Windows are the eyes to the facade of a house, their shape, size and style gives immediate character to a building, so how are the typical french country windows?
The first thing to know is that French windows open in to the room, not out to the garden. Don’t ask me why, that’s just the way things are. And the answer to your next question is no, it isn’t annoying or inconvenient. I have never had anything knocked over by an open window, but of course it does restrict the use of the window sill.
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Window panes are medium to small in size. In our house, the glass in our windows is mostly still the original pane, and as we look through some of them the image is distorted by the wavy uneven thickness of the glass.
I guess they were originally made smaller because it was easier to make, and also less expensive to replace in the case of breakage.
Shutters are most often outside, but on some grander homes with higher ceilings and higher heating bills you can have shutters inside too.
Sometimes windows are lined up in straight rows;
and sometimes they have to …well, adapt to the shape of the house!
and if wooden frames aren’t your thing, then there is an old French tradition for narrow iron frames that is very popular again today[blank]
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And finally the hardware. Traditionally a tall vertical bar, the crémone, which is actioned by a turning handle to fit into catches above and below the window.
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Voilà! A little tour on the authentically French, hope you enjoyed the pictures.
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32 comments
There is such beauty and wonderful detail of French windows.
I lparticularly love that last image of the white room…I could see myself living there!
So beautiful! I love the French windows. (extra love if crowned by wisteria in bloom!) Here in California, there's so little interesting (read; old) architecture. A house that is 100 years old is rare. I have fantasies of building a cottage with salvaged, vintage windows.
Thanks for the lovely photos!
Great pictures! the windows open in so you can have them open during rain. The rain would rot the wood windows over time if they swung out into the rain.
How lovely to see some of the window styles in your region. Where I live in the Haute -Vienne we have to have the style of the region, I think the building regulations have become a bit more relaxed from when we renovated our property, NO white window frames were allowed then, but now I'm seeing them creep in for the many new build properties.
I lived in Holland for a number of years and was told that the windows open inwards so that they can be easily cleaned – especially upstairs, the Dutch being very house proud!
I lived in Holland for a number of years and was told that the windows open inwards so that they can be easily cleaned – especially upstairs, the Dutch being very house proud!
Beautiful! Wish I loved in such a place!
Hi Sharon beautiful photographs, beautiful windows. I dream about having vintage iron windows and imagine how beautiful the garden would look through them. Thank you for sharing beauty. Regards Esther from Sydney. PS have a lovely weekend.
I agree with Jennifer Clark from California (I am from San Francisco), in our area it is rare to find French windows. Generally, if there are on houses it is on remodeled houses or brand new ones. I am missing these simple but great windows. Thinking you can open the windows to yourself invites you to meet with the elements of nature. You also can look over it which is not possible here as we have screens! Anyway, they do have a lot of charm!
I loved this, Sharon. Windows opening inwards would certainly have pros and cons. One of my favorite photos taken at Versailles is of a window catch.
Thank you for starting my day perfectly.
I do enjoy these posts.
Enjoy your weekend.
Bonjour,
Les ouvertures ont une grande importance dans une maison. Elles sont la conjugaison de la nature avec notre intérieur… Une belle publication avec ces superbes photos.
Gros bisous
Thanks for the great site. Lovely window…it is sad to see so many being replaced by plastic in Normandy spoiling the towns and villages…warmer undoubtedly…but oh so much less charming.
Windows have to open in so that you can close the shutters. In the U.S., shutters mostly are just decorative, but where I live in the south of France, shutters provide insulation–keeping out the cold and wind in the winter and the heat in the summer. My house stays at 25-28 degrees when it's 35-40 degrees outside by closing the shutters to an angled crack that lets in just a little light.
I thoroughly enjoyed this post and learning about the things I love. Windows, their shutters and framing are among the first things I pay attention to about a house…I feel windows lacking frames, that are just square gaps in a facade with no detailing whatsoever, look 'naked'. The French style right down to the hardware detailing is my preference.
I have a particular fascination with windows, doors & the objects that open them…I know, strange & not sure why. When I was in Italy, wherever we went, I walked around for hours & hours taking photos of them. My daughter thought it was a bit crazy, so off she went to shop & I kept snapping away. I'm so happy I did. Lovely as well as interesting post Sharon.
Beautiful post. I love all of the windows whether in straight lines or made to fit the house! The hardware is all just gorgeous – I recently used the narrow iron frames for a client and they turned out beautifully. Thanks for starting my day with all of these french windows!
love + love + love all of the french windows + hardware + used the crémone in a house i did. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com
My first very old apt here in va. had old iron roll out windows. I loved them. The apt. was built in the 40's.
Maybe opening out is bad luck , letting all of the good flow outward. My mom always said not to sweep our good luck out the door and use a dust pan instead – who knows? Love you post – Betsy
I think Gabriel and Ledoux – and others long before them – wrote a bit about how they liked to arrange the mullions. So it may really have been the tastes of the times. Glass was made in sheets, then cut to size – so they might have had larger panes if they'd liked.
This reminds me of the time my Daddy visited Ireland in 1970. Since he was an American politician, he was invited to the Dial and was entertained by a past mayor of Dublin. At the mayor's house, he fell in love with some brass window latches. The mayor sold them to him right off the windows! We had them in our kitchen and they have remained there through 3 different owners. If I pass by the house and see a new owner, I tell him about the kitchen latches.
I love this post … thank you 🙂
You have exactly described the windows in my *own* country! Like deserts (they're literally called here "gâteaux" and "mille feuilles", for example); a special style of (and taste for) art, architecture and furniture, especially in chic neighborhoods; concepts and philosphies; laws; science; technologies; Catholic French schools as well as "lycées" (literally); and even quite a few French words that seeped into regular usage…all legacy of the colonial era but also the subsequent wilful pursuit of everything French by the natives…I can only say: Thank God for the French people!
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