Below - A typical villa one might find in Pompeii.  The camera is in the main entrance  looking through the atrium towards the back of the villa.  Generally in the center of the atrium there would be a basin for the collection of rain water.  However, there is not one in this house.  Off of the Atrium there are generally several smaller rooms including the kitchen and triclinium (three sided dining table).  Towards the rear of the villa there is usually a garden area surrounded by a peristyle (walk-way with a cover supported by arches or pillars.)  Along the peristyle you can expect to find the bedrooms.  Some villas have rooms along the peristyle that opened to the street and were used as shops. 

   The Pompeian villas were lavishly decorated.  On the left and lower left you can see two examples of the exquisitely crafted mosaics that adorned the floors of the entrances to Pompeian villas. 

     Colorful frescoes were another popular form of decoration.  On the lower right you can see one example of a brilliantly detailed fresco.

Credit for the info on this page:
    Blanchard, Paul. "Blue Guide, Southern Italy; From Rome to Calabria", New York: W. W. Norton & Company Inc., 1982. 

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