A Guide to Modern Home Etiquette

Keeping elbows off the table and feet off furniture are classic rules of home etiquette, but how have modern times changed these traditions?

 

Here at Anglian Home Improvements, we’ve been investigating just what it means to be a house guest in the digital age, and it appears the etiquette is changing. So to avoid any 21st century faux pas, make sure you’re up to date with our Modern Etiquette Guide.

 

 

 

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Modern Home Etiquette Survey

 

Before creating this helpful and humorous guide to modern home etiquette, we carried out a survey, researching how traditional rules have changed with technology becoming a much larger part of our day-to-day lives.

 

We asked 1,000 UK residents questions about how comfortable they’d be asking for the Wi-fi password, a phone/tablet charger, helping themselves to a drink, putting their elbows on the table or even taking a nap in someone else’s home.

 

We also asked them about guests putting their feet on furniture, cutting their nails, taking control of the TV remote, answering the home phone and their guests walking into their home without knocking.

 

From this, we gathered some interesting findings. Guests putting their feet on the furniture (59%) was considered a top issue from hosts, closely followed by cutting nails (58%) and taking control of the TV remote (52%).

 

As a guest it seems we are now very comfortable asking for the Wi-fi password (31% happy to do so) – how long you should wait to do this is another matter! In a world focused around gadgets, it’s no surprise to see 24% of us are comfortable asking for a charger for your mobile or tablet.

 

59% of men said guests cutting their nails in their home is the most rude thing a guest could do, whilst 62% of women said putting feet on the furniture was the worst thing.

 

Our survey highlighted how modern home etiquette has changed – it also highlighted some bizarre occurrences hosts have had including their guest running a bath for themselves without asking, guests falling asleep behind sofas, breaking the toilet seat, being sick in the garden and not admitting to it and rifling through personal items, including mail!

 

It sounds like these guests need to read out guide! What’s the strangest thing a guest has done in your home? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter.

 

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2 ways to hack a kid’s storage bed

1. MYDAL with STUVA + BILLY

 

 

– 3 x Ikea Stuva storage combination 60 x 128cm

 

 

– 3 x Ikea Stuva Grundlig leg set.

 

 

– 1 x Ikea Billy bookcase 106 x 80cm

 

 

– 1 x Ikea Billy 35 x 80 extension unit.

 

 

– 1 x Ikea Mydal bed. Only top part and with only one side frame. Also fixed from 90 x 200cm to 80 x 200cm.

 

 

– 1 x night stand. From left over parts of Mydal bed.

 

 

– 1 x Ikea Sultan mattress. Fixed from 90 x 200 to 73 x 200cm.

 

 

– 1 x 2″x4″ wood to only open corner to make bed stronger and steady enough.

 

 

– 1 x DIY-ladder

 

 

– Some chain to keep night stand steady.

 

 

– Everything is screwed together and the whole complex is very heavy and also very steady.

 

 

2. METOD kitchen cabinets + BILLY

 

 

Metod is the kitchen cabinet range sold in Finland.

 

 

– 2 x Ikea Metod 20 x 60 x 80cm to back side to support the frame. These + 40cm and 60cm cabinets make the bed frame to size 80 x 200cm.

 

 

– 2 x Ikea Metod 60 x 60 x 60cm to the middle.

 

 

– 2 x Ikea Metod 40 x 60 x 80cm to the sides.

 

 

– 4 x Ikea Häggeby doors. (2 x 40cm and 2 x 60cm)

 

 

– 10 x Ikea shelves. ( 4 x 60 x 60, 4 x 40 x 60, 2 x 20 x 60cm)

 

 

– 1 x Ikea Billy bookcase 202 x 80cm as a head board.

 

 

– 1 x 80 x 200 bed. My bed not from Ikea.

 

 

– 3 x 40 x 200cm melamine. 2 under bed and 1 to protect kid from falling.

 

 

– 1 one of those 20cm wide cabinets is assembled to far end corner and it can be used.

 

 

– Cabinets are 60cm deep and there can be put a lot of stuff in.

 

 

– Bed has got no stairs yet only one Ikea shelf to work as temporary stairs.

 

 

– Also lights to the top of Billy is still in Ikea.

 

 

~ by Mikko Salovaara, Lempäälä, Finland

 

The post 2 ways to hack a kid’s storage bed appeared first on IKEA Hackers.

 

 

 

BEKVÄM kitchen cart becomes a mobile workbench

 

When some of us need more storage, we just grab whatever boxes and containers. But not Brian Oltrogge. He takes an old BEKVÄM kitchen cart which he was using as a computer stand and hacks it into a beautiful workbench, or VÖRKBENSH as he calls it.

 

Check out the video. This hack is in no way easy but he makes it seem effortless.

 

 

Thanks Richard!

 

The post BEKVÄM kitchen cart becomes a mobile workbench appeared first on IKEA Hackers.

 

 

 

Flip House: The Before Tour

 

So, we bought a house. Now for the tour!

 

You may have already noticed that the flip house is eerily similar to our current home. It’s a midcentury brick ranch on a slab with three bedrooms and two full bathrooms. At ~1,100 square feet, it’s a tad smaller than our home. (Essentially, it’s missing the room that serves as our mudroom/dining room/laundry nook.) The front entry garage extends to the back of the house and is much larger and deeper than ours. (Steve is jealous.) The hunter green doors must go. The roof is in excellent shape, but the eaves need replaced. There are no gutters or downspouts.

 

The yard is almost a half-acre corner lot with mature trees, including a fruit-bearing cherry tree. The bushes lining the walk to the front door are peonies. When we first toured the house, they were in bloom and so pretty. For the most part, the landscaping is fine. It’s nothing a little weeding, pruning and mulch can’t fix.

 

Ready to see the inside?

 

 

Here’s a rudimentary floor plan to help you get your bearings. It isn’t exactly to scale (I left out the bedroom closets), but it’s pretty close. The front yard would be at the bottom of the schematic, and the backyard would be at the top.

 

 

Welcome! This is the view as you enter the front door. Straight ahead is a utility closet that houses the furnace and water heater. On the other side of the wall with the thermostat is the kitchen. The pistachio walls and asbestos tile just scream HOME, don’t they?

 

 

The front door opens into the living room. If you enter and turn left, this is what you see. There aren’t any defining architectural features in the house – not even a fireplace. The man door on the right allows access to the garage.

 

 

Beyond the living room is a dining space just off the kitchen. (Yes, that’s a dryer in the dining room. It was originally in the kitchen, but Steve pulled it before I took pics.) There’s a closet on the right that completely crowds the kitchen. The facing door opens to the backyard.

 

 

The backyard is spacious but a little wild.

 

 

Back inside, the kitchen boasts yellow Republic steel cabinets. (You can read more about steel cabinets here. They were all the rage in the post-war era.) YELLOW. There is no legit laundry room in the house. Instead, the washer and dryer are included in the kitchen. The dryer used to sit to the left under the wall fan before Steve moved it to the dining room. Believe it or not, the gas stove is located directly across from the dryer hookup. Can you spy the washer peeking out from the back wall? The refrigerator sits in a little nook behind the closet. I’ll share more detailed pictures and discuss our plans for the kitchen in a future post, but let’s agree that the current layout leaves a lot to be desired.

 

 

This is the view from the dining room, looking back toward the living room and front door. The house would receive more light if there weren’t heavy drapes blocking every window. The windows are original, and most of them don’t open anymore.

 

 

A hallway off the living space leads to the bedrooms and bathrooms.

 

 

This is the hallway bathroom. Do not attempt to adjust your monitor. It is Pepto-Bismol pink. The tile on the walls is a lightweight metal of some sort. Aluminum? They fall off with the flick of a fingernail. The toilet is newish, so there’s that.

 

 

This is the smallest bedroom. It appears to be the source of the cat pee odor. Obviously, moisture has leaked in through the window at some point, but our inspector tested it and it’s as dry as a bone now.

 

 

At the end of the hallway is a second bedroom. It’s probably the brightest room in the house.

 

 

My favorite cranny in the whole entire house is this built-in linen closet between the first and second bedrooms. It could be a sweet little feature with some fresh paint and new hardware.

 

 

The bedroom at the back of the house is the master bedroom. I’m using the term “master” loosely; it’s a bedroom with an adjoining bathroom. The air conditioning unit in the window reveals another secret about the house: no central A/C. (Our home didn’t have central air when we bought it either. We bought a unit off Craigslist and installed it with the help of a friend and a plumber to save money.)

 

 

Here, we have the master bathroom and more metal tiles. I like the fact that it has a window.

 

That’s it! The uglier the befores, the better the afters, right?

 

We had an inspector (the same one we used for our house) come out after our offer was accepted to take a look at the property and structure. Luckily, no major issues were discovered. Even though it needs a ton of work, the house is solid.

 

Thank you for all of the encouraging comments on our newest endeavor! We could use some cheerleaders 😉 I’ll be sharing updates as we go. We’ve already started demolition and designed a new kitchen. New windows and updated electrical service are up next. We’re currently addressing the odor and scouting flooring options. I want to avoid carpet if at all possible. We’re learning that we’re attempting to walk a very fine line between good and good enough. There are definitely things we would do differently if our intention was to live here, but that’s not our goal. We want to appeal to the masses – with style and budget in mind. We don’t want to price ourselves out of the market which means we won’t be vaulting any ceilings, removing any load-bearing walls or creating a separate laundry room. But, I can tell you right now, there will be no blotchy beige tile anywhere. Nada.

 

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

Share Your Locked Out Story to Win a £50 Voucher

Have you ever had a nice trip out and thoroughly enjoyed your day, only to return home and suddenly realise you’ve lost your keys, leaving you stranded and locked out of your own home? You’re not alone as it happens to thousands of us every year – forgetfulness is singlehandedly keeping locksmiths well and truly in business!

 

Anglian Home Improvements recently improved the security of all of their doors with the Yale 3 Star Cylinder Lock, which is anti-bump, snap, drill, pick and anti-plug extraction, so getting back in your home when locked out is now harder than ever!

 

 

When I was 14, I got locked out of my house and had to climb on top of the conservatory before shimmying through a window – not something we recommend doing, but it got me back in the house! This got me thinking, there must be a lot of hilarious stories about getting locked out of houses, cars and garages, forcing you to find inventive ways to get back in.

 

We are giving you, our avid readers, the chance to win a £50 John Lewis voucher, all you have to do is share your ‘Locked Out’ story with us.

 

To enter comment on our Facebook page or Twitter with your story, using hashtag #LockedOut. It can be about you getting locked out of your house, car or getting locked in somewhere. There are 3 vouchers up for grabs and our favourite 3 stories will each win a £50 voucher! The competition closes on August 5th 2016 and the winners will be chosen on Monday 8th August. Good luck!

 

Terms and conditions

 

1) These terms and conditions apply to the Anglian Home Improvements Locked Out competition (“the competition”) run by Anglian Home Improvements (“the company”), and by entering themselves into the competition, entrants will be deemed to have read and accepted these terms and agree to be bound by them. Those who do not agree will not be entered into the competition.

 

2) The objective of the competition is for entrants to send stories about being locked out of their homes, cars and garages/sheds. The winner will be chosen by a panel of judges at Anglian Home Improvements.

 

3) The company: Anglian Home Improvements, Liberator Rd, Norwich, NR6 6EU.

 

4) The competition opens on July 11th 2016 and closes on August 5th 2016 (“the closing date”). 3 winners will be chosen based on their stories.

 

5) This competition is open only to residents of the UK aged 18 years or over. Employees of the company, their families or anyone else associated with this competition or its operation are not allowed to apply.

 

6) All information detailing how to enter this competition forms part of these terms and conditions. It is a condition of entry that all rules are accepted as final and that the entrant abides by these rules. The decision of the company is final, and no correspondence will be entered into after the decision. Submission of an entry will be taken as acceptance of these terms and conditions.

 

7) To enter, you must:

 

Send your story to Anglian on either their Facebook or Twitter accounts.

 

 

3 winning entries will be determined by Anglian Home Improvements and the winning entrants will be contacted by August 8th 2016 via the social network you enter via.

 

 

The final decision is binding and no correspondence will be entered into. The company reserves the right, at any time, to verify the validity of entries and entrants and to disqualify anyone who submits an entry that is in breach of the rules, or those that do not comply with content restrictions (defined below).

 

8) CONTENT RESTRICTIONS: Entrants must not include any of the following content in any entry:

 

i) pornography, adult-oriented content or any other sexually-explicit material;

 

ii)explicit language or content, images of violence, or promotion of illegal activities;

 

iii) content which infringes intellectual property rights or laws;

 

iv) content which is defamatory or maliciously false;

 

v) content which brings or is likely to bring the company, its website or Anglian Home Improvements into disrepute;

 

vi) material that promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual or promotes discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, age or any other basis;

 

vii) content owned by any party other than the entrant or the company (e.g. recorded music; pre-produced video, etc.);

 

viii) material that is unlawful, or which may constitute a criminal offence including (without limitation) the Communications Act 2003, Malicious Communications Act 1988 or any other legislation in force during the competition.

 

Any entry which does not comply with these content restrictions, in the sole discretion of the company, will be disqualified from the competition.

 

9) By entering the competition and submitting an entry, every entrant:

 

(a) agrees that his/her entry does not otherwise violate Anglian Home Improvements’ Terms of Use or infringe the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity;

 

(b) grants to the company the perpetual and unlimited right and license to use, license, edit, modify, duplicate and/or create derivative works from the winning entries throughout the world and in perpetuity, including, but not limited to, the right for the promoter to publish, display, broadcast, distribute, reproduce, perform, create derivative works from and otherwise use the entry via the internet or any other interactive media, on television, in print and/or any other media currently existing and hereafter developed and without limitation and without further payment or compensation to the entrant following the delivery of the prize, or his/her heirs and successors,

 

(i) on its own or as part of any audio-visual or other production;

 

(ii) to advertise any of Anglian Home Improvements’ products;

 

(iii) for any other purpose whatsoever.

 

(c) Any works showcased on the site as winners will nonetheless be credited to those who submit them, highlighting their ability to produce winning entries or any that will be shortlisted in an online gallery collection, the size of which is at the company’s discretion.

 

10) Entrants agree that the company will be entitled to edit entries as it deems fit in accordance with current advertising regulations and will not be obliged to make any use of any part or all of a entry.

 

11) Entrants are solely responsible for Internet connectivity, software and/or hardware that may be required in order to create and/or submit any entry.

 

12) All entries must be received by the closing date.

 

13) Only one entry per person. No purchase necessary. Late, illegible, incomplete or corrupt entries will not be accepted. No responsibility can be accepted for lost entries and proof of transmission will not be accepted as proof of receipt. Entries must not be sent through agencies or third parties.

 

14) The winners will receive a prize consisting of one £50 John Lewis voucher.

 

15) By entering into the competition, the winners agree to participate in publicity and promotional activity following the competition, should it be required. This may include use of their name and image in online and offline publicity, communications, and in any other media worldwide without any fee being paid.

 

16) For the names of the winners, please send an SAE to Anglian Home Improvements, Anglian’s Locked Out Competition, Liberator Rd, Norwich, NR6 6EU within four weeks of the closing date.

 

17) Events may occur that render the competition itself or the awarding of the prize impossible due to reasons beyond the control of the company and accordingly the company may at its absolute discretion vary, amend or cancel the competition without notice (in particular if it or the website on which the competition is operated is affected by any denial-of-service attacks, viruses, hacking or any other technologically-harmful material or act) and the entrant agrees that no liability will attach to the company as a result thereof.

 

18) To the extent permitted by law, the company and its agents and representatives hereby expressly exclude any liability whether in contract, tort, criminal law, breach of statutory duty or otherwise for any direct, indirect or consequential loss, damage, injury or disappointment (including without limitation any pure economic loss) suffered or incurred by any entrant, winner or any third party whether foreseeable or not in connection with:

 

(a) any act or omission of the company in developing, planning and administering the competition;

 

(b) any entry or attempted entry into the competition.

 

19) The company will not be liable for any inability of any person to enter the competition because of any unavailability of such page, failures in computer systems or networks, other malfunctions, or for any other reason.

 

20) The company will not be liable for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network, cable, satellite, Internet Service Provider (ISP) or lines, computer systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any email or entry to be received on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website, or any combination thereof, including any damage to the entrant’s or any other person’s computer related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials relating to this competition.

 

21) All conditions, warranties and other terms which might otherwise be implied by statute or common law are expressly excluded from these Terms.

 

22) Nothing in these Terms will exclude or limit the company’s liability for death or personal injury caused by its negligence or for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

 

23) Entrants agree that by entering the competition their personal details may be stored and otherwise processed by the company for the purposes of administering the competition and for the marketing and sending of other special offers where you have consented to receive the same.

 

24) If you have a comment, query or complaint about these terms or the promotion, please contact Anglian Home Improvements, Liberator Road, Norwich, NR6 EU.

 

25) The company may refuse to provide the prize in the event that an entrant fails to satisfy the eligibility requirements under these terms in clauses 5 and 7 above, or has committed or is alleged to have committed any act of fraud or dishonesty, or is in breach of any of these terms.

 

26) In the event of any dispute regarding these terms, conduct, results and all other matters relating to the competition, the decision of the company will be final and no correspondence or discussion will be entered into.

 

27) If any provision of these terms (or part of any provision) is found by any court or other competent authority to be invalid, unenforceable or illegal, the other provisions will remain in force. If any invalid, unenforceable or illegal provision would be valid, enforceable and legal if some part of it were deleted, the provision will apply with whatever modification is necessary to give effect to the commercial intention of the parties.

 

28) No failure or delay by a party to exercise any right or remedy provided under these terms or by law or any abandonment of any such right or remedy will constitute a waiver of that or any other right or remedy, nor will it preclude or restrict the further exercise of that or any other right or remedy. No single or partial exercise of such right or remedy will preclude or restrict the further exercise of that or any other right or remedy.

 

29) These terms and any non-contractual obligations arising out of or in connection with them will be governed and construed in accordance with English law. The courts of England and Wales will have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or matter of difference which may arise out of or in connection with these terms.

 

30) This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to Rafflecopter and Anglian Home Improvements and not to Facebook. By participating in this promotion you agree to a complete release of Facebook from any claims.

 

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