If we'd gone with a less steep on our vaulted ceiling, we'd have had more options for windows on the addition side of the second floor -- our master bedroom and the family bathroom. As it is, the bathroom window will be a casement (crank) window fairly high up. Okay, I can live with that.
But in our bedroom, I would like to see the woods behind our house.
The view from what will be baby A's bedroom is so dreamy, how could I not want to approximate it in my own bedroom?
The windows as pictured in these rough openings have been ordered, though, in this three-panel configuration.
They are a little lower than they were originally built, but I still can't really see out of them without getting on my tiptoes. Here's my eye-level view:
Nice treetops, sure. But no sense of the ground.
I suggested we could just eat that cost (well, try to sell the windows, and if that didn't work, donate them to Habitat for Humanity's ReStore) and buy two slightly larger windows to stair-step them down the roof, like another 4" down and another 4" down. The husband didn't like that idea, and the builder noted that the trimwork might not look so great.
The three windows as shown do have a nice symmetry with the three windows on the lower level, but that's really only visible from ... the back yard of the house we currently live in, next door. And we are not going to inhabit both houses once this new one is done!
The builder's suggestion is to just lose the window closest to the peak and drop the other two windows -- the ones we have already ordered -- down 6-8" inches.
This is not a huge building headache since the framers can just pad the top below the header and frame in the one window. Not free, but not as much as ordering new windows. (I don't have exact figures yet. And of course this still gives us an excess of one window, but maybe I can find a friendly buyer on Craigslist). Here we are with the one window covered up.
Keep in mind that our bed will be along this window wall. One thing I didn't measure or consider is width and centering on the wall. Might need to go do that.
Our headboard is quite low -- just 39" in the middle and 36" at the ends. If we move down the windows, there will still be several inches between the headboard and the trim. But the benefit is that then I could enjoy more of the woods, rather than just the treetops. I don't want this to bug me forever if it can be fixed now for not a whole lot of money. The view is a big reason we love where we live!
Do I spend a ton of time in my bedroom right now? No, not a ton. But with the front dormer space, I am thinking I might stand more of a chance at some regular yoga up there, and I'd like to feel connected to the woods. And eventually, we might even have -- imagine! -- a reading chair up there!
Can you blame a short girl for tryin'?
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts: Lower the sill on the two left windows, looking at the "woods" wall from inside, step at each window with the same increment so sill steps twice. If you can, get taller windows so heads align. Keep in mind - do not lower the sill too close to the roof below, keep at least 8" above it for proper flashing.
I think windows are very important, so I don't like the idea of losing one of the three windows entirely. I was going to suggest the very same solution that ALine mentions above: two new windows that stair step on the bottom but with heads that align. You get lots of light and you solve your view problem, while echoing the roofline. Second choice would be to stair-step the existing windows. There's got to be a way to work out the trim--c'mon, if we landed man on the moon, a master carpenter can figure this out! It also looks like you've got a big undivided wall on the side--any chance that, if you bought two new, taller windows, you could reuse the existing smaller windows on the side? Otherwise, I love the idea of donating them to Habitat.
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