Posted by kari on Oct 8, 2009 in
Guest Writers Bay Windows are a lovely architectural feature in homes, but they can present an issue when trying to furnish the space. Thank you to “C” who offered her photos for todays Ask A Designer. We met “C” at the Home Show – thanks for stopping by!
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Inspiration by House & Home Magazine
When arranging furniture in a space with a bay window, it can be difficult to decide where place the pieces without taking away from the architectural design of the window. In many occasions bay windows have a custom seat built in below, but how do we furnish the room when using pieces of furniture rather than built-ins so it looks like a custom fit? In this case the home owner has purchased some lovely furniture for the living room, and now it’s time to arrange it to best highlight the bay window, and provide a comfortable seating area.
Since the room is somewhat on the smaller side, it’s best to maximize every inch of space. I recommend placing the sofa into the bay window area where it will tuck nicely into the space, and offer a place to sit and enjoy the window views. It also mimics the look of a custom piece built specifically for that area. In order to add some personality to the sofa, toss in some colourful pillows with your existing animal prints, to help to break up the neutral shade of the upholstery.
Floor to ceiling curtains with luminous roman shades help to produce a backdrop that will soften the edges of the bay window, and by using two window treatments, this will create a luxurious layered effect. Since your home has a bulkhead above the window, try mounting the curtain rod across the entire span of the bulkhead, as close to the ceiling as possible allowing the curtain panels to cascade down either side of the bay window opening. To diffuse the light and add privacy, mount roman shades directly inside each window. This combination of window treatments will create the same effect as the inspiration photo, but with a few minor adjustments to adapt to your home.
Place the round coffee table and accent chairs across from the sofa with the small side table in between the chairs. Then try moving the third chair, larger side table, and table lamp to the centre of the left wall for additional seating, and creating a cozy spot to read a book. The floor lamp would look lovely on the right side of the bay window beside the sofa, and the location will provide balanced lighting across the room as well as highlight this area. I love how the inspiration photo has used a narrow rectangular table for displaying accessories, and also providing a great opportunity to hang a collage of art above…so, if a table like this is in the budget, I would explore that option. Good luck, and have fun customizing your space!
~k
Posted by bethany on Oct 7, 2009 in
Projects + Ramblings,
Sustainability Passive Solar Design is a term used to describe how a home can be designed to take advantage of the sun’s path.
Unfortunately, little attention has been paid to this simple energy saving detail in recent years. Homes and subdivisions have been designed with resale value being the main focus and little effort has gone into situating roads and homes so that the sun can play it’s helpful role. There was a time when people paid great attention to Passive Solar Design…
My home was built in the 1940’s. My Grandmother loaned me a book on home design circa 1948 and it features a home very much like my own. In this book, there is one entire chapter dedicated to the importance of building a home so that it takes advantage of the sun’s path. This book even suggests the best place to build a “drying yard” for laundry. Ahhh… the good ol’ days.
The very first owners of our litte home may have owned this book, as our home is true South facing. I didn’t even notice this when we first bought it, but during the first winter we lived there I fell in love with the sunshine that poured in our living room window each morning. I felt a lot like a cat – curled up in the sunshine dozing off.
My little vintage house may be south facing to take advantage of the winter sunshine, but this also creates problems during the hot season…
In the summer months, both the front and back of the house get really warm. Most of the main windows in our home are South and West facing. This means we get sunshine spilling through our home right up until sunset during the summer.
To remedy this, I have come up with a simple Passive Solar Design plan for our renovation:
1. Install an arbour along our front living room window. Plant a eco-friendly vine (not on the noxious weed list…) next to the arbour that will climb. It will loose it’s leaves in the winter to allow for maximum sunlight. In the summer, the full foliage should provide good shade for our window from the high, hot sun.
2. At the back of the house (where our future addition will go) I want to install “Low-E” windows. These windows are designed to limit the amount of heat that is transmitted through the glass. They are more expensive, but they are extremely effective.
In my humble opinion, it is not a wise idea to install these new Low-E windows around the entire house because a home can actually gain heat from the low winter sun on the side that faces South. However, it IS wise to install these windows on the west side of the home, as that side usually gets the very hot sun hitting it during the long summer afternoons and in the winter the sun is barely up long enough to provide that side of the house with any significant warmth.
If you need some extra help in planning a renovation with Passive Solar Design elements, I would suggest hiring local home and renovation designer Jennifer Charles. She has a genuine interest in green renovating and a lot of valuable experience. When you’re ready to purchase windows, Van Isle Windows can help you select the right ones. Most importantly, do your own research – I found that my doing my own research I began to feel quite passionate about the idea of Passive Solar Design, and fell more in love with my home too.
Posted by kari on Oct 6, 2009 in
Home Tours Fall is here and we have a fantastic home tour to warm your heart! Thanks to K. & M. for letting us feature your cozy custom home.
Read more…
Posted by bethany on Oct 4, 2009 in
Projects + Ramblings Happy Sunday!
We’re at the Comox Valley Home Show for one more day this weekend.
Sunday’s Hours are 10:00am – 4:00pm
So far our time at the show has been fantastic. We’ve had a chance to meet some regular readers in person and have met many future readers too :). We are especially excited about all the great conversations we’ve had with various home owners regarding renovations and interior design. Thank you so much everyone for showing your support for what we’re doing!
We’d like to take a minute to let you know about a few businesses that are at the Home Show this weekend. These are businesses that we’ve been chatting with all weekend. We have a lot of time to get to know each other over 3 days!
Here are some of our friendly Home Show neighbours:
Blinds Billiards and Baubles
Ironwood Shake and Tile
Inspired Spaces by Harbour Kitchens and More
Central Builders
Van Isle Windows
Crossland Sheds
We chose to be part of this year’s Home Show because it’s a great place to meet people who are interested in the same things as us. We also like being part of such a great community of businesses.
If you are visiting the site in regards to our virtual renovation service, “RENO-VISION”, please contact us for details. The response to this new service has been good and we’re looking forward to creating some lovely new images to share with you all!
We hope to see more of you at the home show, and if not… we’ll see you tomorrow online. It’s virtual renovation day!
