Would this annoy you? Neighbours copying everything you do.

I was worried at one point our neighbours might think we were copying them! After a car accident wrote our family car off, my husband looked at various different ones and changed to an S Max from a C Max (family of 5, 3 boys who were all getting bigger) - our neighbours had an S Max too. Then we changed our outdoor light when the old one stopped working. Went to Homebase I think as it was closing down and bought the only style they had available - turned out to be identical to the one the neighbour had! I appreciate there’s a lot more to yours, but both of ours were genuinely coincidences. I am useless with car models so it wasn’t until I saw them both on the driveway that I realised they were the same car, and I never looked at what their outside light was. So maybe with your neighbour, some of the changes were just a case of “this is what’s available”? Then some could have been they saw yours and thought it looked really nice so went for the same. Maybe with the driveway they thought it would look better all round if it was identical, or maybe they didn’t know anyone to do the work so used who you used as they saw they’d done a good job!

I do wonder if it only irritates you because you assume some people might think you copied them? Otherwise I really, really can’t see why it would bother you. Just see it as a compliment that they think you have excellent taste!

Print out the Australian emigration forms and leave them where they can see them.
With luck, problem sorted.😀

Really surprised at the comments. I would find this extremely weird and annoying - getting the same of everything including down to garden furniture is bizarre. What are the chances that you and your neighbours have the exact same taste? Zero chance. They have no taste of their own and are copying you. It would irritate me and freak me out.

You should be flattered their taking inspiration from you, and I'm sure both houses look good from outside as both match. Saying that I can understand your frustration but each to their own....can you imagine them telling ppl that you copied them, now that will be the icing on the cake 🤣

It is annoying.

We had it with a previous neighbour and not much you can do about it.
I find it strange that people can’t create their own ideas and have to copy.

We had our front garden converted to block paving for parking and new surrounding fence. The other side of the semi already had it done. I matched theirs. Not because I loved it but because houses look much better when they match.
They did comment that I’d copied them.
I wouldn’t have chosen grey blocks with black pattern and black fence but would have looked awful to have brown blocks and brown fence right next to theirs. 🤷‍♀️
Plus they know the renovation already works. Skylights etc. Bifolds. they’re all pretty standard updates.

It may not be 'copying' - it may just be when they see it in actual real life and how it looks on a very similar house, they realise its great and want their house to look good too. Sometimes you only realise you like something when you see it actually done, if you know what I mean.... try and give people the benefit of the doubt, it contributes hugely to your own peace of mind. You cant affect what they do or if they 'copy', you can only control your own response so try to take it in good spirit and frame it as a compliment to your taste and example/

‘Matching’ semis do look nice but copying everything with identical stuff is a bit weird but ultimately harmless.

‘Matching’ semis do look nice but copying everything with identical stuff is a bit weird but ultimately harmless.

If you’d painted your house bright pink and put a fountain on the front lawn I might think it was off. Your design choices are neither individual nor ground breaking. YABU

It's a bit irritating I agree, but will improve the kerb appeal of your house, if your neighbours' also looks good

Are you semi detached with them? If so then I think some people prefer the look of matching because it was but the same and is meant to be the same. If not yes they're being weird. Although those things are all in, the chances of them doing them all, just after you, in the same style as you, all by pure coincidence/ they were going to do anyway, is pretty much zero

My neighbours like this. Honestly I don't mind. Flattered if anything that they take inspo from us

Yabu
You really should be taking it as a compliment.
And at least your houses won’t clash!

Paint your windows with creosote
They'll find it a bastard to come off
A Viz top tip from the90s

Ultimately, many of the things you’ve described like shutters, bifolds, skylights, pergola etc are pretty “in” currently in term of home design, so if they were thinking of doing renovations themselves and you just happened to get there first whilst they were saving up, they probably wouldn’t want to change what they wanted just because you also had it, rather than “copying.” It wouldn’t bother me even if it was copying - people ultimately get their ideas from what they see around them and if yours looks good, next door looking good is a nice bonus. Our neighbours bought the same shed and garden furniture as ours because they were impressed with the quality - perfectly reasonable.

Wouldn't bother me in the slightest. There are far worst things for a neighbour to do. At least they're caring for their home and making it nice. Far better that then letting it get scruffy.

If you got some weird statue thing you may have a point but it all seems fairly standard things

I get a window from a glass, he get a window from a glass.

Excitedly tell them about your new sex dungeon, complete with wall mounted shackles. See if they copy that.

My neighbours have done all of the above in the last 2 years, I don’t think they were copying you. It’s just a trend.
Just remember that people making their properties look nice in your neighbourhood helps the value of your home too. I’m always glad to see neighbours keeping their homes nice. I don’t mean painting them grey and getting rid of their front gardens though, that’s never welcomed.

i would be irritated if friends or family copied my impeccably and uniquely curated design choices and cast them off as their own genius. But random neighbours … who gives a shit. Maybe they have increased your house price by improving the area.

It's brilliant that your houses have a similar look. I expect what you choose looks good and they can't imagine anything nicer.

I would imagine they just have the same ideas as you (and everyone else who is interested in making their house look contemporary)!

I think you will find these are just versions of things that are “in” at the moment. If you go on social media everyone has the same stuff!

Also, I think it’s good when neighbours match the front of their houses, makes it look neater- but that could just be me.