Houses in other countries (inspired by what baffles you about other countries)

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Inspired by the thread on things that baffle you in other countries, where quite a lot of the discussion related to homes in other countries, I thought it’d be interesting with a thread showing standard homes in different countries and some information about how choices have been made when it comes to their layout etc.

So here are two links to two different homes in Sweden. This one (you’ll get straight to a gallery with pictures and the layout is at the bottom) is a fairly typical house built in the 1970s:
www.hemnet.se/bostad/villa-6rum-rodeby-karlskrona-kommun-fasanvagen-6-17145055#gallery

There are several areas to sit outside, wooden decking areas. There is a large hallway, easy to store clothes and put away shoes. There are two lounges – very common, and normally desired, for families; one for the parents, one for children to have friends in etc. The kitchen was probably a room of its own in the 1970s, but it’s now more or less open to the lounge. There is a separate utility room, and a big storage room with a separate entrance (“förråd”). There is also an indoors storage room, “Klk”. There are bedrooms on the ground floor as well as on the first floor – this is very common, people like not having all bedrooms next to each other (so do I!). Sometimes when the children get older parents like to move downstairs and leave the upstairs to the children completely (including cleaning haha!). In this house, the downstairs bedrooms are kind of tucked away, but it is also common to have a bedroom literally inside the entrance door for example.

When this house was built and bought, the upstairs probably wasn’t ready – people would buy a house that was ‘half-done’ and then when they had saved more money they’d do the upstairs too. So there is no proper bathroom upstairs, just a loo; this is very unusual. (And usually, all bathrooms and loos are fully tiled – all new built houses always have fully tiled bathrooms and toilets, so this is a house that has not been renovated to what is now standard.)

It is also very typical that there are no doors to the lounge/hallway for example. I think that is one reason why Scandi people feel that English houses are so crowded/small/narrow, there’s no open space (even without expanding it would feel more airy if there weren’t doors to three rooms on the ground floor from a very narrow hallway, for example).

So people buying this house would probably fit a proper bathroom upstairs, for example. The downstairs looks quite ‘normal’ and ready to go.

This is quite a standard, recently built flat for families (in fact, it’s just being built, so there are options for the first buyer to choose between, different bathroom tiles for example).

www.hemnet.se/bostad/lagenhet-4rum-majorna-goteborgs-kommun-fixfabrikens-gata-4-17184735#gallery

Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, one of them also has a washing machine and a drier. Two balconies (this is unusual, one is standard), open plan living again. Quite a lot of cupboards/storage, including in the hallway and built in wardrobes in every room. Specific cleaning cupboard in the kitchen area. Big windows – really important, this is one thing I miss in England.

(Bedrooms are never presented as 'double' or 'single' - I don't know any 'child' living at home who had a double bed, and everything is measured in sq metres - it'd be pointless information for someone that a double bedroom, it doesn't say anything about the size, apart from the fact that it is at least 2x2 metres ;-) )

Would be really interesting to see a standard home in Italy/France/Spain/Ireland/the Netherlands for example and hear about the choices made there/what people like and want, I’ve never been in any :-)

I can post some homes in Denmark later on too if anyone's interested.

I think it's clear from this thread and from the other one this was inspired by that British people are genuinely baffled by sockets in bathrooms. It seems to be one of those things where people have been "indoctrinated" for lack of a better word, with horror stories of electrocution, that it isn't possible, just too unsafe. (A Swedish equivalent is carpets, where we are all convinced that they "give you allergies" and are inherently very dirty and also more expensive than hard flooring.)

Electricity in bathrooms is entirely possible, it's just a question of standards. I definitely think the UK should do a push to change this.

I might add here that Swedes are convinced that no-one outside the Nordic countries can build a house properly at all. We have coffee break discussions of lack of insulation, carpets in bathrooms (which I have only ever seen in a French chateau), no complete waterproofing of bathrooms etc etc. Basking in our self-perceived superiority.

Speaking of insulation, to answer the question above: I'm no expert (and don't own a house) so I'm not sure, but I think the rules might focus on the building's energy use footprint, so to speak. And from that you work out what sort of insulation you need to not exceed that. But maybe one of the other Swedes knows more. But we are baffled by how you in the UK and in Ireland use central heating like some sort of fireplace. On/off, on/off. We are more likely to keep it on all the time (during the cold season), to keep the building at a regular temperature which is better for the building and prevents damp. Insert something about ventilation here as well, I am a bit hazy on the details. Anyway, insulation is constant topic. Poor insulation can be seen by how many icicles a roof has - the heat is leaking!

We also don't understand obsession with ensuites. Not a thing here.
We're also baffled by houses/flats not being clearly advertised by square metrage.

In Poland, as I said on the other thread, I am regularly baffled by bathrooms and toilets that don't have doorlocks. "Because we have the frosted window over the door, and then we see if the light is on, and we don't go in." That's not my bloody point Agnieszka.

building standards:
when we had the bathroom done in uk the builder was when we wanted the whole room aquaboarded and the whole floor tiled, including under the bathtub.
same with the kitchen, fully tiled uncluding under units is standard anywhere else I have ever lived (many countries).

Really interesting thread!

The Dutch House @GnomeDePlume has mentioned is the sort of property mumsnetters will gush over even though it's a new build townhouse which, if it was built in the UK, would bring most mumsnetters out in hives.

@VetonCall, the Ascot Drive Midridge - oh the cupboard space in the kitchen! That is one thing I miss in Britain. Even newly built houses seem to have so little cupboard space in the kitchen (even in reasonably sized kitchen). Where does everyone keep everything?

@Longdistance, so interesting that the Hungarian house is decorated on the outside! Not sure I've seen that anywhere else.

@StartupRepair, it always surprises me to see really big houses where there is no 'space' upstairs - even this huge house kind of has a narrow extended corridor between the stairs and all the bedrooms etc. If you have that much space, why not leave some open just to make it feel airy!

@DinosApple, you asked about heating in Scandinavia. In Sweden, more than half of all homes are heated by 'communal heating', so a council will have a big production unit for heating and this will be transported to each home, where it is used for hot water and heating. So many homes don't have their own boiler or similar, just a pipe going in somewhere! Environmentally friendly - easier to make one big plant good for the environment. In many places the heating is actually generated by burning rubbish (that can be burnt - so not things that shouldn't be burnt).

Agree with Banivari that I've never understood the on and off about heating in England. In Sweden it'll be on when it's cold, all the time, maybe a little lower at night, or you turn off the heating in bedrooms, but I've never had any discussions about when to turn it on/off etc. I'm not sure if it is a waste of energy or if it is energy efficient to not keep it on and off. But if that explains the mould in English houses/lack of mould in Scandinavia, that would be enlightening :-)

And yes to no carpets in Sweden (Danes have it at times) for hygiene reasons. I've been told it stems from a TV-programme in the 70s, when there was only one programme to watch, where they tried to clean a carpet and then put it in a microscope... not a nice sight!

(Banivani, I've seen many carpets in bathrooms in England, including my MIL, and BILs until a few years ago... BILs seriously considered recarpeting it, but went for tiles in the end, luckily... I kind of walk on my tip toes if I have to use a bathroom with a carpet, it feels so disgusting. I think it was on mumsnet I read someone's argument for having carpet: a friend of a friend's (something) had a toddler in the bathtub who slipped leaving it and fell on the floor and died, had it been carpeted the child would probably have survived...)

@Nonamesavail I really miss sockets in the bathroom. They are really handy for charging things like electric toothbrushes / shavers / any other gadgets. I still find it annoying that my toothbrush charger has to live on a shelf in my bedroom and I have to remember to bring it into another room to charge it.

The horror of electrocution in bathrooms is definitely a British cultural thing. I have never seen a media report about it happening anywhere else, and it's not like it's consistently applied here anyway - not being allowed a light switch in a bathroom because you might touch it with wet hands, but being allowed one in a kitchen makes no sense.

I'd also agree about the carpet thing being cultural. The carpet in my MILs bathroom literally makes my skin crawl. I don't get carpets in public places like a doctor's surgery or on trains either unless it's to hide how dirty it is. Surely a floor you can scrub is better, carpets may be softer underfoot but in a public place no one is barefoot to appreciate it....

@Howzaboutye

Oooh this is so interesting! I love seeing how people really live! Interesting that weather isn't accounted for in SA and Oz so no heating.

I imagine pre internet days moving country was considerably more challenging, as you would expect everything to be the same, but so much is different.

I worked in France for a while, the houses in the small town all had outside wooden window shutters. With the most amazing little busts/people to hold them back. Never seen them before or since. Must have been very 'local' thing.

All the new houses in Northern Ireland are hard floors downstairs, carpet upstairs. England- carpet everywhere.

I lived in a 1950s house for a while in West London- it had a small loo room with sink separate from the bathroom. So civilized! If I ever get to design a big bathroom I'm definitely having the loo separate

In northern Italy we do still have these little busts/people to hold them back on the outside. I am from an area close to the Alps and we have quite a lot in common with our French cousins I guess (even if most don't like to hear it!)

[quote Duckchick]@Nonamesavail I really miss sockets in the bathroom. They are really handy for charging things like electric toothbrushes / shavers / any other gadgets. I still find it annoying that my toothbrush charger has to live on a shelf in my bedroom and I have to remember to bring it into another room to charge it.

The horror of electrocution in bathrooms is definitely a British cultural thing. I have never seen a media report about it happening anywhere else, and it's not like it's consistently applied here anyway - not being allowed a light switch in a bathroom because you might touch it with wet hands, but being allowed one in a kitchen makes no sense.

I'd also agree about the carpet thing being cultural. The carpet in my MILs bathroom literally makes my skin crawl. I don't get carpets in public places like a doctor's surgery or on trains either unless it's to hide how dirty it is. Surely a floor you can scrub is better, carpets may be softer underfoot but in a public place no one is barefoot to appreciate it....[/quote]
I had my bathroom updated a couple of years ago here in the UK and legally installed a( double) shaver socket. We use it to charge the toothbrushes and we have an echo dot plugged in (but can't handle higher voltages like hairdryers for instance).

It's been 15 years since I moved to the UK and got used to a lot of things that were different in my country of origin. But I still miss drying my hair in the bathroom! My reasons are:

• I don't like to pick up my hair from the floor in the bedroom. If I dry it in the bathroom it's a smaller room to clean and where I already expect to find this type of 'dirt'
• The biggest mirror in the house is there, at the right height, with the right light
• I like to keep my make up there for the same reasons mentioned above (if I do my make up in another room it's not unusual some powder drops or I squirt the foundation on the floor by mistake etc and it's a potential disaster vs doing it on the ceramic sink + big mirror with big lights). It's so convenient doing both hair and makeup together.

We rent and have carpets in both toilets and bathroom. I hate it and we pay 1000pcm for the privilege

I hated the fucking shutters when I lived in France and never used them. It makes the room pitch black and you really struggle to wake up. I like to have daylight coming into the room in the mornings.

I loved the roller shutters in Germany. You could leave a gap at the bottom to let some light in.

Security must be far better too.

God, I loved those shutters when I lived in France and Germany, for exactly the reason garlictwist hated them: they make the room so lovely and dark to sleep in.

@Afromeg

Nice houses you showed. My husband is a Yoruba man from Lagos. We both live in UK but houses in Nigeria are very nice. Especially in Lagos and Abuja .... Nigeria is definitely very modern compared to other African countries. And the houses in certain cities really are lovely. Whenever we watch Nollywood, I certainly admire a lot of the houses.

My question is it's mainly flooring like wooden or marble in the houses, why not carpeting?

Kazakhstan - most people live in flats, especially in the city, houses are really expensive.
Flats have centralised heating, as in the city provides the heating (and hot water) through huge pipes that run round the city from the central plant. The hot water comes into the flat building and goes up through all the radiators in all the flats and then back down. When it doens't work well, the top floor flats can be too hot, or if the pipes flow the other way, the ground floor flats can be too hot.
You have no control, so to cool the room down, you open the window.
Heating goes on on 15th October regardless of how hot or cold it is and is turned off on April 1st.

Traditional windows were two complete sets of wooden windows about 4 inches apart. In the winter you tried to seal the draughts by sticking cotton wool in the cracks, covered in strips of paper, dipped in sugar water. It dries over the crakc and seals it. Modern houses have triple glazed windows. Winter is very, very cold. Midday temp in winter can be -20, or -30.

Flats are counted by room number, living room plus bedrooms. People use all rooms for sleeping. Never, ever open plan kitchen. Most food is eaten in living room, round a low table, sitting on the floor, or on chairs round a higher table. Food prep is always in another room.

Many houses on the edge of the city or in the villages are dependant on their own water wells, and have fires for heating. Until recently outside loos were often the only ones (yes, even in winter) and my friends who have 2 indoor loos often prefered the outdoor loo in the summer as being 'healthier'
May only have one cold water tap outside too.
Traditional village houses have a fire with a concrete surround which creates a place to put a saucepan and maybe an oven (often not) but the chimney goes up through the middle of the house, and heats the living room. Familes often sleep all together in one bed in the living room due to warmth.

New flats in the city are all mod cons, many have AC units in the windows for hot summer weather. Water and heating all laid on by the city, you pay per square foot for your house, regardless of how much you use. Flats are generally small, and have a lot of people per room.
Older flats have a cold cupboard in the kitchen, it is in the thickness of the wall, so nearer the outside wall, and was used when there was no fridge.

Indonesian houses.

The front of the house always has a room for guests. It is usually across the front, right by the front door. It is not necessarily large, but always has the nicest furniture, usually quite formal chairs around the walls, with a table in the middle.
Visitors come to that room, sit around and talk. The host brings tea and snacks to the guest room and it is served there. Visitors do not go into the rest of the house.
In poorer houses, there might not be another 'living room' so this room is used as both, but if a visitor arrives, kids etc are expected to remove themselves while their mum or dad entertains visitor.
It is quite strict, even close friends might only be entertained in the guest room.

Netherlands

often very steep stairs (scarily so!)

tiny formal gardens

only one bathroom, for 4/5 beds. rarely an ensuite

Rarely carpets.

downstairs loos tiny, (yet the dutch men are tall, how do they sit down?) Often only cold water tap in the sink in the loo.

Downstairs usually open plan, kitchens tend to be small, and often have a hob and microwave but no oven.

Huge windows, and no-one has or closes curtains. Elegant objects/flowers displayed on front window sills

When I visited friends in Sweden, I liked the little lamps everyone had in the windows. I don't mean just at Christmas.
We went out for a walk in the evening just to see them. They didn't close the curtains or blinds and it looked very cheerful.

They were either little table lamps or tiny pendant lights.

sorry, my Dutch ones sound all negative!

also

flowers. Ducth houses always have beautiful flowers, in the garden and in the house. (it is a delight buying flowers in The Netherlands)

elegance. They are always feel elegant. Even with toys around. It is a combination of clean lines and modern furniture I think

The huge windows are lovely. So light and airy

attics. Most houses are built with proper stairs to the attic floor, so you can make it into rooms later. The laundry is often up there too.
Really good use of space.

great use of small spaces, well designed.

I am German and things I miss here in the UK are:

Cellars, lots of storage space
Sockets in the bathroom, we all survive with having our hairdryer near water
Windows you can open inwards.
Mixer taps everywhere
washing machine not in the kitchen
Blinds outside the windows, automatically black-out, keeping heat in in winter and heat out in Summer.

Typical Hungarian middle class housing

ingatlan.com/xi-ker/elado+lakas/panel-lakas/31979483

giant concrete blocks of pre-made elements - thanks to soviet technology being inspired by bauhaus.
Insulation is okay usually, but many ppl now have changed the flooring and for some strange reason they mostly don't bother with insulation under the carpet/hardwood flooring.
Another thing I don't miss having lived in one of these for 20 years: all toilets are under each other for the 10-12 stories. They have a metal backside. All noise - and I mean all!- travels perfectly. I used to know almost everything about ppl I've never seen 6 story higher :)

I agree with prev german poster about electricity in bathroom, mixing tap. Plus I miss a normal sized garden in the UK (London)

I love how in Austria in the countryside every house has a balcony box or more full of geraniums :)

Love the swiss alp very steep, full down to the ground roofs.

I really liked california houses (palo alto/mountain view, so maybe too posh) - big, low, huge porches and normal sized gardens.

[quote PopsicleHustler]@Afromeg

Nice houses you showed. My husband is a Yoruba man from Lagos. We both live in UK but houses in Nigeria are very nice. Especially in Lagos and Abuja .... Nigeria is definitely very modern compared to other African countries. And the houses in certain cities really are lovely. Whenever we watch Nollywood, I certainly admire a lot of the houses.

My question is it's mainly flooring like wooden or marble in the houses, why not carpeting?[/quote]
Tell your husband I said "Ekaaro Sir!" I lived in Lagos at some point and also had some Lagosian friends (who weren't all Yoruba but could speak the language. I learnt a little).

You'll mostly find marble floors, tiles, center/area rugs and leather seats, especially in modern builds. They help in keeping the house cool and easier to dust and clean. Houses have only fans and/or AC units, no heaters.

Some have fabric seats, carpets or wooden floors but carpets are mainly for personal preference or in old houses that haven't been updated. I grew up with carpets everywhere in the house and still prefer them. The house is now considered one of the much older models but was modern/on trend in its time.

Nigerians generally don't view old houses and decor in the same way British people do. The more modern the better, so each new build is more modern than the last and the old houses are left to the grandparents or those on lower income or just someone's personal preference (regardless of income bracket) who doesn't wish to update theirs.

Also, the more modern your house is, the more you'll be seen as doing well for yourself, especially among the youths and 'new money'. Even though it isn't true, many people want to be seen as doing well so it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy because they either update their house or build a modern one.

I was trying to find interior pics for a normal/middle of the road/more traditional Nigerian interior but was mainly seeing either shacks or decor with lots of animal prints and sculptures (which Nigerians generally don't tend to use as decor unless going for a specific theme) or garish decor where owners are competing with their friends or fellow celebs on who can have the most gold-plated/expensive decor. lol. As I wrote earlier, decor is really down to personal taste and ranges from one extreme to the other.

Managed to find these but are all modern ones in cities, I presume.

The first is what you may find in a typical modern city flat.
Second is either a townhouse or duplex.
Third is one of the rich ones - think that's a celeb's house but not sure.

@PopsicleHustler Actually, the time of 'Ekaaro' has passed, so tell him "Eka asan! Ba wo ni?" instead

One thing I find weird about buying and selling property in Sweden is that estate agents will send around an interior decorator to style your home before it can be photographed for website and before viewings can commence. My friend ended up spending a fortune on fancy frech hand soap with colour matching designer hand towels to display in her bathroom and new cushions for her living room before her apartment could be viewed. My mum's neighbours (Stockholm) put most of their clutter and stuff in storage before they could sell their flat. Sounds unrealistic and stressful to me! Maybe it's a city thing as tjis all happened in Stockholm.

I do miss the extra storage spaces you get in most property in Sweden as well as the double, or even tripple glazing. But quite like my very British brick 1950s semi detached with it's traditional fire place and creaking stairs!

Afromeg @afromeg
I also sabi yoruba and pidgin well well na too!
How far?

@PopsicleHustler Oh! I want to give you a hi five and a massive hug right now! You try joor!

I dey jare, my sister! Wetin dey happen for una side? How body?

@steppemum I had forgotten about having the washing machine and drier on the top floor. I think it only works in a house with concrete floors.

I remember we were given two explanations for the curtains in the front never being closed:

1. You can see us, we are doing nothing to be ashamed of. We are sitting here having a cup of coffee and a cookie (just the one)

1. Look how tasteful and gezellig our house is

I loved the practicality of our Dutch house.

The garden thing was also very different from UK. Every now and then our neighbours would have a new garden installed. Old garden would get cleared out and new garden complete with pots, trees etc would be built. No DIY, just a team from the tuin centrum.