Why do Brits live in darkness except for December?

[Swedegirl48]

I am Swedish and at home if you walk down a street, most houses will have lamps in some of the windows, outside lights and usually people don’t draw curtains so you can see the lights from within the houses. I was asking British DH today why Brits tend to light up their houses so enthusiastically in December, but the rest of the year people draw their curtains and no one seems to put lamps in the windows (at least not where we live which is London). I am the only person in my street who has a lamp in every window of my house and leave some on overnight too. I think I am trying to overcompensate for my very dark street.

Being watched at home doesn't bother you at all, but it would bother me a great deal. Perhaps you're more easy going and confident!
However, you're probably right about serial killers.

There must be a lot of posters with great eyesight given the hatred for bright lights.

I watch TV with just a lamp on, but if I am on my laptop or reading I need much more light to be able to see properly.

Leaving curtains open at night is bizarre! You can't see outside so what's the point? Happy for strangers to watch you inside your home? Exhibitionism springs to mind.

Wondering how all the OP's neighbours so offended by the demon lamps are able to see them and be bothered if they all have their curtains closed to keep the street nice and dark .... Particularly that poor sleep deprived baby!

This thread is bonkers, some pretty nasty people being very unpleasant.

OP I think your house sounds lovely. I'd like you to be my neighbour 😊

Oh for god's sake. It's not exhibitionism, it's not the red light district. It creates a feeling of safety as you walk along the road and you can see people are about, their lights are on, their TVs are on, if anything happened out there they could see you because we also have street lights. You are not alone basically.

Our living room goes through from the front to the back of the house. We have patio doors opening onto the conservatory to the back.

If we left our curtains open we would have a gaping black hole at the front and an entire gaping black wall at the back. This makes the room much darker and colder. Closing our cream coloured curtains makes the room much more cosy (a word I hate, but appropriate here), and brighter.

Unless you had a window lamp, then it wouldn't be a gaping black hole. But I can see the point of keeping the warmth in, we don't have that issue in Sweden as our windows don't leak heat.

We don't live in darkness but we shut the curtains because the pavement goes right past our window and I hate the idea of people peering in at me while I watch TV

But how does having your curtains open at night mean you are more likely to be burgled? I have been burgled three times. Two burglaries were in the daytime, one even happened when my DH was at home.

They can case the joint
They can see if you are on your own and potentially more vulnerable

It won't stop a determined burglar from breaking into your home, but closing curtains reduces the risk of a burglar being able to see what they can easily help themselves to.

Hmm. Well two of the burglaries I experienced were whilst I was living in a second floor flat. The third was an opportunist who saw a small window open and took a chance. We were in a ground floor flat with privacy film on the front windows for that one. So casing the joint would not have been possible in any of these instances, but I still got burgled.

I think these days burglars target cars more than TVs etc. Having an expensive car is possibly more risky than open curtains!

🤣🤣🤣

I've had a few. It's really annoying! My old flat had deep windowsills on the outside but barely anything on the inside. A small lip of a silly, but not enough for even a tiny plant.

How come windows in Sweden don’t leak heat? Especially in older homes?

That would work in the window, but not where the doors to the conservatory are. I find the large black hole of darkness cold and depressing.

Practical considerations here.
Victorian house with sash and case single glazed windows. No thermal protection and no windowsills.
We therefore draw thick curtains after closing the wooden shutters. No room for a lamp. In daytime, the cat's bottom can just be perched on the tiny windowsill gingerly, if she's careful.
Curtains required for warmth, but also privacy, as house is right on the pavement. No front garden pushing us back from the street. Directly onto the pavement. We get nosy buggers standing looking in during the day. After dark, with lights on, I dread to imagine how awful it could be. We're in a touristy hotspot and frankly, I'd become a serial killer of tourists if I couldn't preserve some sense of privacy by using shutters and curtains after dark. I don't feel vulnerable, I feel murderous. My home is not a theme park set, ffs.

I think that is where the difference lies, maybe? Different attitudes to the cold and dark.

😆
I don’t even have curtains in my house.
I also sleep with my window open.
Probably a serial killers dream!

@Swedegirl48 window open? In England? How do you not freeze 😭

I have to have a window open or I feel stifled. Hate sleeping in rooms where I can’t do this.

In Sweden too! I am under the duvet. My bedroom is very cold. I can only sleep when it’s cold. I have trained British DH too. Took me years 😅

I like a really cold bedroom too. Never have the window closed. Much prefer a cold room and a thick duvet to a warm room and a thin cover.

I lived in Sweden - Stockholm and lamps in every window wasn't a thing at all, blinds were common too, who wants people looking in?

Swedish homes are also incredibly well insulated, with high quality glazing, so curtains not the norm ime.

Climate seems to have changed since i was there, used to be mega dry cold/snow/ice, now its often cold and wet.

We have better built properties with at least double glazed windows, usually triple or quadruple. We also have proper ventilation systems and don't rely on airbricks and stuff for that so we don't get the cold air coming in to our houses.

Ugh, that can’t have been nice! Glad your dog was able to see him!