10 Differences between Danish & American Houses 

Yeah, it's certainly not a rule that bathroom light switches have to be on the outside here. Mine isn't.

White is the neutral color usually preferred by realtors, if not planning to sell soon, patterned and picture wallpaper is common .

​@@johndododoe1411 I am only talking about Denmark. It is very much to the North (like New Foundland in Canada). The shortest day is only 7 hours in the winter, which means it is dark outside the remaining 17 hours. Winter depression is a very real thing here. Unlike Canada we do not get much snow due to the coastal climate and island geography, so the country is very wet and dark in winter. You can get patterned wallpaper here, it is just not as common to see, and mostly used in children's rooms.

Except from the white walls bringing light to the homes, they're also preferable when you want to hang stuff on the walls. We do that a lot in Denmark as well, and white as the background suits pretty much everything, no matter if you want to hang up a clock, a guitar, a painting, some family photos, a shelf for books or just decorations etc. I know quite a few people who have moved to Denmark from other countries and I've noticed that it always takes about a handful of years before they really start adopting that "decorate the walls with items instead of colors"-approach 😂

I also think the many white walls are a counter-move to the coloured walls of the 90's (remember the sponge method 🫣)

Not really, the main reason is marxist modernism from Bauhaus et al still lingering on in your culture...

I was going to comment that the energy crisis back in the late 70s (?) killed off most bathtubs here.

Yeah, and we don't consider them "unfinished" floors .

Carpets have disappeared with floor heating. They used to be very common, but since floors are not cold anymore, there is much less of a need for carpets.

The American Fridge is catching on again.

@@johndododoe1411 Det er ikke "ufærdige" men ubehandlede.

Yeah, in the US the outlets in bathrooms are required to have a breaker on it so it can trip itself and turn off if it comes in contact with water. Same with kitchens.

@@TravelinYoung All outlets have to have breakers. Actually kitchens must have at least 3 outlets, separated between at least two breakers with light load. But it must have been deemed too unsafe to even have outlets in "wet rooms", unless it was the transformer separated "shaver outlet". That is no longer being put up.

@@steffenthorhauge9549 to clarify, I meant breaker on the actual outlet itself. In addition to the breaker box which all outlets are the house are connected to. It is an extra level of protection for outlets near sinks. It is called a GFCI outlet - ground fault circuit interruptor.

@@TravelinYoung Ah, a separate HPFI (as they are called in Danish. I understand. That is not (yet?) required in EU.

In the US, it's only the outlets with a dedicated GFCI that are ground fault protected. In Denmark all outlets are required to be behind a GFCI, thus there is just a single (or sometimes multiple) GFCI in the breaker box, covering the whole house. The downside is that the whole house loses power if it trips, but it's nice to have every single outlet, appliance, light outtake, etc. protected.

I can't understand why anybody would do that. It's such a downgrade. I can understand wanting a large shower, but not at the expense of losing the tub.

I'm danish. I had a tub where I grew up but I would NEVER have a tub now. Takes up room. It's a hastle to fill and takes time. uses alot of water. and I don't want to sit in my own filth.@@jonc4403

@@jonc4403 water consumption, cost of water. We're using less water per capita now than 30 years ago.

​@@jonc4403we began taking baths daily and the tub just got in the way, as it was taking up space. 15 years ago is was common to install spa/bubblebaths in new houses as a quality of life but that too has gone put of fashion as they remained unused and took up precious space especially now that houses are being built smaller again (140 m2 compared to 180 20 years ago). You may compare to saunas that were the rage in the 70s-80s. Noone ever used them so they ended up as storage space an no one in their right mind would build one in a house today.

@@jonc4403 were removing ours. Its massive, and max gets used once a year, and then its a fall danger - super slippery and a hassle to get in and out of.

yeah.. also I imagine a ice cube fridge will chalk up pretty quick xD

1. In this apartment, our windows, open a small amount or you can turn the handle 180 and it opens on a hinge like a door. 2. Yep ours does this, you can sort of half lock it then properly lock it with the thumb turn or the key. 3. I haven't noticed this - certainly between the UK and DK it seems the same. 4. We have big windows... Our bedrooms have curtains but I know some of my neighbours don't. Our apartment overlooks our neighbours and it's kind of weird because they sleep with the light on as well as no curtains some nights... (I see this when I get up for work at 5am.... I'm not being a creeper lol) 5. Oh yes, and Christmas is coming so adventlys at the ready! 6. a. Yes and when they are overhead they are often really soft lighting and low lol. Our dining table one is at my standing eyelevel and I'm just over 5ft tall. b. Yes, the first night my husband and son had a sleepover in our new place, they had to do everything by bicycle light or torch until our delivery from Ikea and my husband could install our lights lol. 7. We make ice cubes in a tray in our freezer (same as we do back in the UK too) and I'm not sure what you mean by 100° cookers (ours is in Celsius so goes up in 50s. Our UK cooker is in Celsius too but my Mum's cooker is so old it's still in Fahrenheit - so alot of recipes I learnt as a kid how to do in that cooker and then had to relearn once I moved out lol). 8. The white is a little boring but as you say - add the accessories and you can change it when you need/want to.

@@HannahJ The 100° cookers, means a tap at the sink where you can get boiling water at any time.

Valid items for sure. I was wondering about the faucet in the shower, most here are thermostat controlled, whereas all the US ones I’ve encountered are of the either it’s the too hot or too cold variety

Door knobs in the US vs. door handles in DK.

Hi Zandain. The answers to Q 5 + 6 is because of the Danish "hygge". We want warm cosiness and like to play with how the light affects the surroundings (brightness, color, shade and patterns). It's plays a big part in how we design and decorate our (white walled) rooms, and therefore we shy away from too bright 'harsh' light placed on the ceiling.

As in - Belgium. It may be because of the climate, that eventually you will open to a snowfield outside, which isn't practical.

Yeah, it's weird how American houses often don't have any kind of space between the front door and the actual room, one just steps straight into a proper room. I prefer to have a foyer for shoes and coats and whatnot... but then Americans can't be bothered to take off their shoes inside so I guess no biggie for them, lol.

@@Fritha71 might be why they don't bother. I love the Japanese version is where there's always a level difference where shoes are not allowed once you step "up" into the house.

americans also use 3-6 times more water than danes on average

Reason for not having an ice cube machine is hygiene... it takes a lot of cleaning to remain safe... with ice cube trays, it's just easier to remember that they need a cleaning once in a while...

@@BenjaminVestergaard Plus, the ice cube thing is not really something people use all the time. I have two old milk-bottle style glass bottles from IKEA, in my fridge at all times with cold water. Problem solved .

Do you mean fluoride? I've only encountered chlorine in swimming pools.

@@joncelso2369 Whatever it is it tastes like a swimming pool. It is vile.

When we run out of water from the ground we have to use surface water from the lakes. In those cases we add chlorine to the water here in Denmark too. It has been years since I experienced it, but it did happen at some points.

@@tineditmarunnerup9513 That is a very very long time ago.

@@tineditmarunnerup9513 it more or less exclusively happens in/around Copenhagen and only during fairly heavy droughts.

I was going to ask if Denmark also had to keep electricity out of the bathrooms or only 110v outlets for something like an electric shaver. That and the on/off for outlets are very common in Ireland as well.

​@@joncelso2369 its 230 volt at standard(Some special ones may have others)

As a UK non electrician my understanding of the rules here in the UK is that you can 230/240V sockets and light switches in bathrooms if they are more than 3m from a bath, sink or shower. The US use 110V so the effect of a shock are generally lower. Appliances use power whilst on standby, it was significant in the past. It is far easier to flick a switch than pull a plug out of the wall.

@@johnclements6614 Ah, I think you hit the key point. The 3+ metre distance is unicorn-level rarity; who has a bath that big 🤣

🍿 just waiting for the one who starts the argument that the rules were made so only rich people could have outlets in their baths 😂

all the flies and other bugs ? Maybe just clean somwhat?

​@@egonegonmandflies and bugs etc enter clean spaces all the time, especially away from polluted areas such as the cities... They might not wish to stay in clean spaces, but they can't always find their way out

Screens like that is a good thing, especially if you live in a place many bugs. Or just to use in the mosquito season, which is often also when it's hot and you'd like to have a window open. Maybe you could invest in a few frames and then use them for the favourite places to have standing open; like your bedroom window, the garden door (if you have one) the window in the kitchen, maybe? In a doorway, you can also have a pearl string curtain, that keeps away a lot of insects. You could put it away outside of bug season, and in that way make a compromise with your husband, if he is not so much into it.

@@BrinnaIshima Yes, thank you ☺️ This is not a cleanliness issue 😂 We live in the countryside and no matter what we do, they love to come hang out in our house…spiders (especially the spiders 😝) flies, bees, mosquitoes. That’s why I miss window screens. And also to keep the pets in if you want fresh air but don’t want your dog or cat escaping 😊 But I see that screens are not common here in Denmark so I was curious what others who live in the country do about this?

know the feeling

Thanks, we love it!

Correct. This is usually, (and the only valid reason) why sometimes, the electrician are forced to put it on the outside.

Any new installation requires at least one outlet per 4 square meter. this includes the bathroom as long as it can be placed 0.6 meters away from the edges of any bathtub or shower. So yes, old houses and apartments usually have the light switch outside the bathroom, while new houses and apartments will have it inside the bathroom, along with an outlet for your shaving / dryer needs and such.

It was but a lye soap finish is no match for dogs 😳

@@TravelinYoung My parents have had such floors and washed with a "gulvsæbe" with no problems with several cats and dogs sharing the home for 40 years. So maybe that soap is a safe option?

The soapfloor, is very easy and very very cheap to repair. With washing in soap again. Many of those floors are laid many years ago, and with a dark fernish. Then back starting maybe late 60` young ppl with no money needed to make flates for their liking cheaply, grounded the fernish of and treated with cheap soap. And also many wooden furniures got that treadment, as you can also use the brown soap for disvolving the old paint and fernish. It is called, at afsyre møbler, to acid of furnitures. Even if soap is base. 😊

Someone once rented my apartment for three months while I went travelling and she asked if it was okay for her to paint my walls? Like ... for living there for three months!

Are there any advantages to round door handles? The difference is not huge, but like, if you are carrying stuff, the lever handles are so much more practical, and also I imagine if you are an old person, ... you need to have a fairly good grip with the round handles for them to turn, while with the levers you can just put weight on them. Both kinds do the job, but it seems to me that levers have advantages. I'd like to hear if there are any advantages to round ones that I just haven't thought about.

Yes, and if you have anything moist on your hands, you can't grab the handle and open the door

@@cnj67 and advantage is that an animal cannot open the round ones. I heard that it is by law in some nothern US states and in (possibly part of) Canada to use round doors handles on the outside, to avoid bears getting access. Dunno if it is true, or just a Danish hearsay.

Second on the American fridges -- those are also sold in Ireland, otherwise you can have one of those refrigerator/freezers that's built into the cupboards, like our flat. Makes me wonder now if "American style Fridge Freezers" are available throughout Europe? 🤔

Samsung have built an Anarican fridge with water and ice that is not big and can fit in a standard danish kitchen

"conversation kitchens", you mean 😉

@@Bjowolf2 Ha. Indeed. I'll update it. Thank you.

Yeah I paused at that for a moment.

Ha, we meant no eurathane or shellac finish. There are floors that are finished with a lye soap but that's not very protective. Our last house literally had no finish. It was straight up raw wood planks. Not even a lye soap layer

Well, you couldn't really see the floor in the video so had me thinking too..🤔

Me either, I actually had to go back and see what she was talking about, and depending on the age of the house someone likely spent a lot of time stripping the varnish off it sometime in the past lol

AND space :)

Ubehandlede gulve

True but we were talking about automatic icemakers. All freezer can make ice cubes. Not all freezers can make them by themselves. Most freezers in the US make them by themselves.

​@@TravelinYoungyou can buy bags of ice cubes at the grocery store. When I found out every single ice cube tray went out the window and I haven't looked back since.

Exactly. Many years ago when I lived in the suburbs of New York there was even a carpet in the bathroom and kitchen. EWWWW!!!!

I’ll say we always had hardwood floors except our first smaller house. But they were finished and more durable.

Who are all these horrible people who do that to each other? Do you also take away the toilet paper because it's fun bothering people doing their, you know, private matters? How about turning off the main tap, now you're at it?

I got one, i think the only reason more don't is because it takes a lot of space.

Of my five rooms, only one has white walls. I suspect the reason for the white walls is the cost of labour. By opting for the lowest common denominator, you reduce the requirement for new paint. Also, it’s easier to paint white walls white again than making them light green after having been deep red. And finally, our houses are quite dark and as white reflects the light better than any colour, that became the standard.

Sounds like you lived in a cabin or summerhouse. While some may have propane stoves for gastronomy reasons (and no city gas in the vicinity) most(read all) water heaters are electric, or heated by “remote heating” 🤔 it’s called “fjernvarme” in Danish - it’s waterborne heating sent through pipes to houses from a central plant. Oh and in my house I don’t even have a hot water tank - it’s heated on-the-fly and I never run out 😜

It is Maya's cat and the cat is called Ollie. You can briefly see Brisket in the video at 7:27

The dog is here 7:28

👍😁👍

Agreed on the screen!