BAY WINDOW IN OUR LIVING ROOM

We have fallen inlove with the bay window in our living room and we would really like to preserve it, pretty it up and make it a space that we can use in our new home.

This made us wonder where did the BAY WINDOW originate?

A bay window is a window "space" projecting outward from the mail walls of a building and tehreby forming a bay in the room. While most bay windows protrude, some bay windows are level with the exterior and are built into the interior of a room.

Bay Windows are associated with Victorian Architecture and were a part of the Gothic Revival style.

Interesting fact:
In 1894 the Building Act changed the regulations, so that windows no longer had to be flush with the exterior wall. This enabled windows to stand proud from the facade. The late Victorian and Edwardian period took advantage of the change in new building regulations and now presented their windows in bays. Medium and larger houses would often display double bay or bow windows.

Why, why, why?
Bay windows creat and illusion of a larger room and are often used to increase the flow of natural light into a building. They also seem to provide a better view of the outside. Our bay window looks out on the main garden, I must take a photo and load that too!!! The view is pretty.

I just love the wooden "window sill seating box", it doubles up as a bookshelf - we have placed some books and magazines in it with protea pillows at the top to place where you would like to sit or to lean against.

An even more interesting fact:
Bay windows were identified as a defining characteristic of San Francisco architecture in a 2012 study of 25 000 photos of cities from Google Street View.
So, I guess we can pretend we live in San Francisco every now and again! LOL