My framer told me my window spacing was "wasting good light" and it changed my whole floor plan

We were doing the initial layout for a cottage outside Asheville and I had the windows all evenly spaced like a normal house. The old timer I hired just shook his head and said I was treating sunlight like it was a commodity to spread around. He moved all of them to the south facing wall and clustered three big ones in the living area. Now the place feels twice as big and I barely need lights during the day. Has anyone else had a builder push back on something that seemed basic but turned out to be genius?

2 comments

2 Comments

caleb_ross124d ago

Wait but don't you ever want to use that north facing light for something? I mean if you cram all your windows on one wall you're basically making the rest of your house a dark cave. The whole point of good design is letting natural light move through a space not just dumping it all in one spot. Maybe it's just me but I'd rather have soft consistent light throughout the day than one blazing hot room where you can't even sit near the window in summer. Your framer might have been thinking about energy bills but he wasn't thinking about how you actually live in a house all year round. I'd push back on that cluster idea unless you really want to chase the sun around your cottage like a cat.

patriciareed1d ago

There was this article I came across about traditional Japanese houses that use something called "borrowed scenery" where they frame specific views rather than just blasting light everywhere. That cluster idea actually works beautifully for that approach, it turns windows into art pieces instead of just holes in the wall. Soft north light is pretty great for details though, especially if you do any painting or craft work where harsh shadows mess things up.

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