Six in ten Brits admit to being embarrassed about the state of their home, a study has revealed.
Dated décor, unfinished DIY, mess and even the small size of people’s homes mean millions are left cringing when they have visitors over. Red-faced home owners even admitted to keeping guests out of certain rooms or even leaving them on the doorstep to avoid them seeing the state of their home.
It also emerged seven in ten Brits worry they will never get their home to a point where they are no longer ashamed by it. A spokesperson for mouldable glue Sugru, which commissioned the research, said, “When you first move into a home, most people will have ideas of how they want to improve it or make it more of the home they want.
“But a lack of time, money and a fear of complicated DIY tools mean many struggle to see all, or even any of these plans through.
“As a result, there are a large number of us living in a house we aren’t happy with, or are so embarrassed by that we don’t want other people to see it.
“Sometimes, all it can take is a few minor changes here and there to at least improve your home to get it to a state where you are no longer embarrassed by it
“Start small and make it good and slowly you’ll see the difference and get the pride back!”
The study, of 2,000 Brits, found 57 per cent feel embarrassed about the state of their home. And while one in four are only really worried about one room or area of their house, more than half say there are several rooms which they are unhappy with. But 21 per cent feel embarrassed about the entire house.
General mess and untidiness is most likely to be the cause of our home humiliation, followed by having a host of DIY jobs which need doing, specifically old, dated kitchen units.
Cracked walls and ceilings and old-fashioned carpets completed the top five.
A home which needs completely redecorating or is full of clutter also leaves many feeling red-faced when others come into their home, as well as fading paintwork, dirty carpets and shabby wallpaper.
Even having a home which is on the small side, has bad neighbours or is simply in a bad area can leave its residents feeling a little red faced.
But for some, the embarrassment can really disrupt their social life, with 43 per cent admitting to refusing to let people into certain areas of their home.
Another 33 per cent don’t even let people through their front door, while 28 per cent have pretended to be out when someone has knocked at the door to avoid them getting a glimpse inside their home.
Twenty-two per cent also admitted to ending a date early rather inviting them back for coffee and 17 per cent ask people to pick them up or drop them off at another address.
The study found that 58 per cent have plans to improve their home, with 16 per cent saying the motivation for getting that done is purely because they are so embarrassed about its current state.
Other reasons for wanting to work on their home include being inspired by property TV shows, wanting to sell your home and the prospect of a visit from family and friends.
But 18 per cent are struggling to make the changes they would like to their home because they are too busy to do it themselves or don’t have the money to cover the cost. Other reasons include not knowing what to do or where to start, believing it’s easier to avoid the problem than deal with it.
However, researchers found that 88 per cent would feel less embarrassed about the state of their home if they could redecorate it or at least get around to sorting just some of their outstanding DIY jobs. It also emerged Brits would most like to recreate the home in Downton Abbey, followed by Bruce Wayne’s home in Batman and Monica and Rachel’s flat in Friends. Other fictional homes to feature on the list include Frasier’s apartment, Carrie’s Sex and the City apartment and Christian Grey’s flash penthouse from the Fifty Shades of Grey.
The spokesperson continued, “DIY doesn’t have to be about power tools and week-long projects. Reorganising stuff room by room, fixing things that you’ve just learned to live with and repurposing old things can be an easy and fun way of slowly turning a house into a home!
Top twenty things we feel most embarrassed about
1. It’s messy
2. There are lots of DIY jobs which need starting
3. Dated kitchen units
4. Cracked walls and/or ceilings
5. Dated carpets
6. It needs completely redecorating
7. There is lots of clutter and rubbish lying around
8. Faded or peeling paintwork
9. Dirty/stained carpets
10. Dated or shabby wallpaper
11. It’s too small
12. There are patches of mould
13. Bad/anti-social neighbours
14. There are lots of half-done DIY jobs which need finishing
15. Patchy lawns
16. It smells of my pets, cigarettes etc
17. Overgrown gardens
18. Old, broken furniture
19. Bold or garish colour schemes
20. It’s a bad area
Find more easy DIY tips at sugru.com
