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window locations

10 years ago

Our current house plan is a two story with window locations symmetrical or linear to the second story to make the front look good. The current problem now is that windows on the 2nd floor do not lineup that well with the first floor on the back and sides of the house. We are going on the basis of the windows looking right on the interior before the exterior. To me I think the interior should take priority over the exterior unless concerning the front. Any thoughts or similar issues to this would be helpful.

This mainly occurs b/c bedrooms on the upper floor are smaller than the great room on the main floor. I do like houses that have their backs have appeal like the front but don't really want to have a floor plan be designed solely on window placement.

thanks for the help.

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Comments (7)

User
10 years ago
There are no reliable rules for the alignment of windows. To get design advice you will need to show us the house.
stitz_crew
Original Author
10 years ago
Here are a few shots of the front and rear. There will be an option to have a walkout basement as well so that can add more windows. I am leaning on the notion of making the house function best and the back will be the back.
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If I am counting the squares in your diagram correctly, you have less than two feet between the wall of the toilet room and the shower, so you cannot expand the shower to the left. I wonder at the diagram, however, because the shower is shown extending right up to the edge of the window, yet that is obviously not true in your photo, where you say the bit of green wall between the window and the shower is about 9 inches wide. That indicates that the bathroom does not match the diagram, to me. Maybe someone else can help you interpret this. I don't know why folks are not joining in this discussion. Since you do not mind losing the door to the closet, you can consider making the shower the same width it is now, but extend its length of that wall as far as you want to go. Of course, the window will have to be modified to have it in the shower, or it will need to be removed. If you don't want a 7 ft long shower, you could add a bump-out or cupboard inside your closet. It seems that no matter where you put your shower, it is going to have a window inside of it if you want it to be bigger or if you don't want to move the toilet room. Having that little room in the center of your bathroom severely limits your options. If you simply extend the shower out toward the closet door, you can have a vanity starting at the window edge where the tub is now, extending toward the shower as far as you wish to go. In front of the windows, you could put in a seat, or get a large plant on a stand. The wall between the window and closet could hold hooks for robes or towels. I would think about ending the vanity before the shower, though, and having towel hooks or a towel warmer there.
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stitz_crew
Original Author
10 years ago
Here is the front. If I line windows in the rear they will not be centered in the interior.
ChrisStewart
10 years ago
The lack of window alignment on the back does not really bother me but I have known people that are very particular about that. I agree the windows should work from the inside first.

Balance and detail are really the main keys to good design and not designing on a grid.

Maybe resize the balcony to fit the windows below and change the size or header height of the lower left window.

But neither of those things bothers me.
stitz_crew
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks for reply. I agree that I will not think too much about the back as long as it makes sense on the interior. I will play around with the sizing of the great room and master suite window arrangement. The bottom left window is for a corner sink in the kitchen so it is naturally higher than the others. I can see if making it shorter will look better assuming it won't cut the view from the kitchen.
cardinal94
10 years ago
I think you could soften the lines with some foundation plantings.

Agree the windows should be for interior. You said something about being centered. For single windows, not the door window combinations, not sure exactly what you mean, but consider this - In our guest bedroom it was originally drafted with a double window on the center of the wall. That looks nice, but to us it made furniture placement difficult. We changed it to 2 single windows far enough apart to put a piece of furniture between.

I'm wondering if that applies to the upstairs window above the kitchen corner window?
ontariomom
10 years ago
I would try to align the windows where possible so the headers of the windows all line up (i.e. space between tops of windows and ceilings). It is perfectly okay to have some windows higher up from the floor than others. Now if you have different ceiling heights that may not apply.

Carol

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