Ring the bell!

Going to try to remember all this when we choose our next home. Need:

Long drive
Thorns in front of house
High hedges
No neighbours
No doorknocker
Loud bell

Kirsty and Phil where are you?

Thanks MissA, I may well look into this (if you'll excuse the pun )

Very droll!

Venetian blinds. You can see out they can't see in.

Made me smile and brought memories back my used to hide from one of her “friends “ If we answered the door even if mum was out she would come in and stay for hours .
People are strange it would bother me if any of my friends did this

Just ask her why she does it. That will highlight the problem/your annoyance. Bad manners to look through the window.

Guilin, an acquaintance recently looked through a friend's letterbox and saw her lies get on the floor. Thank heavens she did, her friend had had a stroke but recovering well in hospital.

Sorry but I could not care less. Many door bells do not sound in all the house, so a good rap at the door may be necessary. What is so special about you? Just answer the door and get it over with. My dogs let me know who is there but seeing a cats furry body slinking past when you are half dressed can be irritating. A friend, who does want to see me, is so hard of hearing, that in spite of bells, and rapping I have to use my mobile to ring him, so please walk a while in another's shoes.

nobody said they were special.

I so agree. Next door always ordering from internet but never answer door to take parcels in. They rely on neighbours to do this. I now refuse to do it and being on crutches often won’t answer door when know it is yet another delivery man trying to offload a package. On many occasions after knocking they then look through window - so, so rude. x

We have postmen who walk past everyones front windows in a row of bungalows opposite where we live rather than walk up and down each path,i think this is very rude and not the done thing.

Our postman knocks at all our downstairs doors whilst he runs upstairs and does their post. So, me and the woman opposite open our doors and there is nobody there. We are both just looking at each other.

knittinggran Recently I distributed flyers about a stray cat to the streets around us. Every house on the upper side of the roads had 6 to 12 steps up from the gate to the front door and my leg muscles were screaming. The semis in one street mostly had a gap in the strip of garden between the two front doors. I was VERY glad to take advantage of it (and I found the owner of the cat - she was looking out of the front window as I passed)

I totally agree with you. I lived in a detached house once no street lights and very isolated I was sitting in the office which was at the front of the house when a “friend” came up and started banging on the window - I nearly lost my life! It scared the living daylights out of me - unfortunately she got the sharp end of my tongue that day

When I was a child, I was taught to knock at someone's door and then step back, so that I wasn't too close.. Its very disconcerting to see a shadowy figure inches away from where you're sitting, in my case, when people decide to walk just the other side of the window.

I’d hide anyway, they’d soon get the picture ?

I have vertical blinds on our windows. They are great because you can angle them to stop people looking through the window.

Funnily enough, we went for walk yesterday and took a short cut through an estate. The number of windows with views right through the house was surprising - messy playrooms and all!

I live in a bungalow and my living room has a bay window so the space before the garden fence is only about 6 foot. Because of the sea view I don’t have net curtains and very often people stand outside discussing and pointing at various features in the garden or of the bungalow, even if I am sitting at the dining table in the bay eating!! Sometimes I wave but it doesn’t seem to deter them.
I now have shutters so don’t feel quite so exposed.

This is why I have net curtains for ground floor windows - the plain ones don't look like old frilly knicker legs. I'd also recommend a prickly shrub outside if that's possible - something like pyracantha which is really vicious.

I have curtain panels that are very similar to the ones between bays in hospitals. They come ready made, can be cut with scissors, and have different designs. The holes in the top are already made, and they can be pulled back if you feel daring. I'm rather pleased with them.

I'd just moved into my (ground floor overlooking tiny garden and car park) flat last summer and 8.30 Sunday morning was sat at ease with my feet up and the window flung open as it was a beautiful day when an elderly lady popped her head through said window saying she was looking for Sandra!? First thought was WTF!! second was lucky I was fairly decently arrayed cos I'm usually a bit of a freedom girl and I think the shock of seeing me unadorned would have seen her off! I suppose I could get nets/blinds but I love the feeling of space - even if it is a bit risky lol

I've got wonderful blinds that pull up from the bottom so I have them halfway up and can still see the park but nobody can see in. My best buy.

Lynnebo, we share the same pet hate. I find it really rude when people do that. My next door neighbors daughter is the worst, if my lounge window is open she sticks her head in, and calls out, drives me and the dog mad! I don’t like people just turning up either, without letting me know first, I wouldn’t dream of doing it. It’s not that I’m anti social but I like my privacy.

I once had a friend who used to ring the door bell over and over again several times and thought it was funny! It drove me mad and put me in a ratty mood before they had even come in... why do people do this.... grrr

Where I live, no-one has (or would even consider having) net curtains, therefore, unless you have shutters or blinds, you are open to the world.
My postie and courier services know by now that I may take a short while to open the door if I'm in my study on the 2nd floor. I do call out when I'm on the stairs and they are good enough to wait. As my front door and that of my neighbour can only be accessed via a 'right of access' gravelled drive, we don't suffer from random callers...thankfully. I always think it's nice in passing to glance into sitting-rooms which, on winter evenings, look welcoming and cosy but, to have intrusive behaviour such as the OP and others have mentioned, would be a step too far and right out of order.