How to Draw a House

Drawing a Two-Dimensional House

Draw a rectangle. This first rectangle will be the frame of your house. The exact proportions of the rectangle don’t matter, but try not to make it too long and thin or your house might not look realistic. Use a ruler or straightedge to draw the rectangle so all of the lines are neat and straight.

Sketch a triangle on top of the rectangle to make the roof. The base of the triangle should line up with the top of the rectangle. Make the triangle wide enough that the bottom corners extend past the sides of the rectangle. The triangle should be around the same height as the rectangle. If you make it too tall it won’t look realistic.

Add a chimney and some horizontal panels to the roof. To make the chimney, draw a tall, narrow rectangle that extends up off the left side of the roof. Then, draw a smaller, horizontal rectangle on top of it. To make the roof panels, draw evenly-spaced horizontal lines from one side of the roof to the other. The number of panels you draw doesn’t matter, but try to keep the space between each panel the same.

Draw a couple of windows on the front of the house. To draw a window, make a rectangle and then draw a line through the middle of it horizontally and vertically so it’s divided into 4 sections. Then, draw a thin, horizontal rectangle underneath to make the window sill. You can draw as many windows as you want, but remember to leave some space for the door.

Sketch a vertical rectangle on the front of the house to make the door. The door should start at the bottom of the house and stop before the roof. You can also draw a circle near the middle of the door for a doorknob. If you want your house to have a front step, draw a thin, horizontal rectangle at the bottom of the door.

Color in your house to finish your drawing. There's no right or wrong way to color in your house, so you can get creative! If you want a realistic looking house, stick with basic colors like white, brown, gray, and black. If you want your house to be fun and colorful, experiment with colors like red, blue, green, and yellow.

Sketching a Three-Dimensional House

Draw a cube. The cube will be the basic frame for your three-dimensional house. To draw a cube, start by drawing a thin, horizontal rhombus. Then, draw a vertical line extending down off of the 3 lowest points on the rhombus. Finally, connect the end of the vertical line in the middle to the end of the 2 vertical lines next to it. The proportions of your cube don’t need to be exact, but make sure it’s not too short and narrow or tall and wide or your house might not look realistic.

Sketch the side of the roof on top of the cube. To draw the side of the roof, start by drawing an angled, straight line extending off of the middle corner of the cube. Make the line the same length as the vertical lines you drew to make the edges of the cube. Then, draw a parallel line extending off of the right side of the cube that’s the same length. Finally, connect the ends of the 2 lines with a straight line. When you’re finished, erase any extra lines that are inside of the shape you just drew.

Connect the top left corner of the cube to the top of the roof. Draw a straight line between the 2 points to close off the roof. The line should be at an angle. Erase any extra lines that are inside of the house’s frame.

Add windows and a door to the sides of the house. To make the windows, draw small, vertical rectangles along the sides of the house. Make sure they’re evenly spaced and you leave room for the door. To make the door, draw a vertical rectangle extending up from the bottom of the house that lines up with the top of the windows. You can also add a small, square window in the center of the gable (the triangle-shaped part of the wall) if you’d like.

Draw in the finishing details to complete your house. You can crosshatch the side of the roof to create shingles and draw a chimney on top of the roof. To make the door and windows look more realistic, shade them in and draw a small circle on the door for a doorknob. You can even add a fence and draw some trees so your house has a yard. Once you have the basic structure of your house, you can customize it by adding new rooms, a garage, more doors, or any other additions that you think your house should have! You can also color in your house when you're finished to make it pop.