An Open Face to the World – Bay Windows for the Perfect Room

Many writers have commented on the idea of the “perfect house” over the years. In the 16th century Andrea Palladio went as far as to write down a four book set of rules for the creation of perfect buildings – rules that talked about the values of symmetry, of mathematically diminishing sizes for windows in rising floors of houses, and of the importance of natural light in creating a real home. Bay windows, which obey at least two of his rules (the ones about natural light and the use of frontage to create a feeling of solidity), have been popularly used in house building since the late 19th century – and in the modern world, can be your greatest ally in creating the perfect room.

The first thing to remember about a bay window is that it can be as cosy or as wide as you want it to be. That means you can create a little inglenook for reading, and for relaxing in: or you can open out the whole frontage of one of your rooms with a wall of glass perfect for admitting natural light. Bay windows are thus one of the more versatile means you have at your disposal when you want to create an individual room.

The most appealing overall feature of the bay is the quantity of light it admits. When you create a bay in your house, you are fostering an inside area that is completely accessed by natural light. The bay is glazed on three sides, giving you the most light possible for your room at any point during the day.

From an external aesthetic point of view, bay windows are able to make your house seem as imposing or as inviting as you would like. The presence of a little ground floor bay window set up makes a house look comfortable and warm. If you introduce a wide bay to the ground level of your house it immediately takes on a presidential air – a glittering expanse of glazing that hints at the amounts of space and light that await the visitor inside.

You can have a bay in an upstairs room if you like. An upstairs bay window set up is either extruded from the house on a single level or it is built up as an extension of a bay area in a lower part of the house. In the second case, the downstairs bay window arrangement, rather than being roofed, is taken up all the way to the normal roof level of the whole building.

Having a bay window arrangement upstairs is a wonderful way of admitting more light to a master bedroom – and of creating an area within a bedroom that is specifically used for relaxing. A bay windows arrangement on an upper floor is ideal for locating a dressing table, a chaise longue or a reading seat, for example.

The bay window has remained steadily popular since its first uses. As a beautiful and flexible way of admitting as much light as possible into a room, it is easy to see why.