Been living in London just over 6 years and it really fascinates me that so many people do not mind leaving their blinds/curtains open with lights on while watching tv/having dinner!
Walking down the road I often get to see what people are watching and or eating 😅 my wife loves having a peek as we walk past, I’m less bothered but I do sometimes get involved with “what’s for dinner” on our evening walks 🤣 we walk by homes and try to guess what they are cooking from the wafting food smells and bonus point if we get to see them eating it as we walk past 🤣😂
Is it a thing here?
Where I’m originally from the minute the sun set it was like we went into lockdown mode lol blinds closed, everything locked up and hunkered down for the night.
47 comments
I always wonder the same thing! My neighbour has lived in his house for five years and has never had curtains or blinds in his kitchen, and it has a window and big patio doors! I’ve seen him many unsightly states after getting back from the pub on a weekend.
Life is too short to worry about people watching you eat your dinner so if you quite like to have the curtains open so you can look out then you learn to be less bothered about those looking in.
The same way your wife likes to look, those people might want to see whats going on outside and/or are waiting for someone. Also, I think some people who might feel lonely do that. Others are just lazy and/or dont notice they havent drawn the curtains.
I don’t because I didn’t think people would be looking through my windows and just carrying on with their day. After this post I’m going to start. You never know who may be peeking whilst you’re having dinner.
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Good question! We rarely draw our curtains. It’s usually just to stop the dog going nuts if we are expecting a delivery!
I guess we just like being nosey at what’s going on outside.
I have no idea either, I’m with you. Close the curtains as soon as the suns setting. But I do love looking in peoples windows, if I’m out for an evening run I do love a peep in. Nice to see what everyone’s up to of an evening
LET THEM SEE
I keep mine open. I have nothing to hide.
Some people do t realise how much you can see in either. I had this discussion with a neighbour in the flat across the road and she was shocked to learn that I could see right into her flat when the lights were on. Not that I was particularly looking. But that night, she closed her curtains and has t opened them since.
When I was growing up, my mum would always come in and tell me the neighbours could see in because the lights were on and the curtains were open.
I knew that they could, because of all the previous times she’d told me, I just didn’t care if they saw me.
I close the blinds once it’s completely dark outside. I know that because of the artificial light you can easily see inside but it doesn’t bother me. I like to see the day end and not feel like I’m in a cave from 4pm onwards.
I close my curtains, but that said I am nosey and if someone has curtains open I have a little peek, mostly cos I like to see how some homes are decorated. I don’t slow, it’s a quick side eye glimpse as I walk past. If someone is in their living room, I look away very quickly.
During the day I’ve seen many people having a good nosey into my living room as I’ve been sat in there. Most look away if they spot me, some don’t
Open in the morning – let neighbours know I am alive. Get some sunlight for plants and pet fish .
Shut at night
Mine are literally never open-even though you can’t walk in front of my house 🤣 im all about privacy in the home-and the postie or delivery men would be able to see in otherwise. The back ones are open during the day, but that’s only because nobody over-looks our garden
I don’t like advertising to the world showing what I’ve got. Especially small easily pilfered items so my curtains are always closed.
Why would people care if you look in? I certainly don’t. If I was walking around naked that’s a different story. Also, I like looking outside.
My living room doesn’t face a public street so I don’t actually have this issue, but I personally don’t think I would bother shutting the curtains unless it was for comfort reasons (like keeping heat in/keeping the sun out). Unless I’m walking around my living room in the nude, why would I care if someone could see in? So they see that I’m watching QI or eating spaghetti… That matters why? What are they going to do with this riveting information?
I have seen this enough times to think its relatively common.
However I have no idea how people can stand having thier curtains open and lights on so everyone can ser. The second it gets dark enough I close my curtains then turn on the lights – never the other way round.
I like my privacy.
I just don’t really care if people can see in. It makes me feel claustrophobic having the windows covered. If they don’t want to see, they don’t need to look. If they get to see me looking scruffy in my dressing gown then I don’t think it’ll hurt them.
How else will my neighbours see me licking peanut butter off my toes??
I’m an Aussie who’s been here for twenty years and I will never get used it. Happy to now live in a house with a high wall!
It makes the room feel more cosy to have them shut, especially in the winter.
I like to regulate my sleep cycle with sunset and sunrise. It actually helps me even if it is a placebo.
If you see me naked or doing anything weird, that’s your problem, not mine.
I love doing that. It’s like living somebody else’s life for a split second!
It’s a protestant thing, Holland and such do it as well. While catholic countries tend to have blinds/shutters
Also the ones who have the big light on.
I don’t bother, I like a bit of natural light in the day and I just don’t care if anyone walking past sees me sat on the sofa. My partner is the total opposite and doesn’t like the thought of someone looking in, we have blinds in the kitchen window which goes to the road and front of house and he doesn’t trust the gaps in them either.
I don’t mind if he wants them closed, makes him feel more at ease and I don’t have a strong opinion either way.
If someone gets a kick out of a peek of me collapsed on the sofa of an evening, I’m happy to have improved their day. Absolutely no impact on me. Likely just can’t be bothered to get up to do the blinds yet!
Your wife loves to have a peek in other peoples windows? Well!
Us in the house like to have a peek at the people walking past outside, too! Equal opportunity peeking!
I live next to a commercial building that has lots of huge glass windows. You can see it is clearly empty at night. Our young neighbours that live below us, have not worked out that if they have their lights on we can see directly into their flat through the reflection on the glass of the commercial building. I can see the entire room in detail. So they do not bother closing their blinds as there is no other sight lines into there flat.
They are a couple in their late 20’s, they both walk around naked quite a lot and have sex 2-3 nights per week in the bedroom. Usually following a set routine of positions. It’s quite Interesting viewing.
I’ll tell you a story about my previous house. I wont reveal the street.
So I had been living in the house several years when I happened to look out of my bedroom window idly at the other houses in the street and I noticed the house directly opposite I could see directly through the small glass pane above their front door.
The way these houses were, the doors lined up all the way down the house. My neighbor across the street had their reception room door open so I thought I’d put on my glasses to see their lounge decor .
I saw the lounge decor, the lounge led into the kitchen and that led directly into the bathroom; giving me a perfect view of my elderly neighbour on the toilet with her bloomers around her ankles.
The terrace was built in the 1900s so one wonders how many people have been spied on when logging out over the years!
Bet tv is above fireplace too
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I’m not bothered for the same reason I’m not bothered about the level of surveillance in public and through our devices; I am a very boring man. When I’m lucky enough to have sex, the curtains are closed, otherwise any spectators will have a ripping commentary of things like:
“Yep. There he is again. Sat there with the controller in his hand. For hours. Sometimes he smokes and drinks. Half an hour ago he got up and left the room – we think for a pee – that was fucking exciting stuff.”
“We have a clear view into the kitchen. He did the dishes earlier, but get this – he fried eggs as well. Didn’t even put a t-shirt on. It was *mental*.”
“It’s a legendary event here as for the 302nd day in a row, our man has watered his plants, and put some food out on his windowsill for the birds. Truly momentous.”
I have very early memories of my mum shouting ‘close the curtains! I don’t want to live in a goldfish bowl!’ and now I hate anyone seeing in my house. I find even looking at houses without net curtains / blinds kind of uncomfortable.
My husband, however, also has to be shouted at and couldn’t care less who looks in.
The prevalence of leaving curtains open in London surprised me when I moved down from northern England 25 years ago.
House cleavage!
Been in London 20 years and I don’t get it either — particularly the numerous people who have the big light/s on in the front room with really cold bright bulbs. Like watching TV in a dentist’s office, without even curtains for protection.
I close things up right away but I’m not originally from the UK. I had to teach my British husband to do it too. I used to come home from work and see the place lit up like a Xmas tree with him watching the tv on full display. Had to tell him the whole street could see and anyone dishonest could see what electronics we had without even needing to case the place.
Oh I love when people do this. But in more interested in how they have their furniture positioned, layout of the room, wall paper and that sort of thing.
Admittedly my bedroom blinds remain open 24/7 pretty much. I’m pretty sure my neighbors across the street have seen my naked body more than they went to but I don’t give a toss tbh
Having the curtains closed makes me feel claustrophobic
I live right on a footpath that people frequently walk past.
I never open the blinds lol
This time of year there’s a long twilight, then a sudden sunset.
It starts going dark midafternoon. So you’ll turn a light on. And before you know it – it has gone properly dark outside but your lights on inside have prevented you from noticing.
I try to close curtains once it it’s properly dark, but equally find it weird to be closing curtains at 4pm. The big jump forward with sun setting an hour earlier takes some getting used to.
It is easier, in many ways once it is dark alreasy when you get home. Because you come in knowing it is dark and close the curtains as you settle in for the evening. But when it is barely light all day, paying enough attention to notice that now it is properly dark not just gloomy takes more effort.
I remember one time being on a bus that was crawling through slow moving traffic down a residential road. I was looking out of the window and watching tv along with a bunch of different families because their curtains were thrown wide open. I distinctly remember one of them was watching The Chase and I almost got upset when traffic started moving so I didn’t get to finish it.