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Villagers (tomb builders, farmers, and the like) lived in cramped villages with narrow streets near the tombs sites or farmlands. The houses they occupied were made of bricks. The bricks were made of mud and chopped straw, molded and dried in the hot Egyptian sun. These dwellings deteriorated after time, and new ones were built right on top of the crumbled material, creating hills called tells. Only buildings that were meant to last forever were made of stone. The homes themselves were squarish in shape, with a vent on the roof and narrow windows. The front space of the house was used by the villager for his trade and possibly for keeping some livestock. The living area was shared by the family. There was little furniture save beds and small chests for keeping clothes. The kitchen was at the back of the house where there might be an underground cellar for storage. There was no running water and sometimes a single well served an entire town. Egyptian villagers spent most of their time out of doors. They often slept, cooked, and ate atop their houses' flat roofs. Wealthy Egyptian people had spacious estates with comfortable houses. The houses had high ceilings with pillars, barred windows, tiled floors, painted walls, and stair cases leading up to the flat roofs where one could overlook the estate. There would be pools and gardens, servant's quarters, wells, graneries, stables, and a small shrine for worship. The wealthy lived in the countryside or on the outskirts of a town.
 The ancient Egyptians, even the wealthy ones, had a very limited assortment of furniture. A low, square stool, the corners of which flared upwards and on top was placed a leather seat or cushion, was the most common type of furnishing. Chairs were rare and they only belonged to the very wealthy. Small tables were made of wood or wicker and had three to four legs. Beds were made of a woven mat placed on wooden framework standing on animal-shaped legs. At one end was a footboard and at the other was a headrest made a curved neckpiece set on top of a short pillar on an oblong base. Lamp stands held lamps of simple bowls of pottery containing oil and a wick. Chests were used to store domestic possessions such as linens, clothing, jewelry, and make-up.
The Egyptians were the first culture to establish gardens of an ornamental nature. The first recorded garden dates around 2200 B.C. The gardens included pools for fish, fig and pomegranate trees, grapevine covered trellises, and beds of flowers. The pharaohs and government officials used them as oases of privacy and cool and shady retreats from the hot desert sun. They were also found at many religious and sacred sites.
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