Architectural design is the windows.
We have all heard an architect designing their own home is difficult – there is compromise and disappointment. Compromise is usually the council rules and of course, the budget. Disappointment is that junction which doesn’t quite meet right. No one else sees the mismatch, but I do – and I see it every day.
However, there is also joy at a correct decision made. The original character villa’s main bedroom had the typical single-glazed double-hung sash window, facing the street and under the veranda. A dark, enclosing bedroom with a single light source.
We decided to relocate the bedroom to the back of the house and to fully glaze the north wall, floor to ceiling, with stacker sliders. The new bedroom is light and sunny, with the sliders opening the bedroom into the garden, the ever-changing garden display and every changing light. What a different experience this bedroom has compared with the previous. Not at all like the dark and enclosed former bedroom.
It’s our favourite place for that morning cuppa and a read. In the mornings the blackout curtains are exchanged for linen sheers and the doors opened for that fresh morning air. We use this room more than we ever used the previous.
The sliders have an opening top light for fresh air and security.
The question is why bedrooms are generally just a room with a window. Is it just traditional? Is it for privacy? Is it for security? Is it just not thought about as it’s a low value room which you just sleep in?
That may have been the attitude years ago but today bedrooms are so much bigger and so can be more interesting, usable and enjoyable to be in. The big change to our bedroom is the amount of glazing – a wall of window not a window in a wall. The room feels expansive, not enclosing.
When you look at a house you see the windows, not the cladding. You can read a house from the window sizes. Little square windows, the toilet, frosted windows, the bathroom, large windows/doors the living room, and so on. I must say I dislike those high-level slit windows over beds, don’t understand them. Too high to look out off and just feel it’s cold above your bed.
You don’t need to have a window in every wall, and a corner window will have a bigger effect than two separate windows. In fact, one of the best windows is no window. Our bedroom only has the north-facing glazing so I don’t see the neighbour, I have privacy, and my gaze is directed to the garden view.
paul@leuschkekahn.co.nz | 021 894 895 | leuschkekahn.co.nz
