AIBU to love looking in people’s windows!

[LittleRa]

I’m on maternity leave and my baby loves the pram (was a surprise as older DD hated it!) and naps well it, but wakes up when I stop walking. I also do the school run twice a day for older DD. So I find myself wandering around the streets, exploring parts of the neighbourhood I haven’t been to before. I love looking into people’s front windows! It feels so nosy What they have on their walls; art work, photos etc, how their furniture is arranged, where their TV is positioned (and how big it is!) have all become a source of fascination to me. Has my baby brain turned to mush and I need to get out (of the nearby streets) more? Is is terribly bad manners? Anyone else like a good nose into front windows?
Disclaimer- from the street! Not entering gardens/yards and pressing my nose up against the glass! And also not stopping and gawping- always moving along (aforementioned sleeping baby!)

@statetrooperstacey

I do this, but I also expect other people to do it. I often check what my living room looks like from the street 😁 especially if I’ve put the Xmas decs up or moved furniture round or put up a new picture or something. My house looks lovely from the outside looking in!

Looking in at your own house is a bit like Scrooge in A Christmas Carol or George Bailey in Its a Wonderful Life, watching their own lives

"They're not having a good gawp, they're just walking past or on the bus / train which passes your window."

If they are deliberately looking into the windows - which was the question being asked - then yes, they are. Do these people not have the ability to turn their necks?

I used to love doing this with baby in buggy! Like you, it was the only time he would nap. Autumn & winter twilight hours were the best & I would go to the poshest streets around and be fascinated by the living rooms. I don’t think there’s any harm in it if you keep moving.

@Nicecupofteaandacake

Yea I love this, as PP have said, especially at Christmas! Obviously never stop and look, just a passing glance as I’m walking by.

I purposefully don’t have nets on my windows for this exact reason 😂 I don’t mind people glancing in (and we have a decent hedge out front so they really can only glance while going past). I love watching people passing by too (we live on a busy A road)

My nan also used to sit in the front window and comment on the goings on she could see. There was always one old chap who would go past and she’d say “and there he is - GOBSHITE!” never found out why she thought he was a gobshite 😂

Your Nan sounds like mine.

Looking in at your own house is a bit like Scrooge in A Christmas Carol or George Bailey in Its a Wonderful Life

But you have to do it - otherwise your Christmas tree could have a bald patch or unevenly distributed lights on the window side (the shame )

@LittleRa my house isn’t on zoopla. No pics. I just checked. (And I was the first person to buy it).

It’s so creepy that you stare enough to notice all those things. I should be able to feel safe in my own home without blinds. And with a small front garden and no hedge I have to have blinds. Because people like you stare in and make me feel like you’re casing the joint for a burglary. Or are a stalker (which I’ve had before).

I sometimes stay with family in their small cottage in a remote village in the UK. The front windows of the house look directly onto a very quiet street and quite regularly, tourists strolling along will stop to press their noses against the window and cup their hands around their eyes to get a better look inside. Why to people feel that different rules apply on holiday?

@CouldIhaveaword

[quote Myxisaprat]@LittleRa my house isn’t on zoopla. No pics. I just checked. (And I was the first person to buy it).

It’s so creepy that you stare enough to notice all those things. I should be able to feel safe in my own home without blinds. And with a small front garden and no hedge I have to have blinds. Because people like you stare in and make me feel like you’re casing the joint for a burglary. Or are a stalker (which I’ve had before).[/quote]
Although this thread is lighthearted, I definitely wouldn’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable or unsafe. As I’ve said, I don’t stop and stare, I keep moving and look as I pass, and I would not take a second look if I saw someone sitting there. If the room is empty I’ll have a better look as I pass- how long does it take to pass a house, les than 5 seconds, but yes I can notice wall art, furniture etc in that time, but if someone was sitting there I would obviously turn my head forwards and continue on my way. Sorry to hear you had trouble with a stalker, that must’ve been scary.

But if you’re looking that much you have to be staring? Why can’t you watch where you’re going instead of rubbernecking into peoples houses?

If people are that bothered, why on earth do you leave your windows without any privacy curtain/blind/plant...?

Sometimes people will randomly stop in front of your house, chatting with someone they just met, making a phone call, speaking or helping a child out. There are countless reasons why they can be standing up and having a good look without even meaning to.

If the inside of your house is available for the whole world to see, you can't complain people look.

My living room is in the front and some people would just glance in and others would stop and have a good nose. I've bought shutters with large slats. They still let in lots of light, but the stop and starers have been very disappointed. I hate people looking in and nets are so 1970s and naff.

I try not to do it as I also think it's rude but I wish it was socially acceptable because I find it so interesting to see what people have done.

I once went on a canal trip in Amsterdam at dusk and it was amazing. Hardly anyone had any blinds or curtains. For some reason I felt like I was allowed to look being on a boat, not sure why but it was a great evening

@Myxisaprat

But if you’re looking that much you have to be staring? Why can’t you watch where you’re going instead of rubbernecking into peoples houses?

Because it’s interesting, that’s the point! It’s fascinating to see what people have chosen for their decor, how they have things arranged. People obviously decorate and arrange their rooms to their taste so it’s interesting to see what people have chosen. There must be an interest in it when you see the multitude of home interior programmes on TV and rightmove threads on here and home decor instagrams, but as has been said that’s all staged really- there’s something more cosy and comforting about seeing the actual rooms, lived in and real.

So watch the programmes and read the right move threads?

My anxiety is spiking even thinking about this.

It's not rude it's human nature. If you don't like it put up nets, blinds or whatever the current trend is!

@Averyyounggrandmaofsix

It's not rude it's human nature. If you don't like it put up nets, blinds or whatever the current trend is!

You know you can still see through nets right? If someone has nets up and people are gawping is it still somehow the fault of the person with the nets up? Should they just board the windows up instead?

I have always wondered why some people protect their privacy from the front, but leave all their windows for the world to see when they back onto a railway line!

It's weird to see inside people bathroom and bedrooms when you are in the train.

I overlook fields at the back and still have blinds up and keep them across.

You know you can still see through nets right?

Net curtains, not fisherman nets! Of course you can't, that's their point.

And there are many other privacy option if you are not fan of nets.

Net curtains, not fisherman nets! Of course you can't, that's their point.

I have net curtains, and you can see through them. Any net curtains that would stop anyone seeing through entirely would also stop the light getting through.

I have vertical blinds and if you’re on the pavement you can kind of still see through them. I just went out and checked.

So I’m going to close them all the time and live in semi darkness because Nosy rude people look in.

How is it my fault that someone can’t just walk past looking where they’re going?

If the same person was walking past often and staring in I think I’d talk to our community police officer.

I live right on a busy street with lots of tourists, and I have full length windows. The blinds are blackout blinds so I don't want them down all day, and I also like to look out, so really would prefer not to cover them up. I don't mind people glancing as they walk by - I've accepted that because I don't put nets up. But some people do stop and stare in, or cup their hands and peer, etc, and occasionally call someone else over to come have a look!! I do think that's a bit rude, and they always look kind of embarrassed if they catch my eye. When the sun is shining in a way that you can't see in but you can see a reflection, they also frequently use the windows as a mirror, which is kind of funny from inside.

Yeah it's probably terrible but I'm guilty of it too.

@HazelnutFlat

I live right on a busy street with lots of tourists, and I have full length windows. The blinds are blackout blinds so I don't want them down all day, and I also like to look out, so really would prefer not to cover them up. I don't mind people glancing as they walk by - I've accepted that because I don't put nets up. But some people do stop and stare in, or cup their hands and peer, etc, and occasionally call someone else over to come have a look!! I do think that's a bit rude, and they always look kind of embarrassed if they catch my eye. When the sun is shining in a way that you can't see in but you can see a reflection, they also frequently use the windows as a mirror, which is kind of funny from inside.

I definitely don’t stop and wouldn’t dream of cupping and peering!