by chambers on all four sides.

The Brihat Samhita absolutely disallows split level construction. It mentions that if one wishes to have prosperity, one has to raise the level of the floor uniformly on all sides.