featured_mode: card | illustrationA good drawing room design in Pakistan places the formal guest room near the entrance with its own washroom access, works within DHA's minimum of 100 sq ft and 9 ft width and its 9.5 to 12 ft ceiling range, and is paired with bedrooms planned for heat, cross-ventilation and safe winter heating.
Drawing room design in Pakistan starts with one job: receiving guests without sending them through the family's private space. DHA Lahore sets a minimum living-room size of 100 sq ft with a 9 ft minimum width, and ceilings between 9.5 ft and 12 ft (cl. 29) (DHA Lahore). Within those limits, placement and light matter more than furniture.
Bedrooms face a different test: staying cool in June and safe to heat in January. This guide covers both.
What the drawing room is for
The formal guest room has deep roots. The mehmaan khana or baithak, a room where guests are entertained, was typical of Mughal-era havelis and is still found in many homes across Pakistan (Wikipedia).
Modern Lahore houses keep the idea but shrink it. In a 1-kanal house, the drawing room is often a formal room by the main door. In a 5-marla house, it usually merges with dining.
The design rule follows from the purpose. Guests should reach the drawing room, a washroom and, if needed, the dining table without crossing the family lounge or the stairs to bedrooms.
Room sizes and rules
Most Lahore societies use the 225 sq ft marla: 5 marla is 1,125 sq ft, 10 marla 2,250 sq ft and 1 kanal 4,500 sq ft (Avenir Developments).
| Rule | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum living room area (DHA) | 100 sq ft | DHA cl. 29(a) |
| Minimum living room width (DHA) | 9 ft | DHA cl. 29(a) |
| Living room ceiling height (DHA) | 9.5 ft min, 12 ft max | DHA cl. 29(b) |
| Light and ventilation (DHA) | All rooms well lit and ventilated | DHA cl. 29(a) |
| Minimum clear storey height (LDA) | 9 ft 6 in | LDA |
| Door, window and ventilator positions | Must be shown on drawings | DHA cl. 15(m) |
A 100 sq ft room is the legal floor, not a good drawing room. It fits a sofa set and little else. Treat it as the size for a small study or guest bedroom.
Drawing room layouts by plot size
| Plot | Typical arrangement | Placement tip |
|---|---|---|
| 5 marla | Drawing-cum-dining on the ground floor | Put the sofa zone near the entry and the table near the kitchen |
| 7–10 marla | Separate drawing room plus open dining | Drawing room off the entrance with a guest washroom nearby |
| 1 kanal | Formal drawing, formal dining, family lounge | Give the drawing room its own entrance from the porch |
| Upper portion | Lounge doubles as drawing room | Keep bedroom doors out of the guests' line of sight |
Drawing-dining combined
The combined room suits most 5- and 7-marla houses. Use a rug, a ceiling change or a lighting change to separate the two halves rather than a wall.
Formal drawing room with separate entrance
In larger houses, a direct door from the porch lets male guests come and go without entering the house. This mirrors the old baithak logic. Add a guest washroom reachable from the drawing room or the passage beside it.
Furniture and decor ideas
- Seating: a three-seater and two singles, or an L-shaped sofa in smaller rooms. Avoid oversized sets that block windows.
- Focus wall: a panelled or textured wall behind the main sofa gives character without crowding the floor.
- Lighting: layered light, with a ceiling fitting, wall lights and a floor lamp. Formal rooms often look dull under a single tube light.
- Rugs: one large rug pulls a combined drawing-dining room together.
- Curtains: full-height curtains make a 10 ft ceiling feel taller and block afternoon sun.
- Storage: a low console or built-in cabinet for crockery and display.
Doors and woodwork set the finish level. Toolsfluent's 2026 Lahore tiers run from China ply doors at economy level to Malaysian ply at standard, ash wood at premium and deodar at luxury (Toolsfluent).
Bedroom ideas that work in Lahore's climate
Bedrooms are where heat hurts most. June routinely passes 45°C in Lahore, and the record is 50.4°C (Wikipedia).
- Put the master bedroom on a lower floor or under a treated roof. In a UN-Habitat test, better roof treatments cut indoor temperatures by about 4°C on average (UN-Habitat).
- Keep ceilings high where you can. A Lahore architect told the Express Tribune that older buildings stayed cooler with higher ceilings and better air circulation (Express Tribune). DHA allows up to 12 ft in living rooms.
- Plan cross-ventilation. Windows on two walls, or a window plus a ventilator, let air move on mild nights.
- Shade west windows. A 2020 UET Taxila study of Lahore architects lists sun shades, trees and brise soleil among their main strategies (UET Taxila).
- Choose an efficient AC. NEECA runs the Pakistan Energy Label scheme, and federal buyers must now purchase labelled inverter and non-inverter room ACs (ProPakistani). Look for the label when you buy for home.
- Seal windows for smog season. Punjab EPA advises keeping windows and doors closed during high-smog periods (EPA Punjab).
Bedroom layout checklist
| Element | Good practice |
|---|---|
| Bed position | Not directly under the AC throw or facing the door |
| Wardrobes | On the wall that gets the most sun, as an extra buffer |
| Attached bath | Exhaust to outside; door not facing the bed |
| Power points | Both sides of the bed, plus a dedicated AC point |
| Children's room | Study desk near the window, durable flooring |
Winter heating: make it safe
Many Lahore families heat drawing rooms and bedrooms with gas heaters. That needs design thought.
Rescue 1122 warns against using gas heaters in tightly closed rooms, because poor airflow lets carbon monoxide build up and can be fatal (APP). It also says most incidents involve heaters or stoves left on overnight. SNGPL advises against rubber pipes on gas heaters and recommends shutting the main valve before sleeping (APP).
Design responses:
- Provide a fixed ventilator high on the wall in any room where a gas heater will be used.
- Fit a proper gas point with a metal connection, not a floor-trailing rubber pipe.
- Keep heater positions away from curtains; Rescue 1122 lists clothes and blankets near heaters as a leading cause of winter fires.
- Consider inverter AC heat mode or electric heaters for bedrooms, especially if new gas is unavailable. New domestic gas connections were halted again in April 2026 (Aaj News).
Budget: what finish level costs
Interior finish is priced per sq ft of covered area in Lahore.
| Tier | Finishing rate per sq ft | Doors and flooring |
|---|---|---|
| Economy | about Rs2,000 | China ply doors, local ceramic tiles |
| Standard | about Rs3,200–4,200 | Malaysian ply doors, branded local tiles |
| Premium | about Rs5,000 | Ash wood doors, imported tiles |
| Luxury | about Rs8,000–9,450 | Deodar doors, imported tiles, marble stairs |
Sources: Toolsfluent, Jul 2026; Avenir Developments, Sep 2026 for the Rs4,200 standard and Rs9,450 luxury figures.
Worked example
Suppose a 10-marla house has 3,000 sq ft of covered area across two floors (check your own approved plan). At the standard tier of about Rs3,200–4,200 per sq ft, that gives a finishing budget of roughly Rs96 lakh to Rs1.2 crore for the whole house. The drawing room and bedrooms take a share of that; the kitchen and baths take more per sq ft.
One easy saving: Toolsfluent says standard 60×60 cm or 30×30 cm tiles can cost 25–35% less than custom sizes with a similar look.
Common mistakes
- Drawing room at the back of the house, forcing guests through the lounge.
- No guest washroom near the drawing room.
- A 100 sq ft "drawing room" that only meets the legal minimum.
- Master bedroom on an untreated top floor.
- One window per bedroom with no cross-ventilation.
- Gas heater points with no ventilator.
- Oversized furniture that blocks windows and doors.
Sources
- DHA Construction Regulations, updated — DHA Lahore — room size, ceiling heights, ventilation, drawings
- LDA Building Regulations (existing and proposed) — minimum storey height
- General Public Advice on smog — EPA Punjab, Nov 2025 — closing windows during smog
- Rescue 1122 urges strict precautions as gas leak incidents surge — APP, Nov 2025 — heater ventilation, carbon monoxide, fires
- Umar Hayat advises regular inspection of gas equipment — APP, Dec 2024 — SNGPL heater and valve advice
- Govt makes energy efficient products mandatory in public sector — ProPakistani, Jan 2026 — Pakistan Energy Label, ACs
- Govt halts new gas connections again — Aaj News, Apr 2026 — gas connection halt
- Old Lahore simmers under the sun — Express Tribune, Jun 2024 — ceiling height and air circulation
- Improvement of thermal performance of RC slab roofs — UN-Habitat, 2010 — roof treatment effect
- Redefined energy efficient strategies in Lahore houses — UET Taxila Technical Journal — shading, ventilation
- House Construction in Lahore: A 2026 Guide — Avenir Developments, Sep 2026 — marla basis, finishing rates
- House Construction Cost Pakistan 2026 — Toolsfluent, Jul 2026 — finishing tiers, doors, tile sizes
- Mehmaan khana — Wikipedia — history of the guest room
- Lahore — Wikipedia — summer temperatures