Doors in England

A little door leading to a house on Village Road

There are more doors in England than in the US, that I am certain.  Whereas the open plan house is quite common in the US, most houses here have individual rooms divided by doors along a hallway, even downstairs.  In our Heswall house, there are separate doors for the kitchen, living room, dining room and hall to the stairs.  At the school and in most public bathrooms, there are two doors (one after another) to get in.  I  spend a lot of time working my arm muscles while living here.

I imagine there may be fire safety reasons for having so many doors in smaller spaces.  Greater privacy may be another reason.

On the latter point, I've noticed that a lot of bedroom doors swing into the center of a room rather than toward a wall as they would in the US.  In the US, there is a desire for openness in a room.  In the UK, I think privacy may be more valued.  With the door swung open in our bedroom here in Heswall, you cannot see our bed from the hallway.  In the US, it is front and center as you walk up the stairs.  I quite like the idea of moving our State College door hinges.  Making the bed everyday can be a drag.