Entry posted by caliwag
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Modern Houses, especially developer built ones, seem to have extremely mean windows...not helped by extremely thick frames and mullions. Consider the room you're in now. What effect would it have if the sill(s) were 18" higher or indeed 18" above floor level. The former would be be rather depressing, the latter quite enlivening, particularly if you have an interesting view, or likely to collect winter sun.
Our old friends Chris Alexander et al in A pattern Language have much to contribute on the subject of windows and sill heights..."One of a window's most important functions is to put you in touch with the outdoors. If the sill is too high, it cuts you off." As mentioned, the award winning property journalist Anne Ashworth of the Times suggested "...a Georgian rectory remains the dream home of most of those house-hunting in the country" (indeed a growing trend if current reports are to be believed).
I suspect one reason is that the main rooms have low sills, as well as comfortable, proportional attributes. I wonder why developers do not notice this. Many of Baillie Scott's early 20th century houses were built with low sills in at least one room, especially if it was a bay window. (see Diane Haig's book of Baillie Scott's houses, The Artistic House.)
Alexander also talks of having windows in two walls of a main room. This seemingly has several advantages, animation of the room, objects and furniture, different glimpses of sunlight and a choice of seating location. You will notice in a cafe or clear-windowed pub that, given a choice, people will gravitate, almost without discussion, to a window seat.
Bailie Scott in his 1906 book "Houses and Gardens" railed against anything other than one window in a room..."It is best, therefore, to concentrate the window space so that the light comes from one side only..."and so on. Interestingly most of BS's houses after that date contradicted that, at least in the main rooms.
It should be uppermost to note in your portable notebook when walking around or visiting a pub, cafe, hotel foyer, friend's houses, or browsing through the design magazines or weekend newspaper supplements, surprising or pleasing window arrangements and relationships with the rooms. Window are often characterful devices used to advertise other things...sofas, curtains/blinds, wallpaper, an Aga and so on, so keep your eyes open for ideas that might add character to your design and take note, sketches, photos before you forget. Excerpt from the book on cargocollective.com/selfbuilddesign. Happy designing
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