Add Some Nautical Punch With Portholes
Portholes in front doors, bathrooms and bunk rooms will make you feel like the captain of your home
Along with tiny houses and converted barns, houseboats rank high on the list of creative alternatives for those who crave a more mindful, if not always simpler, way of life. As for the rest of us who can’t pack up and move onto a boat right away, we can still catch a glimmer of the nautical life by enhancing our homes with portholes as we daydream about all the glorious houseboat accoutrements we’ll have in our floating abodes someday.
Another take on the front door porthole look is this pair of circular tilt-turn windows by Dynamic Architectural Windows & Doors. Open the windows a crack to let some fresh air in or batten down the hatches when the weather takes a turn.
Front doors aren’t the only type that can benefit from a viewing portal. One person might look at this pantry door and see a fixed porthole-style window, while others will be inspired by the designer’s vision for a true chef’s kitchen, complete with restaurant window. By the looks of it, the door even swings open with a push, just like the entrance to a commercial kitchen.
A Natural in Bathrooms
Of all the rooms in which to install a porthole window, the bathroom is the most obvious. Being a wet environment, it’s the room that most inspires reveries of oceanic adventures, especially when wrapped in fishy wallpaper. The portholes take this room from a simple tile and drywall box with a fun theme to a veritable submarine stunt double. Even the shower tile resembles undulating underwater shadows.
Of all the rooms in which to install a porthole window, the bathroom is the most obvious. Being a wet environment, it’s the room that most inspires reveries of oceanic adventures, especially when wrapped in fishy wallpaper. The portholes take this room from a simple tile and drywall box with a fun theme to a veritable submarine stunt double. Even the shower tile resembles undulating underwater shadows.
Parents of young children appreciate the extra drop of fun that the Porthole Bath by The Water Monopoly pours into bathtime, and playful grownups will appreciate that it’s like no other tub they’ve ever seen.
If reframing your window openings to accommodate an oculus window isn’t happening anytime soon, consider a porthole-inspired medicine cabinet. The best part is that you don’t even need to have a spacious bathroom to make it work: Given its diminutive size, a smaller vanity will keep the little round mirror looking proportional.
Bunkhouse Bonanza
It takes a designer with the imagination of a child to create a room that’s all about adventure and playing pretend. While your wee ones aren’t likely to be quite as enthralled with nautical printed comforters as you are, they will assuredly respond with glee to a bunk room that has all the trappings of sailors’ quarters. If a bunk room addition is in your future, why not go the extra nautical mile and swap rectangular windows for circular ones?
It takes a designer with the imagination of a child to create a room that’s all about adventure and playing pretend. While your wee ones aren’t likely to be quite as enthralled with nautical printed comforters as you are, they will assuredly respond with glee to a bunk room that has all the trappings of sailors’ quarters. If a bunk room addition is in your future, why not go the extra nautical mile and swap rectangular windows for circular ones?
Look Out Below!
Nothing says coastal simplicity like a series of circular portholes embedded into a weathered wood deck. It’s hard to look at this photo and not see the side of an old wooden ship. Built into a second-floor deck, these portholes also serve as skylights for the room below.
Nothing says coastal simplicity like a series of circular portholes embedded into a weathered wood deck. It’s hard to look at this photo and not see the side of an old wooden ship. Built into a second-floor deck, these portholes also serve as skylights for the room below.
This porthole in the attic of a Montreal cabin also serves double duty as a skylight for the floor below and as an interesting floor feature.
As any cat owner knows, a comfortable perch in front of a window is usually a feline’s favorite spot. Clearly, this cat appreciates a good porthole too, especially when it doubles as an escape hatch to the outside world.
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Minneapolis, Minnesota, may not be the first place you’d expect to find a nautical porthole door, but its proximity to the Great Lakes means that ship supply stores aren’t as scarce as you might think. That’s where TEA2 Architects scored this genuine porthole window for the custom front door of this carriage house.