ooooo this is a good idea! We didn't want to make purchasing the asset a requirement, as we didn't want the cost to prohibit anyone from participating, so hopefully this thread helps inspire some ideas. I'll throw in my perspective from making "The Open House" but you basically already nailed the two large points I was attempting to capture in that game, in regards to the house.
The first was using the default layout, as people are so familiar with it now. I wanted people to walk in to that house and feel like they had been there before. I think for the jam, you could recreate the house using other assets or aesthetic styles and it would still be instantly recognizable upon entry.
The second was what the house "represented" so far in the indie scene. Basically the types of games it's used in and what the themes of those games usually are. You could, in theory, have your game take place in another suburban environment (like a neighbor) or deal with the aftermath of an event that occurred in the "HQ_Residential_House!"
But! Be as creative with your interpretation as you want or need to be! You're not limited to a genre, physical environment, aesthetic style or anything! If HQ_Residential_House makes you want to make a visual novel with Match-3 style gameplay, do it up!