8 Ways Dutch & American Homes Are Very Different ft

Hi, welcome to Jovie's Home!
Thank you to M line for sponsoring today's video. I absolutely love my Cool Motion 5 mattresses and Cool Duo cover. Take their quiz and find your perfect match here: www.mline.nl/
Check out my friend Carolyn's channel here: / contemporarymama
Timestamps:
00:00 Thank you, M line!
01:14 Intro
01:46 Thank you, Carolyn!
2:23 Garages
4:00 Entryway/hallway
06:01 Mattresses/Beds
09:00 Windows
10:27 Built-in Closets
11:55 Furniture
13:10 Microwaves
14:30 Bathrooms
17:13 Outtro
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Thank you, as always, to @goed.gedaan for his excellent editing.
PS - If you're wondering why my videos will always be in English, the answer is simple: more people in the world speak English than Dutch. I want this channel to be accessible and understandable for as many people as possible.

[@JoviesHome]

SOUND ISSUE: I’m seeing comments about the sound being low. Everything is okay on our side, and I’m using a professional new microphone for recording. I’ve heard other KZbin channels are also having sound issues. I wonder if this is a technical issue in YT’s side? Anyway, I’m really sorry this is happening!! 💕💕💕

[@ContemporaryMama]

Sound is perfect for me but I’m listening on my air pods

[@A3aan1959]

The sound is fine, i'am using my iPad

[@mariadebake5483]

Sound is fine for me too, I'm using my mobile phone

[@conscious_choice]

🇳🇱 beetje laag geluidsniveau op mobiel. Sound a little low on cellphone. Not too bad

[@remconet]

I've seen (well heard) this in your videos before. It has to do with normalizing your sound levels. Something your editor should look into.

[@manoni75]

Hi Jovie, many people have a toilet in their bathroom in The Netherlands. Maybe even most of them! For me a big difference between American and Dutch bathrooms is that the sink and toilet bowl are wall mounted nowadays, which looks way more modern and makes a bathroom so much easier to clean. Also it's more common to have a fridge incorporated with the cabinets in the kitchen, so it looks sleek. In American kitchens the fridge looks to me like a giant monster crammed into normal sized cabinets :)

[@gianmartina]

The people I know, who have a garage, don't use it as a garage but rather as a space for storage. We have used half of our garage to create our new kitchen. The other have is in use as a space for storage.

[@mariadebake5483]

Yes most people I know do so too

[@martianpudding9522]

The other week my dad send a picture that he cleared out his garage and put his car in it, and my sister and I were like "what are you doing??"

[@JoviesHome]

That's so funny!

[@lindaraterink6451]

All the people I know use their garage where it's meant for to put the car in because our dutch weather kills them way to early when they are parked outside. So not always a storage room.

[@aeiouaeiou100]

We use it for like 8 bikes

[@xXTheoLinuxXx]

Jovie there are some difference between the Randstad and everything outside that. I live in Drenthe and we have more space, so garages/carports are more common next to your house. To make it clear how different it is between the Randstand and the Lower Saxon region of the Netherlands is that we love to have a cabin in the garden to use like some kind (wo)mancave, the groundprice differs a lot ;) The main reason why we have hallways is that we don't like to share the view everything in case someone is using the doorbell. Back in the day houses had a seperate room (voorkamer) in case of visitors. The 'achterkamer' was the room for normal life. The sofa, well since we aren't exactly dwarfs a lower sofa hurts your back, so we like them a bit higher (in general). A microwave? well for a lot people it is for just in case.. or they are to stupid to cook. I'm not saying they are, but it is just one of the labels. Build in closets, wel my house is from 1954 and pretty standard for that time and has build in closets. And we have plenty of houses with a toilet in the bathroom, but to be honest, no one likes the smell of number 2 when they want to take a shower ;) At some points there is a reason why we do things different.

[@MarcJagt]

Until the sixties it was common to have build-in wardrobe's in houses, most times in a corner of a room. This was abandoned to give the tenant or future owner more freedom of choice regarding storage space. On the other hand builders were saving costs when they did not fit in wardrobe's. And by leaving out build in wardrobe's the number of livable square meters went up so the rent or selling price could become higher. Scrooge McDuck is a Dutchman.

[@jasper7072]

I prefer non-built in wardrobes. It makes your room more flexible in room layout. With built in closets you have to keep that door/wall free. I can tell you that it's a pain in our 70m2 apartment. I don't get why it would take up less space either. I see it as space that could have been added to a room

[@JasperJanssen]

The walls of a built in closet are almost inevitably thicker than, like, a layer of particleboard or even real wood.

[@marjonmaf4684]

Totally agree

[@In1998able]

Sofa: Dutch people are taller so the sofa will be to low to be comfort, so they are higher. Microwave the Dutch kitchens are smaller then in the USA so it is about saving space.

[@harrybruijs2614]

We like to cook from fresh products, so why we need a big microwave

[@mariadebake5483]

And I think them still too low

[@arturobianco848]

@@harrybruijs2614 Because by most its a combi and we don't have an oven anymore. I do miss me oven sometimes cause the combi is a bit small.

[@metalvideos1961]

@@arturobianco848 combination oven sucks. I have a, microwave and an oven. A real oven.

[@Grasnek]

It's also a lot easier to clean underneath a sofa with taller feet. I imagine you have to either drag or lift the US sofa from it's spot to clean underneath. The gap seems even too small for a roomba to fit through!

[@henryhuijbers3158]

About the microwave. The inner walls of a conventional microwave are made of metal too. It’s all about the placement of the beam, it doesn’t hit the walls and rack holders.

[@jwenting]

and which metals, and if there's proper insulation, etc. etc.

[@-ParisTexas-]

Actually, the older houses do have built in storage. I think that they stopped building like that in de sixties. :) Houses from the thirties and older definitely have built in storage. But it is smaller than what you are used to. I guess people had less stuff. If you can see under your furniture the space seems bigger. The houses here are smaller. We try to maximize the space visually.

[@lindaraterink6451]

Most of the buildins have been torn out aswell when remodeling.

[@AnimalDreams86]

Probably more like in the seventies. Our previous house was built in 1969, and had built in storage.

[@supadupasumi]

Can confirm, we have a rental house (yes whole house lol) that is from 1965 or something and two out of the 4 bedrooms upstairs got built-in closets. Small ones but definitely there. The two rooms that have one are also the biggest ones.

[@Dani.Torres]

I love the toilet to be in another room separated from the bathroom. This style is very popular in Japan too. Apartments with separated toilets from the bathroom are more expensive than the ones that have full bathrooms. I think the separation is more convenient for a family or even a couple.

[@ryn2844]

Dutch people also tend to go into their house through the back door, and people who are close friends come in through there as well. Strangers would use the door bell/ front door. Why would you want strangers to immediately see the living room?

[@Romir01x]

I just realized that I have never entered my best friend's house trough the front door.

[@leDespicable]

That's interesting. The concept of a back door doesn't reall exist here in Germany. Most houses/apartments just have the front door and a balcony/terrace door, that's it.

[@rakoda]

Depends on where you live. Me and my friends live in a appartement the front door is the only door accessible

[@Nienke131]

I hate to have a toilet inside of the bathroom. Who needs to have a smelly toilet in a room where you come to clean yourself? It’s just a horrible combination especially when shared with multiple people. So yes, we have a separate toilet room and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

[@halapunjete]

In the USA and most other developed countries, every bedroom has its own bathroom including a toilet. So no one really shares the same toilet so you wouldn't have that issue what you have described. On the contrary, it's weird to have to share one toilet with the who family.

[@picobello99]

@@halapunjete "Most other developed countries" I'm sorry, but I've been to quite a few countries and the US is the only place I've been to where it's common to have multiple bathrooms. In Europe most houses have one bathroom without a toilet and a separate toilet room. Even the houses in Canada that I've seen only had one bathroom. Big mansions being the exception off course.

[@halapunjete]

@@picobello99 Australia also has multiple bathrooms as Australians (and New Zeeland) have on average the biggest houses in the world. This is logical as they have the most square foot per inhabitant. After all, why wouldn't you if you have a 350m2 house which is the typical size there?

[@Wuppie62]

@@halapunjete So you consider parts of the US and Australia as being representative of 'developed countries'? I consider Western and Northern European countries as developed too. Just different in certain ways. :) Thing is, in Europe there 're more older cities, with smaller dimensioned buildings and houses. In the Netherlands you have different types of houses from different periods. These all have different ideas about way of living, interior space and usage and designtrends. There are houses still without a bath, and only a shower and one toilet for all. Especially in the typical after-war fast, cheap and efficient rebuilding of standardised houses (rijtjeshuizen) in the fifties and sixties. Limited space, efficiency and costs are still a thing here. But there are also big(ger) houses, with one or more seperate toilets, seperate shower or bathroom for guests and a bathroom en-suite to the master bedroom, with a bath/jacuzzi, seperate shower, a toilet with handdouche and/or a bidet. In parts of southern Europe bidets are standard.

[@metalvideos1961]

@@halapunjete that's not true. If you want to have your own bathroom that means you are rich enough to afford it. Most developed countries don't have this. It's really stands to have 1 bathroom and that's it.

[@magdalenaverhaeg6800]

Hi Jovi, what i also noticed with living in the usa, people in the usa still use blankets and sheets. While in the netherlands we use duvets and covers for it, which i feel are a lot warmer and they stay more in place. i really disliked my sheets and blankets being a mess when i got up in the morning when i was in the usa. the next time i take my duvet with me to the usa. :) i do love the bigger windows here in the netherlands then in the usa. The windows in the usa are so much smaller. just things that i noticed there vs the netherlands.

[@helenehuydecooper3534]

´Mostly we have two toilets: 1 downstairs and one upstairs in the bathroom. An extra separate toilet upstairs is also possible when the lay out of the house allows it.

[@nomadgigi4051]

I worked in architectural drawing for years and designed many houses. If you do the maths you'll find that a build in wardrobe of say 60cm x 180cm takes up the same amount of overall floor space as a loose standing wardrobe of the same size. The difference is that build in is neater but fixed and loose is more flexible in room layout. I prefer build in but have sometimes found it frustrating to place the furniture.

[@mathilde5928]

Most older dutch houses (including my own) do have build in closet’s. The windows that open 2 ways are also mainly in the newer houses, mine only open outwards.

[@betsytodd3511]

Entering through the garage may be a reason for not needing an entrance hall in larger American houses, but I think another reason is to maximize room sizes and not lose space to hallways. My house was built in 1949 as a modest low cost house. The only hall is about 6 or 7 feet (2 meters) long, between the 2 bedrooms. There’s no garage and I do normally enter through the front door directly into the living room. I would love to have a front hall but it would take way too much space away from my small living room. Besides letting the cold air in, if someone comes to the door they can see if my living room is a mess - I hate that!

[@lindaraterink6451]

This is exactly why Dutch (Europeans) find the 'step into my livingroom thing' weird. Main thing I don't like it is that some stranger that is f.i. trying to sell some thing or collect for a good cause, can see everything in my house that way.

[@DenUitvreter]

@@lindaraterink6451 A hall is also a heat sluice. If you have one visitor in the winter, you have got to get your whole living room up to temperature again.

[@yvonnebrink9912]

When ikea first came to canada the bigger beds used 2 mattresses....loved it...also 2 duvets so you can choose how thick you want it....will never go back to one mattress. Hate that American homes have now entrance way....here in ontario we have always had a seperate entrance.

[@ZaeranosNL]

I always found it interesting to see how international people view the Netherlands. I am born and raised in the Netherlands so it is really insightful. I have to point out a few things though. 1) The garages: you have a lot of different types of garages in the Netherlands. The ones you showed a picture of are garageboxes, which come with row houses. But you have garages that are attached to the house and also with a lot of different conveniences. That you don't have an automatic door is because you decided not to install it. I could make a whole video on different garages. 2) Entryway/hallway: Many families enter their house through the backdoor. It again depends on the type of house such as farmhouses, rowhouses, two-under-one-roof houses, stand-alone houses. I have always entered a house through the backdoor at my own and my friends. Again something that can take up an entire video. It all depends on where you live and how you have been raised. 3) On account of bathrooms. Again it all depends on where you live and in what type of house. There are many houses that have more than one bathroom and there are toilets in bathrooms. We aren't that different from the US. 4) Built-in closets: Yes in the Netherlands you do not see them that much. That doesn't mean they aren't there. The way I see it is. A house has a fixed amount of space and you either sacrifice space for a built-in closet or you sacrifice space for a room closet. It's kind of a practical thing.

[@Oxygenefrl]

Built in closets: because we like to keep the space open to different ways of using it. If you put a built in closet in a bedroom, then there is only 1 way to place your bed etc

[@Ter_ror]

Hi Jovie, coming back to the combined microwave. A lot of combined/new microwaves use a different wavelength/power output on the magnetrons (the thing that actually makes food warm). This way metal doesn't spark but actually gets heated. For Example if you want to heat up a glass of milk you can put a metal spoon in it this way the milk gets heated faster and more evenly. Most of these machines have (when you open the door) a little symbol that actually says to put a spoon is it. Also a lot of the combined ones can use the hot air element as well as the microwave element to heat up food quicker, more evenly and nicer.

[@tiablasangoriti8347]

If that microwave wowed you, wait till you see the washing machine that doubles as a dryer. Loving the Specs!

[@hesseldijkstra5327]

I am now living in the USA for 10 years, the toilets in the houses I have lived in easily gets blocked and you need a plunger to push things free. In the Netherlands my whole life I have never seen a blocked toilet bowl. I figured out that in the Netherlands the holes in the bowls are much larger.

[@BartSanneMassee]

Hahahah! Yup! Scott’s septic safe is the way to go! Way stronger, lasts forever and just works. Even prefer it to Dutch wc papier:-)

[@HomeWorkouts_LS]

As a designer, I wish those amazing windows were more common in the US! They're just so expensive here :(

[@marjoleinewelters1728]

Love that you mentioned the entry thing haha thanks for that!! The not using the front door thing makes sense! I can also inmagine that the not-hallway can be a space saving thing. Like in apartments in NYC where many homes are in one building a hallway might take up space that is not practical.. No idea. Just thinking based on what ive seen on tv lol

[@JoviesHome]

Thanks for watching and supporting!

[@michaellust]

I've followed you now for some time and it seems that Sweden and The Netherlands are so much alike in so many ways. Did not now that. Thanks Jovie. Your videos is uplifting and informative.

[@HYDROCARBON_XD]

Bruh,both are extremely safe/developed countries,both are very good countries for business,the language is “similar” (both are Germanic,but not that similar,the way how Spanish and French are similar) and well both are European countries so yeah obviously they are similar (they also have A LOT of EDM DJs)

[@melaniehyatt3646]

Um...less than 60 seconds in and I see these duvets with the extra flap at the bottom to make tucking them in easy -- what?! Where do I find these? I hope whoever invented them is living a happy, comfortable existence and is drinking something out of a hollowed-out pineapple while sitting on the beach. If you have a link I'd really appreciate it. Thank you for sharing your videos ❤️

[@melaniehyatt3646]

No sound issues over here, btw.

[@pippilangkous5089]

@@melaniehyatt3646 where do you live? It is pretty common in the Netherlands.

[@mariadebake5483]

@@pippilangkous5089 Except when you buy one in the Hema. They don't have it, don't know why

[@conscious_choice]

@@mariadebake5483 Lidl likewise. Every other shop in the Netherlands has them though.

[@mariadebake5483]

@@conscious_choice True

[@wilmascholte7607]

My old home, from 1895, had built in closets in the kitchen, living room (2), front room (2), master bedroom (2) and small bedroom (1). I think it's modern homes that are kind of gimped in this way.

[@barupp123]

I love your videos! I live in the U.S., but my parents are both immigrants from the Netherlands. All of my mom's family still lives there (in Zwolle and Hasselt), so I have visited frequently over my whole life. It's so fun and interesting to see the differences between the two countries. Thanks for making videos about it. Tot ziens!

[@JoviesHome]

Thanks so much for sharing your support!

[@greetjeb7030]

Greetings from Zwolle 😊

[@barupp123]

@@greetjeb7030 Thanks, Greetje!

[@HYDROCARBON_XD]

I have something similar my father is from Netherlands and he went to Mexico to study international business (I think it’s called like that) and my mom is mexican but when I grow up I wanna go to study to Europe.

[@firedude3337]

Hi Jovie! I've been binge watching your channel since I found out I may transfer from Singapore to Amsterdam working for Philips. I've been in Asia for 10 years now and I think the chance of living in Amsterdam would be such an interesting opportunity. Thanks for all the great info.

[@JoviesHome]

That sounds like an exciting change! I hope my channel has been helpful and I wish you all the best in your potential transition!

[@MSchipper]

You probably will end up in Eindhoven, not Amsterdam if you will be working for Philips. Eindhoven has more affordable housing than Amsterdam and it is the City of Lights, thanks to Philips.

[@M0T0.M.B.]

@@MSchipper and the best city of Brabant 😊

[@ilonkagootjes858]

The reason of a separate toilet comes from the old days, the days where we didn't have plumming. Most city's had an open sewer in the middle of the streets. The "toilel" wasn't much more than a kind of closet, next to the frontdoor (hence the hallway, you don't want a toilet in the livingroom) and there was just a "poopbucket" in the closet. They would take the bucket right out the frontdoor to empty it in the sewer. Later when we got plumming, we also got a shower, (no baths) and those where almost always on the second floor, by the bedrooms. Funfact, that's the reason why we call it WC ("waysay") meaning watercloset. 😁

[@jennls2534]

I love those windows ! So smart ! In Canada we have hallways. Keeps cold out , heat in , in winter !

[@claudioferrara4455]

Italy: Mattress: You may have either one x2 mattress or 2 separate mattresses in king size beds. It’s personal. I’d say one two-place mattress is more common, but it’s just my experience. Windows: same as in the NL and I think it’s a continental European standard. In newer homes, they open both ways; in older ones, they open only horizontally, but you can still open it completely. Closets: Italians have a lot of clothes and a built-in closet would be impractical. In Italy, the closet is usually a HUGE two-story piece of furniture that often takes up an entire wall in the bedroom. The lower level is for clothes for the current season (e.g. t-shirts if it’s Spring-Summer or sweaters if it’s Autumn-Winter) and the upper level for clothes for the other season, and you switch them twice a year. This is called “changing the closet” (cambio dell’armadio) and I used to think it was something universal, but in my first travels abroad I was shocked to find out it’s a typical Italian thing. Some larger apartments or some houses may have a little dedicated room (cabina armadio), but it’s not common. Garages: separate garages are usually in estates built between the 50s and the early 70s, when car culture wasn’t so widespread yet in Europe as it was in the US. I live in a 1960s apartment block in a Milan suburb and my garage is in a nearby street, in a row of garages like the one you showed in the video. Yes, most garage doors are NOT automated, especially in separate garages that usually aren’t wired into the power network. Bathrooms: Most newer homes will have a main bathroom and a service bathroom. The toilet is usually in the bathroom and not separated. I’m sure someone has pointed this out before me, but the most striking difference is that bathrooms in Italy ALWAYS have a bidet. Another striking difference between American homes and EU homes is that you use SO MANY dry walls in the US. Here, walls are brick and mortar and dry walls are used only in special circumstances (for example, you want to split one large room into two smaller rooms and you mount a dry wall to separate).

[@Pannenkoekenplantje]

I actually prefer standalone closets because of the variety, both in styles and in room layout

[@BlueStarDragon]

My childhood home had a garage connected to the house. Also at some point we had a remote control. This was in the eighties. People were amazed to see the door open automatically. #Sofa's were like that before I knew of the existence of Ikea. #WC. In my previous house because it was smaller I had my toilet in the bathroom. I prefer separated. Now I don't have shower in the smell

[@Dutchbelg3]

I personally feel strong about separating the toilet from the bathroom. When we bought the house I did have all together in a very large bathroom but we had it renovated and our wish was to separate the shitty function from the cleaning function.. so we did. I think the excretion function is not something to share with your family members. I like to keep it quiet and private. That comes along with having locks on the toilet and no conversation while I have a bio-break ;-) I do know families where they even keep the toilet door open and have discussions during their sit-down action. Not for me...

[@ContemporaryMama]

Always happy to help out my favorite youtuber!! So interesting to see these differences 😁

[@JoviesHome]

You're the best!

[@modernfamily9560]

This was really interesting, please do a part two!

[@JoviesHome]

I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

[@sandyruitenberg2928]

I as a Dutch person actually prefer one big matras , where we both sleep on. I even select hotel rooms based on having one matras. But me and my husband like to cuddle througout the night. When we do have a hotel woth 2 seperate one person matrasses, we prefer to sleep on the one person matras together over sleeping on a different matras.

[@lasb6211]

Not sure about this but I think the homes door opening to the living space might have more to do with the regions weather. I live in Washington state and most of the homes open into a foyer or a space to close umbrellas, take off wet shoes etc. When I lived in California most homes opened into a living space. Anyway just a thought. Love this video, so interesting!

[@johansilwouden3403]

With regards to garages: many of the garages that came with homes built in the 60s, 70s and even 80s are way too small for today's cars! Although they may be still small by American standards, many types of cars in Europe have become bigger over the last decades. And protection against rust has also vastly improved, so no need to park your car inside! So we can use our garages to store our many bikes and other stuff we have!

[@halapunjete]

It's not a need but convenient to park the car in the garage. No need to de-ice the car in the winter if you store it in a garage

[@JasperJanssen]

@@halapunjete ice? What is ice? I think I remember it from my childhood…

[@nelsonkaiowa4347]

Remote controls for everything is an American concept where convinience is number one (and also the cause for obesity). And trust me , newer garages in Europe also have remote controls.

[@mythicalnightkraft3752]

0:32 I was like: How many pillows? 😂

[@JoviesHome]

Just a few! 😂

[@janwillem2656]

the high sofa is actually great to put the robotic vacuumcleaner under. every once and a while it will drive from underneath the sofa, and when its done it will park itself there. nobody really notices.

[@Roosmarijn035]

and an excellent hiding place for the cat and her toys too. I always have to check when vacuming.

[@dicknr1]

About the microwave oven combi, Most have also a grill nowadays, so you got a 3 in 1. The metal at the sides doesnt trigger anything from the beams so it is no issue.

[@dickvanderpijl6218]

Dear Jovie. You got it when it comes to the advantages of two mattresses. One additional but important argument for this is yet still missing. If one partner moves or turns while lying, the effects of the movement are not transferred to the space where the other partner sleeps. He or she will not notice the partner’s change of position.

[@LunaJo67WDHTMJ]

Hi Jovie! The house I grew up in the 60;s/70's had built-in-closets in the bedrooms and kitchen. I think now people want more freedom to decorate as they please. And you can choose the closet that fits you. Hallways are a more classic form, I think. And that stayed over here and I love hallways. It's a nice way to greet people or to put your coats and shoes. The separate mattresses being a European thing is new to me :) I never had that. I don't know anyone in my family who has that. I live in a 100 year old house that has the regular one-way-open windows. I think it's mainly the newer homes that have that. These old houses have been turned into apartments, one down stairs and one up stairs with bedrooms in the old attic. Anyway always love to see the differences between our two countries. Sometimes I never knew... :) LJ

[@Richard-ox6zk]

A big walk-in closet is a dedicated room for your clothes.

[@peterkoller3761]

there was a time when garages had to be a certain distance away from the house due to fire regulations - at least here in Austria.

[@Catzeyz]

Think the garage thing differs for people. For us, we would love one for protection of the car in bad weather, and if lucky to have a large enough one, use also as a workshop or extra storage, but we are lucky to have a carport that offers some protection. The front door thing is the same in Australia as in the US, usually walk straight into the living room. As an Australian, when I lived there, the front door was still the main way to enter the house as the garage was under the house, not attached or used as a separate entrance. I also had to get out of the car to unlock my garage in Australia. I do like the hall here, though some are very narrow. Couches depends on what you buy....both of our most recent ones are only about 1 cm off the floor, just enough for our furballs to lose a spring toy underneath, but not enough to get it out easily or clean without moving the couches. The 2 mattresses can be good in terms of having a mattress which suits each person, but in our case even with a topper a gap appears in the middle often as my husband tends to prop up on his elbow to watch tv before sleep and that is where he leans his elbow and weight, then falls asleep and through the night with movement etc., it become a gap....also once the mattresses begin to age a gap or ridge is more likely. When I first moved here, I was told the 2 mattresses were because of the typical Dutch houses with narrow stairs which made it impossible to get a wide queen or king mattress in. Not having built in closets doesn't bother me so much as it allows for more choice where to put furniture, but I do miss having a built in linen closet, or any type of storage space in the home. When we have been buying a new home here, real estate agents are mystified as to why I would want storage....my husband says I just need to have less stuff!!! Not sure how to do without clothes and linen though which is mostly what I need it for. The bathroom situation? In Australia I was used to 40+ years of bathrooms with a separate toilet next door to them, no toilet in the bathroom, and that is what I prefer for so many reasons. Works better to separate them when more than one person is using them, and if you ever get the chance to see a video demonstrating what happens when a toilet is flushed (how germs spread out in the air etc.), you never want a toilet in the bathroom again. I admit, after 19 years of trying to adapt to the toilet in the bathroom here, I still hate it, and feel it is not hygienic.

[@fionaalgera3391]

Every upstairs bedroom in my Dutch house has built in closets. In my downstairs bedrooms just one of the two. I depends on the kind of house you live in in the Netherlands. Of the four houses I had in my adult life three had built in closets 🙂. And your theory of the front door opening into the main living space in the US is interesting. We only use our front door for guests also. We enter our house through the back door into the ‘bijkeuken’. Our garage is connected to our house, but I don’t use it for our cars. They are on our drive way. We use are garage for laundry drying on racks and storing our bikes, outdoor toys, garden tools etc. The toilet thing is also a choice. Most bathrooms have a toilet, but it isn’t used as often as the separate toilet (I lived in a house with two full bathrooms with toilets and one seperate toilet) But I agree that the ‘eenheidsworst’ houses on the new built market are all made following the principals described in your video (and I hate it)

[@adriiteach]

Hello Jovie. My husband and I have had a split-king adjustable bed for several years. We each have our own XLtwin mattress, and we have duel controls to raise the head and or foot of our part of the bed. It has been a game changer for sleeping. My husband is a big guy and when he rolls over in a regular bed, it's like a tidal wave. Now, I never feel him moving and vice versa. I noticed you didn't mention this feature of separate mattresses. Also, we each have our own duvet. No more stealing the covers! BTW, my mother was from the Netherlands and I still many cousins there. I have been there many, many times since childhood and I am now 73. I would love to be 20 years younger and move there! I love all things Dutch!

[@martianpudding9522]

I think the toilet might just be a your house thing? Most houses I've been in have a toilet in the bathroom upstairs and a seperate one downstairs. I live in an apartment and we have a toilet in the bathroom and a seperate toilet right next to the bathroom.

[@A3aan1959]

Most houses in the Netherlands are small, so there is to little space to fit in a walkin closet. The bigger, more luxurious houses do have those build in closets

[@2Fast4Mellow]

But then you go to Ikea and buy closets anyway and put them 'somewhere' in room', usually at one side of the bed. With a walk-in they basically pulled the wall towards the bed, creating the walk in. This is the simplest form I've encountered here. They are usually about 2 feet (60cm) deep. Some walk-in are deeper like 4 or 6 feet. But then you don't enter from the wide side, but from the small side and is sort of becomes a pantry with storage room on three (left, back, right) sides.. Our walk-in closet (12 by 20ft - 3.6 x 6 meter) and is situated between the bedroom and the bathroom having 7 aisles and my girlfriend is still complaining that she doesn't have enough space having 6 of the 7 aisles. 1 (both sides) is reserved shoes alone. I own 5 pair of shoes. My girlfriend has at least 50 different shoes in red and it needs to be a color match with the rest of her outfit. When she buy new shoes she makes a label with all specifications and a color photo. Prints it out two times, one for the front of the box and on for the cover. Now she can stack the boxes and still 'see' what are in the boxes. You can't stack shoes because than you scuff them and than you can't 'wear' them anymore. I guess this is one part of the female psyche that I will never understand. One of many ;-)

[@Moira1309]

I am sleeping in the Netherlands on one mattress with my husband and recently slept in a hotel in Amsterdam also was one big one. I have had never two separate mattresses as a Dutchie. I am in a older house in Amsterdam and it has build in closets and love it.

[@coralarson8192]

I was surprised about what you shared about the matrass. I am Dutch and always sleep, with my husband, on one big matrass. That is still very common in the Netherlands. I don 't know how you come up with the idea of two matrasses.😉

[@thereisnofinishline5773]

same

[@Dani.Torres]

Recently, I've been looking for furnished apartments to rent in Utrecht, all I see is beds with two mattresses.

[@thematriarchy2075]

It's just so she can have the ad playing in the video.

[@gert-janvanderlee5307]

I think most of those garages like you saw in the video were built in the 60's and 70's. Times when there was an advantage to keeping your car in a garage because cars would rust a lot outside. Houses that are built today either have no garage, or the garage is built right next to the house. And those seperate garages are used for storage like mentioned by others, or are used by the few people who still want to park their car inside. But most cars are just parked outside.

[@floris3239]

4:00 Old farm houses in the Netherlands also often have a front door that leads directly into the living room. However this door is rarely used. And in daily use the side or back door is where residents and guests will enter. The front door is more or less exclusively for when entering the house after getting married and for exiting when a resident leaves the house for good in a coffin.

[@nagranoth_]

1) it's not that we wouldn't want a home with a garage, it's that most houses aren't standalone and most plots don't even have room. US houses are extremely short lived and suburbs are spread out like crazy. In the Netherlands, unless you're lucky, in most cases to even be able to have a garage attached to your house you'd have to buy the house next door and make it into one... 2) if we have a garage or back entrance that's what we'll use. But a hall is a reception area for guests either way. It's just weird to have guests stumble into the middle of your house. 3) separate matrasses is a relatively new thing. And very probably not widely spread in the whole of the EU. 4) windows that open 2 ways are also not really common. It's mostly in newer houses and office buildings. 5) simple: it's _your_ house, you have to be able to make the interior like you want. It's not on the builder to decide how you have to want your closets and thus your entire layout of a room. Which often forces you to waste space. Where your storage is should be your choice, and you should be able to change that if you want as well without needing a construction crew just because you want to change the layout of a room.... If you want them build in, do so. And an inbuild closet _does_ take up space in the room obviously. Either the entire wall is pulled into the room, or it's taken from the room on the other side. And worse, you don't get to decide how much space, or where it's taken. If it isn't build in it's your choice how much and where, and you can still build it in the way you want as well. And what? Walk in closet rooms are _very_ American, I've never really heard of them in any other context. 6) high legs is also pretty recent. A few decades ago most sofas had little room below them. 7) metal never actually was a problem with microwaves, what was a problem is the energy in the metal not being able to disperse. Put a big spoon in a soup bowl, no problem because the large surface area allows the energy to safely transfer into the soup. A fork on the other hand has tiny prongs, energy releasing there gets sparky. So rather than trying to get people to understand it and hope they're careful it's just easier to make them afraid of using metal at all... but of course someone designing a microwave oven combination just engineers it so it's safe, there's no chance of user error with fixed parts of the device.

[@JoviesHome]

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts!

[@sachadee.6104]

I hAted it that visitors had to go in my bathroom to use the toilet here in Canada. So one of the first things we changed to our house is to build that separate toilet space (washroom with just a toilet and a small sink for hand washing). Now my bathroom is private and stays clean.

[@EvyRoth]

I take an advanced German class for people who are fluent or native speakers in the USA and we just talked about the lovely European windows in our last class. Also love separate duvets when you share a bed with someone. I just don't get how couples can share a blanket without someone ending up without any blanket.

[@AdTrompet]

When you demonstrate the window you look out on houses with an attached garage :)

[@sharonp4446]

We live in the country. We park only 1 car in garage. If we come home with groceries we enter through garage door which opens/closes with a punch of button. No rain, no cold hard wind, no creatures coming inside. I love my garage!

[@hamster4618]

Actually, in older houses they used to have built in closets. The closet might be placed useful for one inhabitant, but not for the other who might want his bed there or a night stand. This is particularly true in smaller houses - so Dutch houses.

[@emilybakker3742]

question is there a lock on your bathroom / toilet door? For me that is the hole reason way I love separate toilet

[@paulhill1665]

What I have noticed, having watched lots of American house make over shows, the television is always high above a fireplace, literally, a pain in the neck, Ovens all tend to have the controls at the back , means reaching over hot and steaming pans, the microwave is installed above the oven, same issue. Much of the other differences are due to the available land, America has far more land available, bigger houses, for me that just means a lot more cleaning, and the build quality, a subject by itself, with some houses made using cardboard. I also do not have a microwave, I use a steam oven in its place, but then I do not use prepared meals, that is a subject worth filming, the difference in American and European eating habits. Although I have to admit, I am not sure what the Dutch food culture is, apart from Edam, of course, I don’t think I have ever seen a Dutch restaurant in the UK.

[@richardbrinkerhoff]

Twin beds are the norm in the Netherlands. So each has a mattress of his choice and it's much easier to make the bed. Separate bottom sheets are also the norm as is having two comforters. So no exposing your partners when you tug on your own sheet or comforter.

[@InWeCome]

Hallways are indeed also meant to keep in the warmth. In warmer states in the US this was not necessary and i suppose it became the norm. Not having separate bathrooms is also something from older times when plumbing wasn't so easy and there was not a lot of money after WW2. Houses built in this era would even have the bathroom next to the kitchen and toilet to make it more efficient. This is still the cheapest and most efficient way to build a house.

[@LaLa-ck9zp]

Where I live in the US (Seattle proper) most homes (craftsman) do not have attached garages, or garages at all - many of the detached garages are super tiny and just used as storage, as they don’t fit modern vehicles

[@mffmoniz2948]

Hi Jovi, I really liked this video but I can't help but make one tiny remark. To make it easier you often compare USA VS Europe but you say "Europe" when a lot of the times it's just in certain parts of Europe, or it's just in some homes. For example, apartments with a toilet and a bathroom with no toilet. That's not the norm for most European countries and it's not even the norm/most common case in the countries where it does happen. I'm from Portugal and it was a shock seeing that in my first apartment in Belgium. But what you'll usually find all over Europe is a family bathroom with a toilet and a separate toilet. Sometimes only the family bathroom. The couple bed with two matresses. Kinda new. Not everyone joined it yet. Wardrobe vs incloset. You'll find both. It depends how old or how big the house is. Access through the garage directly into the house. Yes, it's not common. Hallway. If the space allows, yes. Windows. In Europe they open a little bit or they open fully. Open fully is the more common, I'd say. I hate the ones that only open a little. How are you going to clean the windows? Microwave. Some kitchens with incorporated machines have the combi. But it's easy to find an oven and a micro separated or just simply buy one. Sofas. Nope. Depends on the style you buy.

[@dn5239]

I just bought two MLine toppers, a soft and firm one😀❤️😀😕 I saw you also have their pillows. Where did you buy the covers for them??

[@JoviesHome]

I'm so happy for you! Here's the link to where I got my covers- www.laredoute.nl/ppdp/prod-350043247.aspx?fbclid=IwAR16U9P3vWWFqwbI-2FWo_bh36bcm_criWK4f6WzhZbrGFPMDWWkA5qM0uQ

[@Caelo1]

Just wanted to tell you, that you were told wrong as a kid. The manual of most modern microwaves will inform you that if you want to heat any food that is made mostly of water you need to put some metal like a metal spoon inside the container. There's even a sticker they will add onto the device. This is so it actually acts as a heat source for the food and prevents overheating of the container itself and superheating of the fluid. And superheating is really, really bad. Also as for the metal racks. The entire sides of any microwave I've ever seen are made of metal. There's even a metal mesh inside the door. There's no danger in having metal inside of a microwave as long as it holds to certain constrains. No sharp, pointy edges being one. And the racks hold to that. For safety reasons it will probably still be made of non-ferro metals though.

[@TheDenzel2012]

Awe the dog so cute 💞

[@biancadijk3845]

It's not true that we usually do not have a toilet in the family bathroom. Most common is in newer one family houses to have a separate toilet downstairs and another toilet in the upstairs family bathroom. In older buildings or city apartments the toilet is often only inside the family bathroom. It indeed happens sometimes to have them separate, often in bigger houses with multiple bathrooms or in houses they tried to modernize and didn't have room to have two toilets, but it sure isn't "the most used design" And yes, many garages are storage rooms and for bikes/motors etc outside of cities.

[@sachadee.6104]

my sofa in the Netherlands is low to the floor, because it's old. Those sofa's with higher legs are just the modern thing of the moment.

[@MarkDDG]

I am actually surprised that you don't have a toilet in your bathroom in your Dutch house! All Dutch houses that I have been to have a toilet in the bathroom and than an other one in its own dedicated room (often downstairs).

[@StephanSpelde]

Nice video, as always. :) I did miss the difference between the American mailbox and the Dutch brievenbus. Having your mail delivered outside of your house freaks the Dutch out quite a bit. :p On a sidenote: this is also the case for packages being left at the front door. Could you please explain why this isn't considered a problem for people in The US?

[@Roosmarijn035]

Lots of Dutch people have a mailbox outside of their house. If your frontdoor is more than 10 meters away from the public road, you need to have a mailbox said public road. I've never had issues with packages left at the front door but that's probably because the delivery guy only gets paid if he's handed over the parcel.

[@marjonmaf4684]

In more rural areas the mailbox is also near the road. This as there is a max distance from the road to the mailbox for the mail man

[@davenwin1973]

I will start with the bathroom. Your style bathroom is also found in older UK homes, where the toilet is separate from the tub or shower. My house is small with 3 small bedrooms and 1 bathroom. Your mattresses are about the same as they are in Germany. An American lady who lived in Germany for a while (Kelly Does Her Thing) talked about this very subject. Unlike most US homes with the mattress, where most of our beds have a box spring, that's nearly non-existent on European beds. Garages: attached garages on American hones are standard on homes made since 1990, maybe 1980. I'm in a subdivision outside of Gary Indiana USA, where the houses didn't cone with a garage. Houses with garages were added later, and often detached. As crazy as this sounds, but I hate attached garages. I worry if the house is on fire, that if it spreads too fast, that I'll lose my cars. Or if the garage is on fire, that unless there's an explosion, that unless the detached garage is close to the house, then it might not reach the house to burn it too. Right now, I don't have a garage. The microwave oven you have is known as a convection microwave oven. The US has those too, and my Aunt Dawn had one of those in the 1980's and 90's. She liked that if she was that busy, that she could put something small in the convection microwave to reduce cooking time for everything. I wish you focused on the kitchen more, because I would have liked to compare it to the typical US kitchen. But I will tell you that my kitchen is small with very little cabinet space. I would hope your kitchen is not like Germany's kitchen, where you must furnish your own kitchen. In the US, we're at least supplied cabinets and a sink, maybe a dishwasher (my kitchenistoo small for one built into the cabinets). I learned with German kitchens, that you literally have to furnish your own kitchen, cabinets, sink, range, and dishwasher, if you plan to use one. When you move, you take your furnished kitchen with you. On the US, we might take the fridge, range, and anything that isn't attached to the kitchen. I didn't get to comment on a previous video on washing machines. Yes, top loaders are still the most common.washer in both the US and Canada. I've been using a front loader washer since 1999, and when I bought my first one, there were just 2 American made front loaders, one by Frigidaire, and the other by Maytag. I got the Frigidaire for cost reasons, and because it had a window on it. The Maytag Neptune front loader did not have a window on it, and I didn't like it. We were still using laundry detergent made for top loaders, and the manual for my washer said to use half the amount that a top loader used. Most liquid detergent called for ½ cup. I used ¼ cup in the front loader, in order to reduce sudsing. I wish the capacity was larger, but I liked that the cycles were 40 to 50 minutes to do a wash, a spray rinse as the wash water was drained, and 3 short rinses. I had to replace that washer and got an LG. I hate it, because unlike my last washer, where the clothes got wet with the water spraying directly on the clothes, to fill the tub faster, I got the cheapest model, and it sends all the water to the bottom of the shell, creating a rising effect. Then under the default settings, it barely filled with any water, that my clothes never got washed. After letting the machine fill without clothes, and I saw that a shallow puddle isn't going to wash the clothes. So I literally had to hack the washer, so it would use almost as much as my last washer. It still takes forever to fully fill up, but it now uses enough water to get my clothes clean. But this washer now takes a minimum of 1 hour to do a wash and 3 rinses (default is 2, but my clothes rinse out better with 3, and add an extra rinse). My next washer will still be LG, but I'm going to spend more money to get the turbo wash feature, where it sprays water on the clothes. Unlike the Frigidaire front loader, where it filled directly on the clothes, in the main drum, the LG still fills the shell first, but the turbo was feature actually recirculates the water, and draws wash water from the bottom of the shell, and sprays the water on.tbe clothes throughout the cycle. So it's a compromise for me.i just hope the next washer uses enough water. I hate the EPA standards on newer washers. They think 11 to 13 gallons is sufficient. My last front loader by today's EPA standards, uses too much, as it used between 18 and 27 gallons of water (depending on fabric washed).

[@JoviesHome]

Thanks for such a detailed comment!

[@Sapphire901]

I have several build in closets since I live in a very old house in the north of the Netherlands

[@harrybruijs2614]

It is Just the Opposites. We had build in closets in the old houses, but they stopped building them in in new houses. I don't know why

[@helenehuydecooper3534]

the reason was that it needed an extra door in the bedrooms and therefore limited the use of the space: you cannot put a bed or a desk in from of a door. Leaving out the built in closets allowed the bedrooms to become bigger and you could place a wardrobe yourself against any wall you wanted.

[@harrybruijs2614]

@@helenehuydecooper3534 you also cannot place a bed or a desk in front of a wardrobe. We never had a problem with the interior decoration of a old home with closets. A room has four sided. As everything it will be connected with costs. Easier to build a box than a box with coves.

[@diegosemerene]

We missed your videos. Please post all the time. Love the nail color. You forgot to mention Dutch toilet bowls. A lot of them are set up where the ejected feces don’t fall straight into the water but on a porcelain surface. This forces you to look at your own “stuff” with clarity before flushing it down. I heard it comes from medieval times when people were supposed to check for worms and stuff.

[@lindaraterink6451]

she was taking some time of for family her daughter had a big operation coming up before. That's why she didn't post for a while.

[@PetraStaal]

And vacation.

[@barupp123]

Oh my gosh! I agree with this design flaw in toilets there. I was visiting my cousins and I brought my handy bottle of Poo-Pourri with me, but spraying the water before you go wasn't any help when my poop landed on a shelf!! Hahaha!

[@JoviesHome]

Thanks so much for saying that. Life has been very busy and intense. That's an interesting thing about medieval times design influencing modern toilet bowls!

[@gert-janvanderlee5307]

It never hurts to admire your own accomplishments.

[@HomeWorkouts_LS]

Alot of US houses in the north east and older homes in general have closed off entries, and most that I've been in didn't have garage to enter through a mud room anyway. Lately it's not common because Americans are obsessed with "open concept" and don't want to walk into a wall at the front door.

[@krokodilen31]

I live in a apartment from the 30s in Sweden it has two inbuilt wardrobes, even so we had to ad 2 more with sliding doors. Think this is something that dissapeared here in the 50s....

[@tatjanameyer4022]

I never thought about the built in closets. But you are right. At least in mid-Europe you have so called kleidschranks which usually take up a big chunk of the floor spase. In Scandinavia we have built in closets in each bedroom as well as in the hallway. It so conveniant. I lived in an apartment in Helsinki, Finland. One of those old buildings. T130sqm and only 2 single built ins. The building was from 1928..

[@MarcJagt]

Your 2 way inside opening windows are of the last 20 years buildings. The idea comes from German speaking countries. Before 2000 houses were fitted with one way outside opening windows.

[@rwildeboer]

Make it 40 years....my parents had it in the early eighties...maybe because this was close to Germany where also 'rolluiken' for example are also much more common, like in Belgium and Germany, than in the Randstad.

[@keithowens2554]

We had more of a covered car port then a garage when we lived in Maassluis.

[@orphanl]

I live in Belgium and am totally jealous of having the toilet separate from the bathroom. How often did I walk in to brush my teeth and it was smelly. Though in a house you would have an extra toilet. Nearly nobody I know here uses his garage for the car, but as storage room even though you open them automatically. Cellars are not a thing in our area.

[@metalvideos1961]

Trust me its not typical dutch. my dad lives in a brand new house and he still got a toilette in his bathroom. its pretty standard in the netherlands. we do however have a toilette downstairs a small one. just a toilette and a small sink. thats it.

[@leDespicable]

@@metalvideos1961 It's probably the same as here in Germany. Having toilets separated from the bathroom used to be common until it went out of fashion somwhere in the 70s or 80s. Nowadays bathrooms and toilets like that can only be found in older houses.

[@metalvideos1961]

@@leDespicable i see. yeah as far as i know this was always the case in the netherlands. i should ask my parents how it was in their house when they where younger. but as far as i know we always had a toilette in the bathroom.

[@metalvideos1961]

@@leDespicable as i read now a toilette with a bidet build in is starting to get normal here in the netherlands as well. never was the case. its a dutch invention apparently. not sure what kind of practical use it got though

[@lindaraterink6451]

I think in your house the no toilet in the bathroom is about space, maybe they had to skimp on that because you wanted the build ins. Most bathrooms from newer builds have a toilet in the bathroom as wel as a toilet and sink usualy in the halway at the front door. What I would not like is have my guest in my bathroom to use the toilet. Wich you would see more commonly in American builds. I think that is more of a private family space, unless they stay for the night ofcourse. If I would build in the U.S. I would make sure to have what you would call a little powder room or half bath. Considdering the matrasses, I do not like the separate matras I hate the seam in the middle unless maybe there is this topper, but not everyone has those. I think those racks in you combi oven are not (entirly) metal but a nother kind of material that does not interfere with the microwave. Also you would never see a microwave above the stove in the Netherlands. Always wondered about those, is there some kind of vent build in the one that hang above your stoves? Because if there is, I wonder why we don't see them it is a great space saver for our small kitchens!

[@remko]

No toilet in the bathroom is about hygene. Poop particles shoot trough the air when you flush the toilet. They can easily get on your toothbrush. Mythbusters did a video abou this. Enjoy haha

[@betsytodd3511]

Yes, the microwaves that are built in above the stove do usually incorporate a vent.

[@staceyme1480]

@@remko jep but unfortunately architects /builders haven't caught up with science. That's why I use the sink in our spare room (yay 1970s house) for teeth & grooming. But hubby refuses so yeah... lets just say Dutch stubbornness is a thing.

[@Wuppie62]

@@remko You can have a lid on your toiletseat. I think in general it's considered good hygene to wash yourself down under after using the toilet, but in the Netherlands historicly this is not part of our culture (we use toiletpaper, and wash our hands at most), while it is part of the culture in more southern regions of Europe (bidet) or arabic speaking countries. So from that perspective it would be logical to have your toilet in a bathroom.

[@marielvanhees9531]

All of the typical American things you mention like build in closets etc. Is what my mother made sure our house had when she helped design our house in NL with an architect. She also made sure those Dutch windows would have custom mosquito screens, which wasn't a common thing in the 80s to have. I do miss having a defined hallway at the front door now that I've been in the States for 22 years. It's nice to have the shoes, coats and toilet out of sight from the main living spaces.

[@exarder1377]

Another reason to have 2 seperate matrasses is to prevent 'kuilen' in the middle :)

[@DantharIndustries]

In most modern Dutch houses, you'll find a toilet in the hallway, as there is legislation that requires you to allow people with certain 'medial' conditions (e.g. pregnant women) to make use of your toilet when they ring your doorbell. Introduced to prevent people from having to urinate in public; public health issue. FYI: Not a lot of Dutch people are aware they are obliged to allow these people in your home to use your toilet... Instead of allowing stangers to roam through your house to reach your toilet (i.e. prevent potential criminals doing reconnaissance of your valuables), houses nowadays have a toilet in the hallway.

[@theburpman8006]

I like travelling internationally and watching videos based on living and going on holiday abroad

[@barupp123]

I would love for you to do a makeup tutorial! You always look so pretty! I would love to know what products you use.

[@yvescallaert7923]

Garages: the attached garages were a thing decades ago. Mostly for suburban (style) semi-attached or detached houses. However, this kind of building fell out of favor, especially the close one gets to cities, where the usage of space is limited and the need for creative usage of space high. The type of garages you refer to as the American ones are still being built; and often tend to come more with the automatic opener now. Still, this type of construction is mostly to be found more in villages and relatively recent building sites. Reasons why a lot of garages are detached or not automatic are plentiful. Still to understand a lot of it one first has to look at the sixties and the seventies of the 20th century. That was the time in the Netherlands and in a lot of other parts in Europe where, once they had recuperated from the war, a new era of massive building started. And a lot of that building in cities involved building apartment blocks (often without a personal garage) and in suburban neighborhoods and villages it was customary to build a lot of similar looking (and measuring) units that did have a garage. At that time it made sense to work that way and it also was long before automation of garage ports was something the existed (at least on an affordable and applicable level). Over time people who lived in the newly built apartment blocks would start needing garages too, and sometimes others who already had a first car grew to need a second one. And there you saw the need grow to construct garage lots that were close to apartments and so on. But over decades the density around cities often grew. Owning and needing car has become a standard. This means that a lot more people are living closer together, and most of them or their family unit need to place their car somewhere. This made the demand for garage lots go up, but it wouldn't be able to satisfy the demand. Not in the least because when you own a plot of land in or nearby the city, often building housing on it is more profitable than building garages on it. And so parking in the streets became a common practice. But it was about to become a practice that needed regulating too, hence the parking prices and zones. By the time automated garage ports became a technical and affordable possibility, the density of building had already gone way up. Still, even in a lot of suburban areas or villages where you could make the argument for updating their mechanical carport to an automatic one, there are several obstacles to actually make that idea get traction. One of the first is that so many of the garages, attached ones or the ones in lots next to each other, often are built to strict measurements. This is also the case in so many suburban ones where you see semi attached housing with the garage attached to the house. In several of those cases, the measurements really are tailored to a mechanical garage door and that then again is factored into the total amount allowed for the size of the house. Any change to the size of the carport would or at least could have ramifications for the size of the house when doing reconstructions. Such a change is likely to need approval from the municipality too. Factor in that people would have to go through a lot of trouble, the extra cost for an automated carport, all while they're already used to the mechanical one, and you start to see that there would be many to whom this simply isn't appealing. They'd have to really want it, be able to afford it, and still get approval to make the change. For the city based garage lots a similar logic applies. These lots often are often older structures, but as long as they aren't in a crappy condition, they still are wanted by people and bring in quite a bit for their owners. What's their incentive to make the change to automated carports, while the current structures are still earning them quite a bit, and the automated carports only would be a cost and reconstruction might even ultimately make them lose out on space (that's a cost that actually might even see them lose future revenue). This all together makes that automated garage pôrts a really not so common. They might be growing in numbers now, but it will be mostly in newly built housing. Still, from the moment they became available and affordable as a commercial option to the public, there were already a lot of regulations, restrictions and other circumstances that were hindering them really booming here. One of the other things to keep in mind here is that difference between the USA and the Netherlands when it comes to space (density)but also in building materials. The fact that in the Netherlands building often happens with bricks and concrete, doesn't make placing an automated garageport impossible once the build is done, but it does make refitting things also sometimes a slow, arduous and costly work. And that again tags on an extra reason why people really would have to be very motivated in order to replace their mechanical port. Don't get me wrong, there are several situations where it makes sense to incorporate this relatively new technology in buildings, but i'm guessing that this mainly is when it involves newly built structures or structures where serious reconstruction is required anyway.

[@cristakampert8740]

Nice video! I feel like, when people already have a garage, it is mostly not used for a car, but to put stuff you do not want or need inside. Way more people have their bikes in the garage than their car, haha

[@rebeccacarter1914]

Interesting, thank you!

[@mannydcbianco]

The mattress thing, for someone who has made the opposite of your journey; from Europe to America: I hate that when my wife and I got our mattress we, in the end, had to find a compromise that none of us is really happy with. I need a firm mattress and my wife wants a soft one. We ended up with something in between, and none of us is all that happy with. Next time we're mattress shopping in 4-5 years from now we're definitely going to try for the European solution. Just have to find half-king mattresses so they fit in our bed frame.

[@stepheng9607]

Very interesting and informative. Thanks. One of the strange differences between American and British English is the term bathroom to refer to the toilet. Despite several visits to the USA and watching lots of American tv, it still seems rather funny to hear someone in a restaurant in the USA or Canada say they are just going to the bathroom or the restroom. It makes me think they are going for a long time. When we think bathroom we don't think toilet. Perhaps this reflects in our architecture?

[@mariadebake5483]

Yes in the Netherlands too

[@JoviesHome]

Are you thinking- good luck taking a bath at this resturant!

[@stepheng9607]

Actually I think the term restroom sounds hilarious. I always imagine people on the floor

[@beijingballerina1740]

I’m okay with the separate toilet room and I’ve learned to adjust to sharing a ‘family bathroom’ but I can’t get on board with the tiny sink in the toilet room that only has cold water to wash my hands in🤪

[@cosi4683]

Yasssss!!! I second this!! It's as if that sink is just for decoration or propping your phone while on the toilet. 😆 no way anybody can clean their hands properly in those miniature sinks!

[@A3aan1959]

I second the "tiny sink" ,but whats wrong with the cold water? Do you really need warm water to wash your hands?

[@beijingballerina1740]

@@A3aan1959 when I come in from running errands in the cold and rain, it’s a nice luxury to wash my hands in warm water 🤣😂

[@thematriarchy2075]

@@A3aan1959 I do, yes. Cold water doesn't clean off bacteria, i think. I also know that a lot of houses have that tiny sink because of het "puntensysteem".

[@maevajesse]

Hey Jovie, In France, most of older apartments have built-in closets and I also find it very convenient ! They also usually always have a garage or parking spot and a cellar but recent and new (post 2000) buildings usually don't, I don't know why, maybe the space underground is missing not that the cities are more and more crowded. I noticed you didn't mention the double duvet or 2 x single duvet you put on bed. I saw that ou use 2 single ones. In France, we don't, it's one large you have to share or often battle about and since I discovered 2 x single duvet at a friend's house many years ago in Germany, when I moved in with my ex-boyfriend, I told him I wanted to have that and he loved the idea, so we bought a duvet according to each one preference (I like mine thin and light and he preferred a heavy and very warm one) and then you can move a lot or not, you still have you one duvet on you and don't battle for it anymore. Some people in France I talked to about it sayed it was not romantic but who cares, it is so convenient!

[@lindaraterink6451]

Most Dutchies do have a one piece duvet though. But the 2x single is not uncommon.