Differences between US and U.K. homes

[Youngatheart00]

Just a ponderous thread as it’s my day off and I’ve been thinking, mainly following the abundance of Netflix we’ve all watched over the past year, but also some of my travel experiences (not recently, obviously!)

Some of the differences I’ve noticed are;

• many more of the US homes seem to be fully open plan downstairs. Some don’t even seem to have doors between the rooms?

• the bathroom count / ratio to bedrooms is much higher! (Eg 3 bed / 3 bath or even 2 bed / 2.5 bath)

• heating systems, I don’t recall seeing radiators, instead vents in the floor, are these used to flip between hot and cold air depending on the time of year? How effective / efficient are they compared to our big radiator bars here?

• toilets - they seem smaller and the flushing mechanism is different

• baths - they also seem smaller, short and strangely blocky

• Space and size - all of the bathroom stuff is unusual when the overall size of homes, even cheaper ones, is so much larger. And some ‘back yards’ are absolutely huge! Obviously more land space in the US compared with the U.K. but still, notable but often not much privacy / fencing?

• waste disposal units - what ARE these?

• closets - I haven’t seen any free standing wardrobes. Are these just not used in the US?

Anyone got any others to add or any comments?

Oh, and kettle was a stove top IKEA job.

@ZaraCarmichaelshighheels wooden panelling? I'm having that added to my bathroom ( I'm in the U.K. ) when I have it refitted in a couple of months.

We live in a barn conversion in Somerset and have exposed stone walls internally so we thought that the panelling would look great and give a real 'country feel' to our new ( small ) family bathroom.

I love clothes so we are actually having a walk in wardrobe (closet) put into the side of our bedroom as an extension. We currently have a wall of built in wardrobes so this will double our space.

We have 3 acres and our place in Somerset wasn't cheap but its be considered pretty small compared to a US house. I lived in NC for a year when I was younger and everything is bigger and more spacious.

I agree with the mesh netting on the windows and doors, I wish we had that here especially as we live rurally and get a lot of flies in the summer.

This has just helped me imagine the american dream even more! Keep convincing myself only millionaires have these houses.

What channel(s) do I find the American property shows on? Or is it Netflix etc?

I am having regular video conf calls with people in s Africa, Belgium and America. I love peeking into their homes and home offices! I hate it when they go on about how hot it is though!

@Newchances

This has just helped me imagine the american dream even more! Keep convincing myself only millionaires have these houses.

What channel(s) do I find the American property shows on? Or is it Netflix etc?

Try Masters of Flip on ITVBe (Freeview).

Yes wooden panelling! Though I love the American term for it,. American houses use it a lot In new houses to add character, more so than over here.

That was in reply to @Wagsandclaws

@Newchances I’ve just watched one called ‘Marriage or Mortgage’ - cheesy but addictive! Sent in Nashville, Tennessee.

I used to live in Missouri, friends and colleagues housing was fairly varied, everything from 2 storey brick built houses to double wides. One of my friends built their own house and it was pretty much how I would build a shed. Minimal/No building code in the county I lived in (not unusual for rural Missouri), some state rules about septic systems was about it. Definitely no rules about bedrooms having to have a closet.

But yes, pretty much without except the kitchens looked at least 30 years behind ones in the UK (and still that way judging by when I see house moves on Facebook). Giant washing machines and tumble dryers destroyed clothes, give me a front loader any day.

Skunks spraying your HVAC unit seemed to be a semi regular occurrence. Not something I miss at all!

Don't have wood panelling in a bathroom unless you like cleaning or if you must, don't have twiddly bits of beading, etc. We're about to rip it out of ours.

@IstandwithJackieWeaver no twiddly bits

Houses aren't all bigger, friends live in San Diego and their house is expensive and small, only one bathroom, 2 beds, lounge and kitchen combined. Most houses in the neighborhood seem to be similar. But crucially they do have a kettle, though a stovetop one.

The one thing that bugs me about American homes, is the cookers always stick out and are never flush with the kitchen units, I know I'd be forever catching my hips on the corners. Are built in hobs and ovens ever a thing?

And yeah, the local thing of opening up the front door into a hallway is another oddity, usually right into a set of stairs?! So weird.

That’s totally the opposite to the UK - here, the front door opening directly into the living room would generally only be seen in very small houses, like cottages or tiny terraced houses, where there physically isn’t space for a separate hall. So we would think it would be weird not to have a hall if there’s room for one.

This is the sort of thing I mean, where the kitchen and bathroom cabinets don't seem to fit with the age of the house

www.zillow.com/homedetails/3995-N-Williams-Pl-Springfield-MO-65803/50246422_zpid/

@Olga83

I'd just assume that was the kitchen that the house was built with, 22yrs old and a bit dated. The whole house looks a bit dated tbh.

@Olga83 totally agree. and what is with the kitchen wall colours looks the same as the floor ?

That style looks more like what people were fitting in the 80s in the UK, so 40 years out of date even though house only 20.

I’m often surprised how many homes still have really old fitted kitchen and bathroom suites. Probably from the 30/40’s and this is people I know who have money (family/friends so living in huge houses)

Often modern fitted kitchens look quite dated compared to our

Lots more space

Utility room/large cupboard

Not so much IKEA furniture I don’t think I know anyone that hasn’t got something obviously from IKEA here

Some living in huge houses

Not so living in ... (looks as though I saying I only mix with the American elite) 😬

My SIL just sold a very posh multi-million dollar house in the states. It did look nice but it was very open plan. Not a problem for heat loss given where she was but you can hear everything like you're in one big room...cos you are. I'd absolutely hate that but then I am very noise sensitive. No hallway either really. At least not what we consider a hallway. Just opened into the lounge. It was a massive lounge area but still. I thought that was a bit shit really.

I definitely like to have an entrance hall. Somewhere to leave coats / shoes and stops pets running out!

I’m American and we just moved back home after 4 years in London. We loved it so much and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to move back but once our expat package ended we couldn’t afford to stay. There is so much that I miss but my consolation prize is our big beautiful house with a huge backyard and a pool — for 1/3 of the price of our tiny leaky partially renovated rental house in Fulham. Yes I know Fulham is about as expensive as it gets but we were substantially subsidized by my husband’s company so.

British bathrooms have light switches outside the doors and more importantly there are no power outlets in the bathrooms. I used to blow dry my hair sitting on my bed and there was no place at all for a water pik. Here we have a huge master bathroom with a vanity where I can sit and do all of my getting ready at once.

YES garbage disposals. I don’t know why so few Brits have them. In America even a modest home will usually have a disposal or you can install one yourself for around $100. I do not miss straining out half eaten bowls of cereal/porridge/soup! When I was a child in California we also had a trash compactor but those don’t seem to have stuck around.

Another thing I love in our house is that the laundry room is on the same floor as the bedrooms. They used to put them in basements bc of possible leaks/floods but with newer machines that’s pretty unlikely. It’s SO MUCH EASIER to not have to schlep the clothes, sheets, and towels up and down the stairs.

And definitely AIR CONDITIONING. I love being able to control the temperature and we have a HEPA filter in the system which helps with my kids’ allergies. For heat alone I actually prefer radiators but most houses here just use the vents for both. It’s easier for furniture placement at least.

Also yes to closets. I’ve never lived in an American house that had a free standing wardrobe. My parents’ house has normal sized closets but since ours is pretty new we have really big ones, some of them walk-in and yes a big walk-in pantry.

Window screens are more necessary here because of mosquitoes. We would be eaten alive if we opened our windows in the summertime without screens. Even in London we had our share of flies and bees and once very memorably a bird come in through the window so I don’t think screens would go amiss there either.

Maybe the best thing we have is a mud room. We come in straight through the garage and each child has their own little closet and big drawer and baskets for co ts, school stuff, hats, gloves, sports equipment. It’s so much easier to stay organized. And we can wash off the dogs’ paws before they even go into the house.

There used to be plenty of carpet in American homes but it has fallen out of fashion recent years. Our house has it in the finished basement only. Nice basements are another fantastic thing about American houses!

Lots of other random other things are different like bathroom fixtures, the type of light switches we use, door locks and such. Brick and stone houses are much less common. I love my house here but I also really miss the old British houses, full of character and charm. Even our leaky rental.

Some homes in US have basements so big they can rent them out. It is like a whole flat in basement.

I'm in the UK and I've had a waste disposal fitted in my current house and my previous one. I wouldn't be without one. I didn't think they were unusual here.
YES garbage disposals. I don’t know why so few Brits have them.

They are pretty unusual. A lot of water companies aren’t keen on them. Also, I suspect that our sewage pipes are smaller than American ones.

We have family in California and they moved into a new build and the laundry room is upstairs. She said it was odd at first but made so much sense. Saves carrying washing up and down constantly
In hindsight, it would make so much more sense if they were on the same floor as where all the clothes are stored but UK homes just aren't set up for that.

I line dry my washing, and I wouldn’t want to be carrying a heavy basket of wet washing downstairs. Everyone I know line dries their washing when the weather pemits.

Never ever ever in the kitchen. Unhygienic and totally bizarre to me.

What is unhygienic about having a washing machine in the kitchen?
Dirty washing gets put straight into the washing machine from my washing basket. It doesn’t touch any food surfaces. Surely, it’s no worse than walking into the kitchen with your outdoor shoes on?

I think one of the reasons that open plan is more unusual here is that it is expensive to heat. If people are spending the evening watching TV, for example, they might just have the fire on in the living room, and not be heating the whole house.

Thank you for starting this thread @Youngatheart00. It has been a fascinating read. I think the ban on line drying in many places in the US is bonkers, and so bad for the planet.