{"id":5384,"date":"2015-10-13T12:34:10","date_gmt":"2015-10-13T12:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/?p=5384"},"modified":"2018-02-19T13:42:44","modified_gmt":"2018-02-19T13:42:44","slug":"what-does-your-doormat-say-about-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/what-does-your-doormat-say-about-you\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does Your Doormat Say About You?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- SEO Ultimate Plus (https:\/\/seoultimateplus.com) - Code Inserter module -->\n<script async>(function(s,u,m,o,j,v){j=u.createElement(m);v=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0];j.async=1;j.src=o;j.dataset.sumoSiteId='b68b392479b5981b8acf46565e9fe32a0734fc21a1f7c1e60121eaa6ca1a1c64';v.parentNode.insertBefore(j,v)})(window,document,'script','\/\/load.sumo.com\/');<\/script>\n<!-- \/SEO Ultimate Plus -->\n\n<p>Remember\u00a0a few years back there was a way that people &#8211; primarily men &#8211; could make a personal statement in the workplace without jeopardising their standing in the office?\u00a0 Remember bright socks?\u00a0 Colourful ties?\u00a0 Jon Snow on Channel 4 News still sports such\u00a0a combination to show us that under that serious, journalistic exterior, lies a guy with an identity that he wishes to expose despite appearances to the contrary.<\/p>\n<p>Well, I was walking along the walkway in the <a class=\"wl-entity-page-link\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/building\/\" data-id=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl0502\/entity\/building;http:\/\/rdf.freebase.com\/ns\/m.0cgh4;http:\/\/dbpedia.org\/resource\/Building\" >building<\/a> where I live and over the past few days I have had my attention brought to a new statement.\u00a0 The welcome mat.<\/p>\n<p>Within the range of about 30 apartments, over half were displaying their colourful sock equivalents.<\/p>\n<p>Take my hand and I\u00a0will give you\u00a0a verbal snapshot\u00a0one by one so you can capture the essence and gloriousness and not so hidden messages they send.<\/p>\n<p>Firstly, dog on mat, indicating\u00a0friendly, welcoming and warm occupants. Then\u00a0a semi-circle with intricate patterning &#8211; no message, but people with their own sense of worth and style, not held back by mores of rectangular mats. Next to this are three sets of footprints.\u00a0 I feel these are\u00a0people with\u00a0cleanliness issues\u00a0who are dreading you coming in unless you remove your filthy shoes before you go any further than the front door. Wipe. Your. Feet.<\/p>\n<p>By far my favourite and the one that initially opened my eyes to these overlooked treasures, says &#8220;Waiting for Santa&#8221; with a friendly and bright Santa standing next to his sleigh.\u00a0 Well it is\u00a0now October\u00a0so I am not sure whether the occupant has been tardy in the after the last December clean up\u00a0or is the most optimistic of us all.\u00a0 It shows great strength to remain so utterly out of season.\u00a0 A flip of the finger to us all being so tied to our traditions! The next\u00a0is\u00a0the polar opposite. \u00a0&#8220;You again?&#8221; it screams.\u00a0 I wonder if they are having a fight and are putting their feet where their mouths should be.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/01-blog.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\" size-medium wp-image-5385 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/01-blog-260x195.jpg\" alt=\"01 blog\" width=\"260\" height=\"195\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/01-blog-260x195.jpg 260w, https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/01-blog-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/01-blog-100x75.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/01-blog-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/01-blog-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/01-blog-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/01-blog-450x338.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/01-blog-900x675.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 260px) 100vw, 260px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A more gentle &#8220;<a class=\"wl-entity-page-link\" title=\"homes\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/home\/\" data-id=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl0502\/entity\/home;http:\/\/rdf.freebase.com\/ns\/m.01l0mw;http:\/\/dbpedia.org\/resource\/Home\" >Home<\/a>&#8221; with a heart as the &#8216;O&#8217; is its neighbour.\u00a0 They are probably very glad they have a separate home to go to and do not have to engage with the unruly bunch next door. More dog lovers as we move to small dog prints.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Members only&#8221;, another invitation to underline you are in fact, not invited and certainly not welcome. Next, &#8220;Welcome&#8221; with the curious addition of what looks like a caravan.\u00a0 Perhaps a family that wish they didn&#8217;t live here at all and are dreaming of the open road and the freedom that only a small caravan can satisfy. &#8220;Welcome&#8221; with no fancy extras. Back to basics but with just one word too many. Then I spotted\u00a0two of these &#8211; regular doormats with a red spot in the middle. Am still pondering if they have a religious or other overtone. Followed by two geometric patterns, one plain and one coloured.\u00a0 Safe, like a pair of socks with a matching tie. &#8220;Keep calm and come in&#8221; which has become a perennial variation on a theme over the past couple of years. Floral design and then another set of footprints. Then I reach my own which is a simple mat with no design and words or slogans. As I have lived here for over 20 years and still do not know most of the people in the flats I cannot tell if my readings are spot on or just the product of\u00a0a vivid imagination. Which is another telling sign in itself.\u00a0 I have not wiped my shoes on any of these mats, have not been welcomed, mistaken for Santa nor a dog\u00a0or given a quick lesson in spotless housekeeping.<\/p>\n<p>Hello Neighbours!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Remember\u00a0a few years back there was a way that people &#8211; primarily men &#8211; could make a personal statement in the workplace without jeopardising their standing in the office?\u00a0 Remember bright socks?\u00a0 Colourful ties?\u00a0 Jon Snow on Channel 4 News<span class=\"ellipsis\">&hellip;<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/what-does-your-doormat-say-about-you\/\">Read more &#8250;<\/a><\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":5527,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wl_entities_gutenberg":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","spay_email":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[38,31,39,53,107,84,238,26,28,82,204,271,29],"wl_entity_type":[602],"modified_by":null,"_wl_alt_label":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Do-You-Live-Here-Doormat-.jpg","wl:entity_url":"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl0502\/post\/what_does_your_doormat_say_about_you_","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5384"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5384"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14986,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5384\/revisions\/14986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5384"},{"taxonomy":"wl_entity_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wl_entity_type?post=5384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}