7 Reasons

Tag: interior design

  • Guest Post: 7 Reasons You Should Always Ask Who Is On The Other Side Of The Door Before Opening

    Guest Post: 7 Reasons You Should Always Ask Who Is On The Other Side Of The Door Before Opening

    Another Saturday, another guest post. It’s almost as if it was what Saturdays were made for. Almost. Of course, they’re not. Saturdays were made for sport. But we can’t provide you with that here. So you’re getting a guest post. And today it comes from Sam Murray who, as well as making his debut on the 7 Reasons sofa, also sets a new ‘longest post title’ record. Well done Sam. Right, I’m off. There’s someone at the door. Which is quite a coincidence really considering Sam’s post is written in association with Door Stop, composite door manufacturers who are leading the way in providing U Value doors to the trade and construction industry.

    7 Reasons You Should Always ask Who is on the Other Side of the Door before Opening

    A door in its purest sense is a moveable barrier used to cover an opening. Pretty handy and an invention I am sure we are not surprised to learn has been about since the dawn of time. The door was invented before the coming of any advanced civilization and was used by the earliest primitive people, maybe for some of the reasons below:

    1.  To Protect Yourself Against Vampires. According to Vampire folklore and mythology before a Vampire can enter your home you have to invite them in. Now I have not come across many vampires in my time but I am pretty sure that this is not because they are polite individuals who like to wait. Take a quick look out of your peep hole and if they look like they haven’t had a holiday for a while be on your guard.

    2.  To Stop Debt Collectors Erm… Collecting. Debt collectors can’t enter your home unless you invite them in or you leave a door or window open. So unless they also have super powers (or a ladder) you can probably afford to leave top floor windows open to for a frosty reception.

    3.  For The Sake Of Your Interior Design. It is rumoured that Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen from changing rooms and other Home Improvement shows preys on innocent and naive victims who let him into their home before he rearranges their furniture. Be warned and check before you let people in to your home, especially if they have silly hair and a colourful outfit.

    4.  To Discourage Squatting. Squatting has suddenly become hot property after news that Harry Hallowes, 71, was given a plot of land that could be worth up to £4 million. Harry has camped on the 60ft x 120ft patch of garden for around 21 years and has been dubbed Britain’s wealthiest vagabond after being given squatters’ rights to the plot in Highgate, North London. Always make sure you check who is on the other side of the door before vacating your property for a week or two or even when popping to the shops for milk.

    5.  So Your Friend Can Finish His Knock-Knock Joke. Knock-knock jokes are well entrenched in the UK and most of mainland Europe, even South Africa, Philippines and India. So it would be a shame if you didn’t ask who is on the other side of the door when your friend tries to impress you with their latest witty joke. Nobody likes a spoil sport, go on, ask.

    6.  To Avoid Trick And Treaters. The only form of begging that is acceptable – outsmarting a bunch of children by asking who it is before answering the door will although you to avoid any monetary loss or from cleaning up egg from your windows or doors.

    7.  Because You Can. Doors were invented and built for the exact purpose of privacy. No one can see you behind it so go ahead and ask, maybe even put on a voice and pretend you’re not in.

  • Russian Roulette Sunday: Promoting Brown

    Russian Roulette Sunday: Promoting Brown

    The 1960s: clothes, interiors, fabrics, art – just about everything – were a riot of colour.  This wasn’t much help to the (predominantly British) manufacturers of brown dyes and paints though, which was problematic, as during that decade their production continued apace.  The result was, that by the 1970s, Britain had a huge surplus of brown colourants and needed to find a market for them to help with the balance of payments.  This led to the formation – in 1971 – of the Brown Marketing Board, a government funded organisation devoted to the task of promoting the use of the colour brown by manufacturers and consumers alike.

    While researching 1970s advertising, we came across many fine pieces of work by the Brown Marketing Board and today, we thought we’d share a few of them with you.

    1.  Swatch. A very simple poster, placed on the London Underground, on bus shelters and other street-level sites where people congregated.  It was purely placed there as a brown colour swatch, the idea being that anyone standing near it would appear uncoordinated if they weren’t dressed in brown.  Sales of brown coats to London commuters soared, thus proving that the simplest ideas are often the best.

     

    A brown colour swatch poster by the Brown Marketing Board

    2.  Germans Eat White Chocolate. By the 1970s, Britons had still not gotten over the war, as this poster designed to promote the consumption of brown chocolate demonstrates.

    A Brown Marketing Board poster used to promote the consumption of brown chocolate instead of white chocolate

     

    3.  If Only The Carpets And Curtains Matched. A poster used to encourage the use of brown in all areas of interior design.  Looking back at pictures from the 70s, it seems that this campaign must have been a success.

    A Brown Marketing Board poster from the 1970s to encourage uniformity in interior design

    4.  Brown Bears Don’t Kill Seals. We’re fairly certain that they weren’t encouraging people to divest themselves of their pet polar bears in favour of brown bears.  We think that this was probably just an attempt to promote brown as having generally “good” qualities.  Sales of Fox’s Glacier Mints plummeted as a result of this controversial image though, and it was soon withdrawn.

    A poster by the Brown Marketing Board featuring a bloody polar bear and a seal corpse.

    5.  Arrive In Style. What can we say?  It’s a brown Austin Allegro.  Perhaps this image contains a powerful subliminal message, because British Leyland sold loads of them.  No one knows how.  Maybe it was this advert.

    A poster advertising the Austin Allegro by the Brown Marketing Board.

    6.  Also Available In Brown. A very clever poster designed to increase the consumption of domestic produce in two ways.  Firstly, using brown sauce instead of ketchup would help the sales of brown food dye.  Secondly, it reminds us that brown sauce is a British tradition – after all, the H.P. in H.P. Sauce stands for Houses of Parliament – so the increased use of brown sauce would directly benefit British manufacturing interests.

    A poster by the Brown Marketing Board designed to promote the use of brown sauce instead of tomato ketchup

    7.  Score In Style. Well, you wouldn’t want to win ugly, would you?

    A Brown Marketing Board poster from the 1970s featuring the infamous 1970s brown Coventry City - CCFC - away kit