Sep 03, 2012: Windows!

Our new windows are in, which is very exciting - now we can see when we're inside (with the windows boarded and no lights hooked up it was very dark, except when the contractors were at work and took out the boarding)!

We enlarged the living room window so that it was better suited to the large room - it was previously  the same size as the front bedroom window (a perfectly fine size for the smaller room, but it looked a bit lost in the living room). It also helps balance out the oddly asymmetrical arrangement of the front door, which was just off-center - now the big window makes the design look deliberately asymmetrical. And the best thing of all is the greatly improved energy efficiency - they are pultruded fiberglass frames from InLine Fiberglass, which will be tightly sealed and comfy to sit near in the winter. And in the summer we'll be able to leave the small windows at top open for natural ventilation, without having to worry about rain/intruders getting in.

I've also been toying around with Photoshop mock-ups for how to change the door surround and paint colours to work with the natural pale pink brick and red roof (although when the asphalt shingles hit the end of their lifespan we'll pick a new colour that is easier to work with). I'm trying for something a little more Craftsman/Japanese than the pseudo-Colonial look we've got at the moment. Although I'd like a bright red door it's hard to work that out with the pink brick and red roof, so I'm thinking of softer colours, without any bright white...

Here's another option - eavestroughs/soffit same colour as window & cedar shakes at the gable end (as of Sep 27 these items are actually in the works for real), teal door...

or darker green door...

or more of a slate blue door...