How to design a window opening: dimensions, proportions, materials
Conduct an experiment: go into an empty room after renovation and evaluate it with your eyes. If the room has a window (where without it), then the review of the room begins from this point.
And for good reason, because the window opening is the lightest element of the room, and a person’s gaze subconsciously stretches, first of all, towards the light.
Thus, the window is an important detail of the interior and how it looks significantly affects the perception of the interior environment as a whole.
Properly chosen proportions of the window, its location and the appearance of the frames can allow you to refuse additional decorations of window openings.
Well, if you don’t have to choose and you are forced to put up with what you have, then you can achieve a radical transformation of the interior through textile decor on the window. Moreover, sometimes this is the only thing worth doing to change the «mood» of the room (and yours along with it 🙂
In any design, proportions play the first violin. This is especially true for windows. For example, an architect is faced with the task of creating a feeling of spaciousness in a small room. In already rebuilt houses, this is usually done using a visual trick with mirrors and a play of color on large planes.
The top photo shows just such a solution. And I must admit, the task is 100% completed. The illusion of the absence of walls pushes the boundaries of the interior by many meters.
An additional window in the pediment (photo above) emphasizes and increases the height of the room as much as possible.
Gothic vaults have always harbored an element of mysticism. It is unlikely that we will find such premises intended for living anywhere, but the photo shows an interesting moment of very high windows (for example, in a bay window). As you can see, they can be divided into separate sections, some of which can be made working.
And this photo shows a luxurious idea for a new building. Window openings are concentrated under the ceiling. This achieves the moment of maximum natural illumination of the interior. The walls remain absolutely free for the designer’s imagination to fly. And one corner window at eye level serves to view the courtyard.
A slightly different, but no less interesting solution: in a very elongated room, the outer wall was completely replaced with an energy-saving double-glazed window. It has an entrance door that opens on the principle of a slider. The lighting effect is maximum, and so that the wall does not seem too long, another hole was provided in it, exactly repeating the proportions of the wall.
And on this wall, the window was not made for additional light at all. Firstly, it is an additional decorative element, and secondly, a narrow, vertically elongated opening visually shortens the wall and raises the height of the ceiling. And the location of the window was not chosen at all by chance: just so that the part of the wall on the right was shorter than its height.
And one more decorative detail — the color of the frames. It is black, contrasting, like a clear drawing of contours against the background of a loose and heterogeneous stone texture of the wall.
Lifting English windows are easy to use — they just need to be lifted up. But the secret of the attractiveness of the English interior lies not in the design of the window, but in one simple rule: all the «carpentry» is done either to match the ceiling, or it repeats the texture of the floor. In this case, the first option was chosen.
Agree, a simple metal-plastic frame looks too simple. You either want to cover it with curtains, or add another decor. In the photo above, they chose the second option, adding decorative overlays to the double-glazed windows, and the window opening itself was highlighted with an openwork arched vault made of painted wood.
In the photo above, the texture of the frames is not satisfactory — it is perfect, made of wood veneer. But here it is clearly shown how you can unconventionally approach the design of a window on the south side, where in summer there is simply no escape from the scorching sun.
And the problem was solved extremely simply, with the help of a double frame. The one outside the house is solid and deaf, on the entire wall. And at a distance of about 80 cm from it, they made another one (already with a door), arranging a winter garden in between.
The photo above shows a simple trick on how to use curtains to correct the «wrong» position of the window. As you can see, the window opening is literally cornered. In this case, the asymmetric arrangement of the curtains, slightly more saturated than the walls, will visually shift the focus to the center of the wall.
SUN PROTECTION AS A METHOD OF WINDOW DECOR widely distributed in Europe, in our country it is given exclusively functional significance. But in vain … Well-chosen systems of protection from excess light and in the solo version can look just great and self-sufficient.
Blinds consist of slats (strips). Moreover, they are placed both horizontally and vertically.
HORIZONTAL BLINDS in the room version look better in designs with guide strips that press the slats to the frame.
Then, when the last blinds are tilted, they will not hang limply in the window opening, but will bend after the frame.
WOODEN BLINDS — this is a special chic. In the color of natural wood, they will emphasize the respectability of the interior of an office, a yacht cabin or a kitchen.
And in matte white or other pastel shades, they will be especially appropriate in the interior of a bedroom, living room or children’s room.
VERTICAL BLINDS have long been known to everyone and many consider them an office window decor option. But the manufacturers reacted in time, releasing a line of completely “homemade” fabric options for slats and providing the opportunity to bend the cornice vertically horizontally.
Now vertical blinds can be hung over an arched window or safely recommended in a round bay window.
Internal FABRIC ROLLER Blinds, as well as blinds, I recommend choosing with guides. The reason is simple: on the sunny side, the fabric treated with a special impregnation can begin to curl at the edges, which is not so noticeable in designs where the fabric sections are hidden under the guides.
By the way, not only impregnated fabrics, but also synthetic fibers, as well as fabrics made of metallized threads can act as a canvas in roller shutters. The latter are quite expensive and have excellent heat reflection.
The world of window textiles is replete with a variety of models and their names. It is quite difficult for a non-specialist who remembers curtains only after the completion of the next repair to understand the terminology, and it is hardly necessary.
Nevertheless, there are a lot of fashionable offers that the hostess of the house “pecks” without hesitation when she sees a charming picture on the Internet or in the designer’s portfolio.
But hurry up with the acquisition of the new thing you like without getting acquainted with how it will behave in operation. The fact is that not every curtain will have to «go to court» to a particular window.
I will tell you about the nuances of the behavior of textiles on the window further …
Curtains are straight canvases made of thin fabrics (not necessarily tulle). They perform solo at the window, because they have European roots, and there it is still customary to close the windows with shutters or external blinds.
CURTAIN — these are already thick curtains, also represented by straight canvases. Their historical purpose was to form beautiful draperies, so they hung on the cornice without moving.
Somewhat later, they began to be used as protection from the sun or indiscreet looks. Such curtains are called workers, because at any time they can be pushed in and out on the window.
Portieres can be double. They are made with a lining fabric to give the curtains density (reduce translucency) or additional decorative effect. Another purpose of the lining is to protect the main fabric (which can be obscenely expensive) from fading.
ROMAN BLINDS have the most ancient history and their design is copied from the lifting system of sailing ships.
«Rimochki» are good in almost any interior. True, depending on the style, they are made from a fabric of the appropriate texture. It can be transparent tulle, and iridescent taffeta, and more dense curtain fabric.
As an additional decoration, braid, fringe, glass beads, eyelets are used, the bottom is made curly.
Romanesque curtains are perfectly combined with curtains.
Important nuance: Roman blinds are lifting canvases and when assembled can interfere with the opening of the frame. Therefore, they are hung only on blind windows and on frames with a ventilation function. This is if the mount is made on a window opening or wall.
On hinged windows and a balcony door, “Romans” are attached directly to the frame, if at the same time the thickness of the Roman cornice allows the frame (door) to open.
VIETNAMESE CLOTHING — almost the same as the Roman ones, but they are not lifted like an accordion, but twisted from the bottom up into a roll.
To facilitate this operation, a round section weighting bar is sewn into the lower edge.
Well, they support the rolled-up curtain of the tape. Actually, due to the simplicity and at the same time inconvenience of this process, Vietnamese curtains are used more as a decor than a functional element and are made fixed at a certain height.
And one more thing: they are always performed on a decorative lining.
Important nuance: just like Roman canvases, this type of curtain is hung on the frame if it opens, or on the wall above the opening if the window is “deaf” (or with a ventilation function).
Thanks to a special cornice, straight curtains move behind each other like scenery in a theater. The width of one curtain varies from 60 cm to 1.5 m and directly depends on the height: the higher, the wider.
Important nuance: if Japanese curtains are planned to be made of tulle or translucent fabric, then most likely they will be constantly closed, and therefore they are not recommended for a window with a frequently opening balcony door (especially a kitchen one).
FRENCH CURTAINS (MARQUISE) about thirty years ago «flaunted» in the windows of state institutions of different ranks. Therefore, now a certain prejudice has formed towards them. However, in your home they may not look nearly as archaic. To do this, it is enough to choose an unconventional fabric, finish or addition of curtains.
And yet, the consumption of fabric for French canvases is “crazy”, they can hang stationary on the window or rise with the help of a Roman cornice.
ENGLISH AND AUSTRIAN CURTAINS are very similar to each other.
Their only difference is that the Austrian curtain is gathered along the eaves, and the English one is even, because it is laid in warehouses hidden at the junction of sections.
If the Austrian is always divided into a certain number of sections, then the English one can be limited to only one with two freely hanging edges.
Both curtains can be made lifting using a Roman cornice and both are not suitable for a swing window and an opening with a balcony door.
HINGED CURTAINS are a great option for a modern minimalist interior.
However, a good choice of fabrics and wide loops gathered at the base will create a special atmosphere in the bedroom or living room, giving them a romantic or vintage touch.
Important nuance: a simple canopy of such curtains on a rod cornice will not allow you to move freely along it. This will require special Teflon pads under the hinges.
Lambrequin is an additional decoration of the window opening and is hung on the extreme front track (bar) of the cornice or separately mounted on the ceiling directly above the window.
This beautiful detail «eats» part of the height of the room, so it is not recommended to use it for rooms with low ceilings.
Important nuance: a lambrequin can prevent a window or a balcony door from opening, so you should be especially scrupulous in choosing its height in these places.
RIGID LAMBREQUIN is glued to a special base, thanks to which it keeps its shape. It can be decorated with almost any decor or combined with other types of lambrequins.
Here’s what you can’t do — wash it. Dry cleaning only.
ASSEMBLED PAMPLING has a lot of shapes and components, assembled together on a curtain band.
This is a soft detail in every sense.
A nice plus is that you can wash it yourself, iron it and hang it back on the ledge.
SWAGI AND TIES are soft draperies. They may be present in a prefabricated lambrequin, but most often they are made fixed on a rigid braid or combined with a rigid lambrequin.
Since most curtain fabrics shrink or deform after washing, swags and ties are recommended to be cleaned only. An exception may be a prefabricated lambrequin made of nylon, polyester, nylon, which warm water does not harm.
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