8 Tips for Planning Window Placement in Your Custom Home
November 25, 2021Natural light can enhance and completely change the atmosphere in a room. Windows are one of the best ways to add natural light to your home and also give you a view of the outside. When it comes to designing a custom home, where you put the windows makes a big difference. Here are some tips for planning window placement in your custom home:
1. Think About How Much Light You Want
Some enjoy bright rooms full of natural light while others prefer a little less. Depending on your preference, the number of windows, types of windows, and placement of windows will vary.
Window treatments can help you control how much light comes through the windows, but preference will play a big part in the placement. Having an idea of how much light you would want to have in a room can be a big help in narrowing down the window placement that will work best for you and your home.
2. You Don’t Have the Repeat the Front on All Sides
The front of your house is usually what people see. It welcomes your home and also has a big effect on curb appeal. Because of this, you want it to represent you and be friendly to visitors. In a lot of instances, this results in a more traditional, symmetrical window placement.
This is especially true if you’re in a neighborhood with a certain style you want to respect. If there is an HOA, there may be regulations on window placement for the front of homes that you need to be aware of.
However, you don’t have to repeat the placement of the front on all the other sides of your home. You do want to keep basic treatments consistent, but you can play around with variations in style, quantity, and more on the other sides of your home.
3. Take it Room by Room
The number, type, style, size, etc. of windows will vary from room to room. The same is true for the best placement. Planning window placement should take into account the position of your home on the lot, the position of the room in the design, where light is coming from and when, your preferences, where you think you will be placing furniture, and more. Certain styles, like A-frame houses, tend to have a lot of windows, but may not have the same amount of natural light in each room.
This is something you need to take into account. You can approach window placement with some standard guidelines, but considering each room individually in addition to how it fits in the house overall can help you and your builder ensure that the windows help create the look and feel you want in each room. This is one of the most useful tips for planning window placement in your custom home.
4. Consider Comfort and Privacy
Although you want your window placement to look good on the exterior of your home, you also want to make sure it works well for the interior as well. A window may look good from the outside and end up being a pain point from the inside.
The windows should take the use of the room into account as well as the orientation to the sun and wind. Even if you have blackout curtains, you may not want to sleep facing the blinding sun in the morning or having the sun glaring on your computer while you’re trying to work in a home office. This also helps with ventilation and air flow throughout the room and home when windows are open.
At the same time, you also want to consider what the window is facing. What are you going to see and what will other people be able to see if you open the curtains or other window treatment ideas you have used?
You may not want to have a window on a wall that faces another building or matches with windows on another building. Depending on what the view out, or in, will be, there may be a better placement for a window.
5. Save Big Windows for Good Views
Opting for natural light is a biophilic design idea that goes well with several styles and helps you get the look you want in a room. You may be a fan of large picture windows. Or, maybe you’ve always dreamed of a big bay window with a reading nook? A big window can be a great feature in a room as long as it’s the right placement for it.
Outside of specific room requirements or guidelines, one of the biggest tips when it comes to planning window placement for big windows is to make sure they have a good view. You want to be able to let a lot of light in when you want it, but you also want to enjoy what you’ll be seeing through a large expanse of glass.
6. Don’t Forget About Little Rooms
Some rooms require windows and others don’t. A utility room, mudroom, or laundry room may not necessarily have to have a window per building codes. However, you don’t want to forget about them when it comes to window placement in your custom home.
Natural light in a laundry room, mudroom, or powder room can really brighten up and expand the space. Not only does this improve the look of the room, but it also makes it more enjoyable for you to use and spend time in the room.
7. Get the Right Proportion of Glass to Wall
When it comes to window placement, too much or too little of the wall being glass can look off. The ratio will be a bit different from home to home, but it can be easy to get wrong on the extremes when it’s not enough or too much. There isn’t necessarily a hard and fast rule to follow for this; it’s more about hitting the right proportion for that home design and for that room.
8. Work With an Experienced Custom Home Builder
One of the biggest tips for planning window placement in your custom home is to work with an experienced custom home builder, especially one with an in-house design/build process. They’ll be able to take your ideas and what you want, present the best options, help you narrow it down to what works, and also make sure you end up with the right placement and installation of windows in your home.
These are just some tips for planning window placement in your custom home to inspire you. Your builder will be an excellent resource in helping you determine the best positioning for your custom home and window placement for the style and design you are going for.
If you’re ready to start bringing your dream home to life, contact Custom Home Group at 717-284-4090!