British home - a little help

[Spelca]

Hey.

I have an unusual request. My boyfriend is studying English this semester, and he has a project for his Cultural Studies class where he has to write about British homes (in comparison to Swedish homes). What he has to do is to write about the British home interior (such as furniture, planning, ornaments…). So for all of you that are British, or have been to a British home, or know anything about it, can you think of anything that's typical?

Like, are there lots of ornaments in houses / flats? A lot of family pictures? Is tv the centre (focus) of the living room? Do you have lights in the windows (which Swedish homes usually have)? Do people like to have their own washing machines, or do they use communal laundry rooms when they live in flats? Is it common to have fake plants? Are there lots of houseplants in houses / flats in general? Are there any typical stores where people buy their furniture (like IKEA in Sweden)? What kind of curtains are in the homes?

Basically just anything you can think of that you haven't seen in some other country, or not as much, and anything that you think is typical… It's really difficult to find this kind of information on the internet, so any help would be useful.

Thanks all! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[RoSs_bg2_rox]

Hmmm well what are toilets like in Sweden? I have never been there before, but I know in Austria they are different.

Well our lights are on the roof, the TV is usually in a corner, but it can be seen by all. Well we have quite a lot of plants and pictures, just things to make your house look homely. You can get open plan areas too, like the kitchen together with the family room (with say a seperate lounge and dining room)

Things like that. Il try and think of more.

[johnny]

There's usually beer in British homes. This is a very important issue. [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

[Stormymystic]

how did I know johnny would bring up the beer issue?

[Dron_Cah]

You must be psychic, Stormy!! [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[RoSs_bg2_rox]

Lol. Incidentally I saw a flat the other day on the way into town which was advertising beer. It must have been, since you couldn't see in the window for the amount stacked up in rows on the window ledge.

[Stormymystic]

I once saw a home here in the states that all of the furniture was made out of beer cans and pizza boxes

[Link]

Now that's a home I want to live in!

[Dirty Meg]

Modern British houses are mostly built in a tacky pastiche of late Victorian architectural styles. This is because the British are Philistines.
IKEA is the most popular manufacturer of furniture in Britain (so not much different from Sweden). Other than that, Mahogany furniture seems to be more common in Britain than in other countries I've been to. Generally furniture made in Britain tends to imitate C18th - 19th designs.
One difference I have noticed between British houses and those in other European countries is that British houses tend to be a lot more cluttered.
The floors tend to be flat, and made of something solid, often wood. The walls are generally at a 90' angle to the floor, and the ceilings are usually some distance above the floors. It is uncommon for walls to be made out of big piles of cats.
I hope this has been of some use to you.

[ 10-15-2004, 07:24 AM: Message edited by: Dirty Meg ]

[Donut]

Spelca - the most important difference is carpetting. Carpets everywhere - even in the toilet in some homes.

Curtains and net curtains on the windows
Far fewer straight lines in the design of furniture.
Not so much bare wood on show.

And IKEA is everywhere!!!!!!!