Cat Mom - That looks very nice. It looks like you used the same material on your sill as on your counter. My window is a bit deeper (because I thought it was going to be the same height as the counter) and am not sure if I should put granite on the sill or leave it painted wood. Thanks for sharing your picture.

Yes we did use the same granite. We liked the idea of it for looks and for durability over/behind the sink.

Oh, thank you for the compliment!

Cat_Mom, I'm not sure if I've asked you this in an earlier thread, but what are your window dimensions, and how deep does it bow out? Who manufactures your window, or was it a custom?

Also, I love your backsplash. Is it Opera Glass tile?

Sorry to be so nosey, but you have a lot of the elements I'm looking for.

Mine is not a bay or bow but is a large 6 foot window that is above counter height by about 9 inches. We are doing a very large backsplash to fill that space out of our granite - it will have a curved edge detail at the ends - hard to explain.

helou--not a problem--fire away! LOL!

The window is a 3-window 6 ft wide Andersen bow window. It's 36" tall. We wanted to stay within the size of the double double-hung windows we were replacing so as not to require a header change. The window wasn't a custom size, but it did have to be ordered for us. We wanted Terratone (not a stock color anymore?) and we wanted all three windows to open, and to all open in the same (chosen by us) direction (unlike our LR 5-window bow with 3 windows opening in one direction, and 2 in the other at our then window installer's recommendation :-( ).

The backsplash is Opera Glass--Wolfgang White color. We love it!

Dorthy - Your kitchen looks great too and looks like it is coming along very nicely. I would love to see the finished product of your window with the detailing you described.

Cat Mom - I like how your sill is not too deep. Also, you have a beautiful yard to look out onto. No wonder you wanted a large window there. Sadly my view will be of a cracked concrete and lots of ugly juniper. Landscaping is phase three of our house remodel, but the kitchen had to come first. LOL!

I'm not sure what to do. I got the bay window at my mom's recommendation (she has one in her kitchen, counter height, and looks wonderful with her slab granite). She wasn't with me the day I ordered the windows and being new to the whole remodeling scene I didn't even think to clarify to the window guy that I wanted the window to come down to the counter. So when my GC installed it with the new header, I didn't even realize until my mom pointed it out. So I'm not sure if it's going to look funny having a big white painted window sill above my sink?

I'm not sure I have time (or want to pay) to have a new window put in. Any thoughts on what to do? Paint it, tile it, or put slab granite on it? I have white cabinets, white tile, and black honed granite.

I think that if you can have a sill made out of your granite, it'll pull everything together & you'll have a very nice look.

This might help a little bit even thought it is a bow window and it is counter height. I didn't have the granite go into the sill. I think by looking at the pic you can still get an idea of what an all white sill looks like. I think yours will look better all white since it doesn't butt up to the granite.

I would have preferred that that granite covered the sill but you can see that it would have interferred with the window handles. It bugged me at first (when I was deeply TKO'd) but now I barely notice it. The birds distract me.

with distractions:

HTH

Hi pdxgal

I recently posted these 2 photos for someone else on the forum who wanted to see photos of a window that was flanked by creamy painted cabinets so I'll post them for you as they show our bay window and granite ledge.

Our window has a rather deep shelf (deeper than it looks in these photos) and we, too, debated about what finish to use on it but we decided on granite (2cm vs. the 3cm that we have for our counters). Ours ended up being different from what we envisioned but in the horizonal dimension instead--but it was an entirely DIY project so perhaps in retrospect we should've had some help with the measuing. All in all, we are happy with the overall look.

One thing we would've liked is to have the bottom edges of the granite come out to the ends of the window casings like cat mom's does. Our granite guy said the "wings" would break off so he only did little ones and they don't go all the way to the outside edges of the casings. In the photos they're hidden by the towel holder and the paper towel so you can't really see what I'm talking about but cat mom's edge looks like how I wish ours did.

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This is helping a lot! I'm not good visualizing something out of nothing so seeing real pictures helps a lot.

Kitchenkelly - I think the painted white looks very nice. It it still pulled together even with the granite not being back there. You also have a beautiful view.

Many Hats - My window looks very similar to yours in terms of size and depth. I will also have white molding around the window and then white cabinets on both sides. I think your light choice of granite and tile all blend nicely with the window and cabinets. But I wonder if having black on my counter and then white tile backsplash and then black up on my sill again would look too choppy in my case and draw attention to the fact? Maybe just painted white would look better in my case to make it look more seamless like yours. I think you are right about it being up higher adding another horizontal dimension.

All of you have gorgeous kitchens and if mine turns out half as nice yours, I'll be happy window up higher or not.

Tough call pdxfgal. I'm very much a visual person too so I know what you mean.

I think either way would look fine. I think the granite on the window ledge would look more dramatic as there would be more contrast but it's a contrast that already exists b/t your granite/window casings and backsplash so it's not like you're adding something totally different. I do think it would draw your eye into the window area. And as you can see it's a nice area for accent pieces. If you have other focal points in your kitchen you'd rather highlight, then maybe painting the ledge to match the window casings would be a better way to make it blend instead of stand out.

kitchenkelly,

Can you please tell me the width of your window? I really like the bay windows, but my opening may not be wide enough. Yours does not look as wide as some. Thanks!

pdxgal and many_hats--I had to laugh when I read your posts! First, our backyard much look better in pics than it does in person! The weeds and moss must give a grassy appearance when viewed through the windows! The entire lawn needs to be filled and graded, and the driveway and front walk/stairs will need to be addressed at the same time--ka-ching! Needless to say, that all won't be happening 'til the bathrooms are done and we finally get some furniture!

Second, I'm so glad you guys like the wings and the size/depth of my window sill. There's a little story behind all that!

When we chose our sink size and our Grohe faucet, we asked everyone involved (our sales guy at the store where we purchased the sink, our KD, our granite guys,.....) if we were okay with those choices knowing we planned a window above the sink, knowing we wanted a granite sill, knowing the Grohe faucet needed a certain am't of space for clearance, etc. Everyone assured us "no problem." Templating day arrives, we have the sink here, the faucet here, the window's already in place. Install day arrives. Sink is installed under the granite. Faucet hole is drilled, granite sill is set in place. Try the faucet in the hole--uh-oh, not enough clearance! What to do? Granite guys, DH and I brainstorm, rejecting obviously bad suggestions (like cutting the sill back so far that the planned tile backsplash top edge would NOT be covered by the sill above behind the sink). Also, those little wings, well there was a very good chance they'd be lost when they took the sill back to the shop to re-cut (because they'd likely break off in transit back to our home). Finally, after finagling the sink forward a 1/4" (which resulted in a more negative reveal than I'd wanted at the front edge of the sink--I bang my elbows on it all the time!), and doing the same with the faucet hole (by drilling it a drop more near the front edge), we gained enough space to allow us to have enough of a sill overhang to cover the eventual backsplash tile, and also be able to use the faucet handle (although it literally just makes it, and I can't have the water fully hot if the handle isn't in the full force position, but it's close enough).

So yes, they were able to preserve those wings, but the wing on the left side is probably a little over 1/4" thick, and the one on the right is less than 1/4" thick (luckily the grout for the backsplash tile hides most of the wing edge but if you look closely you would be able to see how thin they are and you can see the difference between the two sides).

Crisis averted, right? Well, when we went to install the hardware for our windows (the satin nickel window cranks that we'd paid the extra $ for because they looked so much nicer than the much cheaper "Stone" ones), they didn't fit! Because the granite sill is thicker than the wood sill (and nobody thought to allow for this or tell us this needed was a consideration), the hardware didn't sit correctly and the handles couldn't be "screwed" on. My DH had to shave down the metal for each of the three window's hardware sets in order for them to fit and sit correctly on the sill.

At least it all (including our yard!) looks nice in the end, right? LOL!

PS After all that, we're not even sure if we got the correct handle finish, because they don't quite match some satin nickel replacement parts Andersen sent us, but that's a story for another day!!!!!!

jay jay teacher, mine is only 5 feet and it is technically a bow window versus a bay. It is the smallest one that I could find in a standard size. It is made by Kolbe & Kolbe.

cat mom, DON't tell them it is weeds and moss. I would have never guessed.

kk--I swear, I tell DH all the time, if we didn't have weeds, we'd have nothing green in (on?) our lawn! He'll come home from HD and tell me he's picked up some bags of (seasonally appropriate) lawn care stuff--fertilizer, or weed killer, or what have you, and then we both laugh, because we both know he'll never put any of it on the lawn!!!

Cat Mom - That is quite the story and your DH sounds handy. If that were my DH, we would be still looking at a window that didn't have handles to open. LOL! Glad it all worked out for you in the end.

KK - That is interesting about the bay vs. bow window. So a bay is bigger than a bow? I didn't know that. Heck, I don't know much or clearly I would have avoided this problem to begin with.

My cabinets are being installed tomorrow morning, so I'll take a picture and can then get a better sense how much higher the window is than the counter and the depth of the sill. I'm nervous to see how it's all going to look together.

pdxgal--my DH is a Mr. Makeshift (as he likes to call himself!). Stuff like that he jumps to do, the ordinary stuff (like touching up nail holes, painting,...can wait 'til forever, LOL!). Seriously though, he did an excellent job with those. I was really surprised that it could even be done and you can't tell at all.

A bay window has sharper angles than a bow, BTW. If you look in the Andersen catalog (or online) I believe they call them 10 degree bows and ? degree bays. I'm pretty sure we could have gone with either one, but we preferred the look of the bow. Also, the bow window doesn't stick out as far from the house, so doesn't stick out as far onto our deck.

Here is an idea of what the window looks like (minus all the junk on the sill). I didn't want to get in the way of the installers, so it's not the best angle, but you get the idea. I don't think the window looks so bad now that the cabinets are in. We still have lots to do, but it's slowly coming along.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sink and bay window

pdxgal--that looks great! There really is no right or wrong, just personal preference. Originally DH wanted the window to be the same height as the counter (would have saved us a lot of grief with that faucet handle, huh?). Much as we love the look, we quickly realized that it wouldn't be wise for us. DH has a habit of shaking the water off of things at the sink and the windows would have been soaked every night (not to mention the huge water puddles on the counter in front of those windows).

pdxgal--You're right; your ledge is similar to ours. We installed our garden window a year or so before beginning our kitchen reno so originially we had a painted ledge (made of MDF) that matched the window trim but we couldn't decide how to finish off the edge above the sink without it detracting from the overall look we wanted. We debated about putting some sort of trim board/cap along it and painting it to match the ledge and window trim. We also considered using the backsplash tile to tile the ledge but then again, we would've needed an edge cap of some kind and didn't see (well, we didn't look all that hard) any that would match the tile. So painting is an option but do you know how you will finish off the edge?

Many Hats - Ummmm...no....I have no idea about finishing the edge. See these are the sorts of details I hate, which is why I'm not cut out for remodels. Well, you bring up a very good point and I will have to throw this out to my mother (she has fixed up many houses) and GC and see if they have any ideas. Would it look weird to simply trim out the window on the bottom with moulding like we did for the others in the house?

Cat Mom - I think you are right. I might even actually prefer to have it up higher. We only put the window in to give the room the illusion of being wider than it is, instead of a long narrow kitchen. So I guess it really doesn't matter what height it's at.

If your window ledge was flush with the area behind the sink (i.e. it didn't overhang and have the "wings" cat_mom and I mentioned in previous posts), you could continue all around with your window casing on all 4 sides. But something to consider is the width of the casing and having wood right by your sink & faucet. Unless it is very narrow, you will likely have a very narrow band of tile for backsplash by your sink--it will be mostly casing. Personally, for durability (and I'm not especially messy at the sink), I'd rather have tile or some other more durable material for the area by the sink than a wooden window casing right where the tap is. But YMMV! Just a thought.

I think having the same black granite on the ledge (as on your counters), with a bit of an overhang then having all tile backsplash between the counter and the ledge will look great.

Many Hats - I think you are right. Looking at my picture if I put the casing all the way around, I wouldn't have any room for a backsplash. Well....I think I will talk to my fabricator on Tuesday when they come to template and talk to my tile guy and see what they propose. I'm doing just a simple subway tile and maybe I could get a bullnose edge up to the window if I don't do the granite. We'll get it figured out and I'll be sure to let you all know once it's down. What's YMMV? LOL.

Thanks for all the help everyone.

YMMV=your mileage may vary, meaning that you may find your experience different from my opinion! :)

A bullnose tile edge sounds like a good idea-- and you could even inquire about tiling the ledge too if you don't want granite. A friend did this and it flows nicely and is a durable surface for items like plants that might get water on the ledge. But you would need the extra allowance in the window height for the thickness of the tile so that might leave you with paint as the option.

Good luck!