What Does It Mean to Dream of a House?

Wherever there are people, there are structures of some sort to protect them from the forces of nature. The resulting houses are as varied as the people who live in them.

People are common in dreams, and therefore so are their houses. Your dream of a house can go in many different directions from there.

House Symbolism

Identity

Your house can be an expression of your personal identity. Dreaming of a house can therefore symbolize how you present yourself to the world, intentionally or not.

For example, dreaming of a nice-looking and big house that fits in well with its surrounding neighborhood could symbolize that you feel like you are in a comfortable place in your life and that you do not have a lot of friction with the norms of your society.

Meanwhile, dreaming of a messy house could symbolize that your life is in disarray. Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui (Revised and Updated): Free Yourself from Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual Clutter Forever by Karen Kingston is an excellent resource for exploring the link between a messy home and deeper forms of disorder in your life.

Dreaming of a house that is clean and functional but painted in odd colors or designed in an unusual way could symbolize that you are able to express your individuality and that you have a comfortable feeling with standing out in a crowd. It could also suggest that you or someone else in your life is doing wild stuff to get attention.

Body

Your house can also be a dream symbol of your body. Dreaming of problems with different parts of your house could therefore symbolize problems with different parts of your body. As always, this website does not provide medical advice, and you need to consult a healthcare professional for that.

Dreaming of a problem with a house’s bathroom or other plumbing could mean you have a full bladder and need to wake up to urinate. Alternately, dreaming of water out of control in the house could symbolize that there is a problem with emotions in your life, as suggested in Dream about Water – Interpretation & Meaning.

A problem with the windows, the eye equivalents, of the house in your dream could refer to trouble seeing, either physically or metaphorically. Alternately, dreaming of an unfinished house, or a dirty house with broken windows or doors that allow intruders or pests to get in could refer to the danger of germs getting into your body.

Dreaming of trash piled up in a house or something wrong with the house’s back door could symbolize a problem with your digestive system like constipation.

For other correspondences between house parts and body parts, feel free to use your imagination.

Security

A house can symbolize security and protection from the threats of the outside world. If the house in your dream gets damaged or invaded, though, this can symbolize that you feel unsafe in your life.

A house can also symbolize a level of financial security that seems out of reach for many people today. Even those people who can afford houses are often tied to stressful jobs in order to make the ongoing mortgage payments required.

Dreaming that you have a comfortable house and no concerns about affording it, however, could symbolize that you feel like you are in a good place financially.

Commitment

In the context of a romantic relationship, renting or buying a house together can symbolize an increased level of commitment. Sometimes people want this symbol of commitment in their relationship so badly that they pursue it even when that is not what is best for them financially. In other cases, couples that are not really ready for this level of commitment move in together anyway because it is more affordable for them than maintaining separate apartments.

Either way, a house dream meaning can symbolize that you are considering moving to the next level of commitment in a romantic relationship. Alternately, it could symbolize that you want the structure and security associated with this level of relationship commitment so badly that the actual human you are in a relationship with is sort of incidental to this goal.

Common Dream Interpretations of Houses

Dream Meaning of a New House

If you are not currently searching for or otherwise interested in getting a new house in your waking life, dreaming of a new house would more likely have a symbolic interpretation. It might refer to other changes in the basic structure of your life that have happened recently or will happen soon, like a change in relationship status or a new job.

A house can also represent your body, so dreaming of a new house could symbolize a change to your body that you are happy about, like results from a diet, exercise program, or surgery.

If the house in your dream is so new that it is still being built, seeing new construction in your dream could symbolize that you are rebuilding your life after a big disruption like a divorce or job loss.

Dream Interpretation of a House with Many Rooms

If the house in your dream happens to have many rooms, but the more significant thing about it is that it is an opulent and luxurious house, this dream meaning could be about your attitude toward wealth. Other factors in the dream might show whether that attitude is positive or negative.

If the most significant feature of the house in your dream is a large number of rooms, regardless of whether the house is fancy or dilapidated, this dream meaning symbolizes complexity in your life.

Rooms typically are defined by boundaries such as walls, so to have a house with many separate rooms instead of one big open area symbolizes that there are boundaries between different parts of your life. In some situations, boundaries are very healthy.

The challenge of having too many separate rooms, however, is that you can get to a point where the version of you in the game room doesn’t know what the version of you in the kitchen is doing anymore. If the different stories that you tell different people about your life have gotten too far apart from each other, this dream might symbolize that you need to become clearer about who you are and more open about that with others.

Dream Meaning of the Same House Over and Over

If you have a recurring dream of the same house that is not a house you know to exist in waking life, this can be really mysterious. Try to write down as much as you can remember about this house, and the act of writing it all down may help you see if there is anything that this house reminds you of.

If you later go on in your waking life to see a house that reminds you of the mysterious house in your recurring dream, definitely take note of what is going on when you encounter the house.

If you have a recurring dream of a house you do recognize from your waking life, think of the associations that you have with that house – what people did you spend time with at that house, and what else was going on during the time of your life that you were regularly at that house?

Dream Meaning of a House You Used to Live In

If you dream of a house you used to live in, this might symbolize that something from the corresponding phase of your life is coming up for review. This dream could symbolize that you need to bring something from that past phase of your life into the present.

For example, dreaming of a wild party house where you lived in college could symbolize that you need more fun in your life. Alternately, it could mean you need to reconnect with one of your college friends for professional networking now that you’ve both gotten older and settled down.

Dreaming of an old house that has a deep connection to your childhood, loved ones or family history could symbolize that you are having to examine your origins, perhaps to try to find out what is at the root of your emotional issues.

Dream Meaning of a House with Hidden Rooms

If you dream of a house with hidden rooms, whose house was it, and what is your feeling when you found the hidden rooms?

In general, if it felt like a good surprise when you found the hidden rooms like you were happy with what you found, this is a good omen. It could symbolize that something great has been hiding in plain sight. For example, maybe an acquaintance you have known for a long time on only a surface level has the potential to become a close friend or more.

If the house with the hidden rooms was supposed to be your house in the dream, whether or not it looked anything like your house in waking life, this could symbolize that you are going through a time of personal growth. You could be discovering talents and passions that maybe you had to some degree all along.

If you dream of someone else’s house having hidden rooms, this might have more to do with expanding your understanding of some other person in your life. There is more to the person than you thought, and this could be good or bad.

If you are disturbed by whatever you find in the hidden rooms like if the interior is dirty or full of creepy stuff, this dream could symbolize that you or someone else in your life is hiding a dark secret.

Dream Interpretation of Buying a House

Dreams often process whatever you are doing in your waking life, so if you are actively trying to buy a house in your waking life, it would not be too surprising for you to have a dream of buying a house. The details of your dream, however, might give you guidance as to which characteristics should be the most important to you in selecting your new house.

If your dream mentions a specific purchase price for the new house, you may want to look that up in What Does It Mean if You Dream About Numbers? Also, consider whether that purchase price corresponds to any specific amount of expected income or expenses you are aware of in your waking life.

If you have long been in a situation where the prospect of buying your dream house is out of reach for financial reasons, dreaming of buying a house could a good sign that you are gaining confidence about how to navigate the world of money. Even if you are not able to get everything you want, you may be able to get more than you think you can.

If you and your romantic partner currently live apart from each other or rent together in a less permanent way in your waking life, dreaming of buying a house with your partner can symbolize that you are interested in making a stronger commitment to your relationship.

Dream Meaning of Moving House

If you dream of moving house, are you moving to a different city too? Dreaming of moving to a different city or even a different country can symbolize that you really want to get away from your present situation and make a fresh start somewhere else.

Dreaming about moving to a better house in your current city can symbolize that many different things in your life actually are working well for you – there’s nothing bad enough for you to say you want to go somewhere else – and you have grown ready for the next level within that context.

If you dream of moving to a house that is in worse condition than the house you currently live in, this could symbolize that you are afraid that things in your life have gotten off on the wrong track.

Dream Meaning of a House with a Specific Address

Some house dreams might emphasize the street address of a house. The name of the street or the number of the house could be symbolic, especially if they are not the address of a house known to you in waking life.

What Does It Mean if You Dream About Numbers? describes the symbolism associated with different numbers. An experienced numerologist could do a far more detailed analysis of the house number in your dream, but if you see something really obvious like a house with the number 555 in your dream, it might symbolize that you are being confronted with the need to change.

Some cities get really evocative with their street names in waking life, but your dreams are capable of taking that even further. Often the symbolic street names in your dreams mean exactly what they sound like they mean. If you dream of an address like 555 Liberty St., this could definitely symbolize that you are being pushed to pursue more freedom in your life.

If you dream of a specific street name that is unfamiliar to you, Google it. Before writing for The Symbolism, I briefly worked as a delivery driver and got in the habit of Googling street names in unfamiliar neighborhoods I encountered.

I discovered one neighborhood had its streets named after chief justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, and another neighborhood had its streets named after the islands of Seychelles, and this definitely gave me a context to hold my observations of those neighborhoods. Your dream might similarly have symbolic material hiding in plain sight.

Conclusion

To sum up, house dreams often are about people, as houses tend to be extensions of the identities and energies of the people who live in them.

Houses also give people a place to fit into their society, as noted in the endless conflicts people get in over what is a good neighborhood or a bad neighborhood. House dreams can therefore also speak to how people see themselves in relation to other people.