How To Build An Oriel Window

8 Means Designers Have Incorporated a Gimmicky Oriel Window

There are plenty of reasons to consider adding ane of these mod-day trophy to your renovation wishlist

Kate Burt

27 March, 2021

Houzz UK. I'g a announcer and editor, previously for the Contained, Guardian and various magazines. I'm now excited to part of the editorial squad at Houzz U.k. & Republic of ireland, bringing the all-time of British and Irish design, interiors and architecture to Houzz.com.

Offset off, what exactly is an oriel window? Traditionally, this kind of window would have been found on the upper storey of a building, with visible support in the class of usually stone corbels or brackets.

More than recently, architects have begun using the term to depict a particular type of deep window, typically square or rectangular in shape, on any storey, that protrudes from the edifice, frequently with all four sides glazed, too.

The feature can be functional – hello window seat – or simply aesthetic, as the design makes a great 'film frame' for a lovely view.

Boost a dining area
Where lots of seating is sporadically required for a big dining table, a deep oriel window can serve a practical purpose. When guests are over, the generous overhang here provides additional bench seating for the table. When they are not, the table can shift a few inches to allow the oriel to be used for lounging with a view.

Notation how the designers at Builder Your Dwelling take also included flexible-height pendants to make this versatility more practical.

Glazing as expansive as this also creates a stunning green backdrop for those seated on the right side of the dining tabular array.

Introduce an angle
This sugariness, non-as well-large oriel window has been built to be the aforementioned superlative as a desk-bound, creating an nearly seamless view out to the garden and providing some non-work space on which to put, say, a potted constitute.

The design also deviates from the more usual square or rectangle. To maximise the light and general outcome of the window, the architects at Rising Design Studio created a shape that follows the line of the outbuilding. This is clearer in the side by side photo…

…where you lot can run across the glazing from the outside.

The designers have cleverly non let the angle reduce functionality inside, however, by edifice bespoke slanted shelves to follow its lines over the desk-bound.

Connect to the garden
This window, in a London garden pavilion, was designed by Matthew Giles Architects to bring a sense of the garden into the interior of this room.

Non just does the glass on all sides give you the feeling of floating to a higher place the greenery beyond, only the projection's garden designer has besides accentuated this effect by choosing low-growing foliage and bringing it equally close to the window equally possible.

See more than of this garden pavilion that provides flexible added space.

Shelve it
Here, in a room designed by Studio 1 Architects, an oriel window creates a calming aspect from the living infinite.

With a sofa arranged like this, the ledge is not ideal for use as a window seat, simply information technology'due south the perfect place to rest a loving cup or drinking glass of something comforting and a volume or newspaper, while lying back on the adjacent cushions.

The view would be specially pleasing, as gazing out of the glass provides views upwards and across as well as straight out, cheers to the perpendicular panels common to this style of window.

Get off-side
While many of these ideas feature a window that gives people indoors a glorious view of a garden, there are other ways to go. In this oriel, designed by EMR Architecture, the drinking glass overlooks a side return. It'due south a cracking way to introduce fifty-fifty more light if you're opening up the back of the business firm with glazed doors and don't have the infinite for a window similar this.

In this example, the owners also find it peculiarly handy as a spot for restless children to retire to after a meal, while everyone else remains at the table. Kids are free to read a volume or play together on the window seat, while yet existence spatially connected to the ongoing meal and chat.

In time, the new planting outside will cover the fence, adding a verdant outlook.

Add an extra seat
In a living area at the dorsum of the firm, space may be tight for fitting in a sofa too every bit armchairs. Fifty-fifty if it'due south non, this idea for a window, designed by James Dale Architects, beautifully creates an additional and spatially economic lounging spot, and one that invites you to gaze into the garden across and relax.

Gear up to refresh your abode? Check out customer reviews and project photos for architects and building designers in your area.

Raise it upward
While many of the ideas featured here are situated on the ground floor of a edifice, this MAXLIGHT-designed window gives the feature a fresh twist.

Sitting in a higher place a lower-ground-floor window into the building's kitchen, the oriel becomes the focal point of the rear elevation, providing a pleasing view into the firm via a comfortable chair and an atmospherically lit library.

The internal space, meanwhile, benefits from having its ain reading zone, created by the large, 3D window, and a relaxing view not merely beyond the garden, but besides upwards towards the clouds and stars, thanks to the glazing, which stretches back farther at the top than the lesser.

Make it multi-functional
When you're playing with mod architecture, at that place can often be the freedom to make even more than of an oriel window.

In this example, designed by Downs Merrifield Architects, the first floor glazing protrudes over the front door, where – clad in the same woods – it provides a visually cohesive and practical porch.

Tell us…
Is a modernistic oriel window something yous'd consider adding to your domicile? If and then, where would you put it? Let us know in the Comments.