Comparison of British and American Housing

In most respects, as far as I can see there is little difference between décor, furnishings, fixtures and fittings in American and British homes. However two notable differences are bedrooms and bathrooms.

Bedrooms

I understand from watching American TV that a room is only classified as a bedroom if it has a built-in closet; whereas in Britain built-in closets are almost non-existent. The vast majority of British homes have freestanding wardrobes; although some householders do occasionally install a built-in wardrobe in an alcove in the bedroom.

Under British Building Regulations a room can only be classified as a bedroom if it’s not another utility room such as a living room, bathroom or kitchen etc., and you can fit a bed in it. If you can fit a double bed in a spare room then it’s classified as a double bedroom, whereas if it’s only large enough for a single bed then it’s a single bedroom.

The number and type of bedrooms is reflected in the price of the property; the more bedrooms a house have (especially double bedrooms) the more valuable the property is.

Bathrooms

Again, from watching TV, I get the distinct impression that in America the bathroom almost always comprises the bath, shower, toilet and sink; and that it’s standard that most bedrooms have their own en-suite bathroom. I also note that the hot and cold water is controlled from a single faucet.

For clarity, in Britain although the bathroom can include the bath, shower, toilet and sink, it’s not always necessarily the case. It’s not unusual in British homes for the toilet and the sink to be in a separate room from the bathroom. En-suite bathrooms are uncommon, most usually the toilet and bathroom (whether they are in the same room or separate rooms) are communal rooms often at the top of the stairs, or sometimes downstairs.

In our house we have the toilet, shower and sink in one room at the top of the stairs with a separate en-suite bathroom adjoining the main bedroom.

In British homes most washbasin, bath and kitchen sink tapes are still separate taps for hot and cold water; although mixer taps are becoming more popular.