Square One: Good Home Design Starts Here

Design snapshot: Distinctive bay window with a view

By Katie Hutchison

A bay window like this embellishes an exterior elevation and creates an appealing nook on the interior from which to enjoy a stunning view.

This one-story addition has the look of a beautifully enclosed porch. The cross-braced, half-wall suggests a guard rail, now infilled with vertical boards. The overall assembly has porchiness.

Corbelling beneath the bay softens the transition from the brick wall below to the projecting bay above, known as an oriel. There’s something organic about how this oriel bulges out from the plane of the adjacent walls. It offers distinctive personality, bonus space, and a clear view beyond the confines of the primary structure. It’s a keeper.

Read more about oriels in Taking Oriels to a New Level, a Drawing Board column I wrote for Fine Homebuilding.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast and SquareOne

Read more design snapshots by architect Katie Hutchison.

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Design snapshot: Distinctive bay window with a view

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