Windows and Window Motives 



107 



Interior of window shown on opposite page. A good example of the use of corner block 



and head panel 



into the window motive, and thus made a fixed part of it, although in a square 

 bay a settle or couch can be used to advantage. As we all know, the accumulation 

 of odds and ends, which it is often desirable to keep, makes it necessary to provide 

 some place for their 

 storage. News- 

 papers and maga- 

 zines, remnants of 

 toys, odds and ends 

 of various kinds, 

 are very apt to find 

 no really safe hid- 

 ing; place when 



O l 



gathered up in a 

 hurry. You may 

 lay down rules for- 

 bidding theirwhole- 

 sale distribution 

 from cellar to 

 garret, but prohibi- 

 tion will hardly 

 prohibit. With this 

 in view it is well to 



provide the window seat with a hinged cover, so that the otherwise wasted 

 space can be utilised. 



The hanging of window curtains and shades is more often badly done than 

 well done. This is partly due to the lack of calculation in the designing of the 

 window motive and the hanging itself. As blinds, screens, storm sashes and 

 solid shutters enter more or less into the calculation, let us consider the whole 

 window with all its embellishments. In the first place, owing to the lowness 

 of the sun in northern latitudes, the 

 curtain seems to be an essential, but it 



should never be allowed to destroy the 



effect of the window casing, as it usually 



does. In the better houses of the 



Renaissance, the window curtains were 



straight pieces of fabric, hung across 



the window opening; they were often 



omitted entirely. They should never be 



too heavy. In fact, if they are thin 



enough to admit of seeing the archi- 

 tecture through them, it is better. 



Fig. 15 shows one method of building 



an architrave, when the curtain is to be 



considered as a permanent hanging. 



npi i / \ 11 r ^L ^* ' Fie. 15. One method of building the casing when the hangings 



The reveal (a) allows for the setting in are to be considere g d as permanent 



Of the CUltain rod (b) and the Shade . Reveal b. Curtain rod c. Shade roller 



rff 



