If you’re building a home, adding a room or doing a reconstruction of an existing home, where you place your windows and furniture is more than an aesthetic choice. Remember that your windows are part of your HVAC system. They allow fresh air to enter and stale air to exit. Windows also help regulate room temperature throughout the seasons. Because of this, where you place your furniture relative to your windows is important.
About putting furniture in front of windows
While you shouldn’t be afraid of putting furniture in front of a window, there are ways to do so that don’t damage your furniture or block air or light. Here are some:
- Don’t place furniture so tall that it blocks most of the window.
- Don’t place furniture before an east- or west-facing window. The furniture doesn’t even need to be close to the window. Direct sunlight can fade fabric and wood, even on furniture on the other side of the room.
- If the above is inescapable, dress the windows with shades, blinds, curtains or drapes. Window dressings also make the windows more aesthetically pleasing.
- If possible, rotate furniture in rooms with an east or west exposure to protect them. It also makes the room more interesting.
- Install Low-E windows. More energy-efficient windows protect furniture and help regulate indoor temperature.
The style of your home
Much of where furniture goes in relation to windows depends on the style of the home. Your furniture placement may differ if you have a two-story window wall or an international-style home with strip windows near the ceiling. If you’re planning a home and really invested in how the windows and furnishings fit together, you might want to install windows that are taller than they are wide. This draws the eye up to the ceiling and is generally more attractive than a wide window in an average-sized room.
Furniture to place near a window
There’s a variety of furniture that looks good either beneath a window or between a pair of windows. They include sofas, low bookcases and cabinets, occasional tables, nightstands, coffee tables and window seats. A highboy or a chiffonier may be just the thing to place between a pair of windows if the space between them is wide enough. Make sure to measure the height of the furniture, the distance of the windowsill to the floor and the space between a pair of windows. If you do have a window wall, one trick is to pull the furniture some distance from it to make it look a bit floaty.
Proper window placement not only enhances your home’s aesthetics but can also make it more comfortable and healthier to live in. To learn more about window placement, go to our pages on Instagram or Facebook. Consult a window specialist on our Marketplace for more information.
