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Window serves not only for letting in the day light, providing fresh air and psychological bound with the outer world. Window is also an important part of the interior. A room without a window reminds of an antique sculpture of a man without pupils. From all the parts of the room (walls, floor, ceiling and doors) window has the greatest number of functions.
Giving light is the main function, and its effectiveness depends on the size of the window, design and its placement in the room. It is all clear when we talk about the width and height of the window which influence the quality of illumination: the greater the proportions are the more light is let in by the window. But it is not always useful to apply the principle "the bigger the better" to the window because in this case it is important to remember about the heat losses and bad acoustic isolation. It is thought that the square of the window should be 1/6 or 1/8 from the square of the floor in the room. The distance from the window to the opposite wall is also important for even illumination. If the room has a rectangular shape then the window (if it is the only one in the room) should be in one of the short walls. The placement of the window in the wall also plays an important part in illumination: dissymmetric placement of the window towards the vertical axis of the outer wall makes one of the walls better lit than the others; that should be taken into consideration while planning the interior. A window, which is placed closer to the floor than to the ceiling, lights the floor better, it means that visually it makes the room look vertically smaller at day time. If the window is placed too high above the floor (0,80 - 1 meter between the floor and the windowsill is considered normal) then the space under the window is not lit. A high but narrow window gives shades in the corners of the appertaining walls. Too wide apertures of window, which leave little space in the outer wall, make it difficult to put furniture close to the window. The ability of the window to let in the light is influenced by crossbars, which can block about 20% of light. The advices given below will help you to avoid mistakes in the interior, which can be caused by peculiarities in sizes and placement of a window:
1. If the window is dissymmetric towards the vertical axis of the wall where it is placed, then: while putting units, wardrobes and other massive furniture near the wall with a window, one should chose the wall which is father from the window; it will help to even the dissymmetric placement of the window and the irregularity of light in the room: it is preferable to put carpets, pictures and other decor elements on a lighter wall, that is on the one situated closer to the window 2. In case the window is situated low on the floor level (lower than 80 cm) and far from the ceiling (more than 50 cm), then: it is not recommended to have any furniture near the wall where the window is; materials of dark and matt shades should be used for flooring; furniture in such a room should not be too high.3. In case the window is situated high on the floor level (higher than 1 meter), then: materials of light shades should be used for flooring, high and massive furniture should be better put near the cross wall.General rules. Do not put close to the window polished furniture and furniture with many glass elements - specks from the glass will skew the exterior of the furniture and tire your eyesight. Do not put high furniture (wardrobes with shelves) close to the window in small rooms, no matter how it is situated - it visually draws nearer the window.Design features of windows are seen functionally in thermal and sound isolation of the building. The main element here is first of all the design of the window. Window itself consists of the case, fixed in the aperture of window, and the frame (frames) which is flexibly fixed to the case. Frame (also crossbars) is the resist holder for window glass and together they are called window sash. Extra rungs and stands are put into the frame in the windows of old type to lessen the square of the glass in them. Window sash can be pivoted, vertically pivoted and sliding, it can also have, usually in the upper part, a ventlight with a additional opening sash - small window. Variants of a window sash: pivoted sash,vertically pivoted sash,sliding sash.According to the quantity of frames put in different levels there are windows with single, double and duplex frames. Single frames usually have single or double (rarely triple) glazing. Window glasses are isolated from each other with air or vacuum layer in the last type of single frames. These frames are called insulating glass units. Windows with double frames represent a construction with two parallel frames which open separately. These windows are typical for apartment blocks of mass building. Duplex frames are two frames put into one whole frame which are joined with bolts. Duplex frame opens as one leaf. Single frames are practically not used in apartment blocks in moderate climatic zones, as it is not able to prevent the building from the temperatures and noises of the environment. In this case vacuum insulating glass units are the most effective. They are convenient in service (only the outer surface of the glass is washed), they need little space in the aperture of window, they do not freeze and steam in winter, but they are much more expensive than double or duplex frames. Another big disadvantage of insulating glass units is that if one of the glasses is damaged the whole unit has to be replaced. Duplex frames have nearly the same functional features, but only on condition that they are fitted to each other properly. Otherwise, it will be necessary to clean them often from the inside taking the construction into peaces beforehand; undoubtedly no one will enjoy it. There are several main things in the exploitation of duplex frames. The inside surface of the window and frame must be washed only in warn and dry weather, and it must be dried properly: it will prevent humidity from getting between the glasses and as a result the window will not have condensation or freeze in cold weather. Some substances which absorb water (adsorbents) should be put between glasses to prevent condensation of humidity; it can be absorbent carbon, sugar, salt wrapped in one or two sheets of gauze. Windows with double frames represent the simplest construction for glazing the aperture of window. Suppose, most house owners are familiar with them, and there is no point in speaking about the peculiarities of their exploitation. Their main disadvantage is that air can circulate between the frames, and especially it concerns those frames which have small windows. As a result in winter there appears condensation from the inside of the window, and hard frost causes hoar on windows, we call this phenomenon freeze-thaw action. There is only one possible way to avoid it - proper sealing of the joints between frames and the window case. Only one recommendation can be given if we speak about freeze-thaw action in frames which have small windows, which let the outside and inside air circulate between glasses: it is necessary to close the inside leaf of the small window tightly after airing the room. Speaking about airing the room. Single vertically pivoted frames are the most suitable ones for it, and they should be fixed with hinges which should be on the lateral axis of the frame (as a result on the same side of the window case). If the frame of such type is open then cold incoming and warm out coming air streams "do not push each other" in one aperture, but they circulate in different directions: the first ones - through the lower rend, the second - thought the upper one. Wood used to be a traditional material for window cases and frames, but now it is driven out by plastic and metal. There is NO doubt that wood is not so durable and elegant as artificial materials and metal, but it is "warmer" and does not shrink or swell out because of different temperatures; it is an important feature if we talk about cold winters in temperate-continental and continental climate. Unfortunately because of the ability to absorb water it can swell, so wooden frames (especially the outside ones) which are influenced by the weather should be taken special care of, and that is coloring them occasionally. Wooden frames are made mainly from pine, sometimes from spruce or larch. Aluminum windows are the best of metal windows. Aluminum windows will serve almost forever, they look grand from the outside, but from the inside they are a little bit cold in the literal sense of the word and figuratively. With time, aluminum windows fade because of the air and rainfall effect, and that is why they should be cleaned and treated with special antioxidants. The best variant to combine durability, elegance and warmth is to use windows made from aluminum and wood. From the first sight it seems that plastic windows do not have all minuses of wooden and metal windows. But everything depends on the quality of polymer materials and fillers used to produce the window. Not all plastic used for windows is able to protect properly from low outside temperatures and isolate the room from cold air, and that is why they can not fully replace wooden windows. But we have to admit that the easy way of exploitation, elegant forms and pure color of plastic windows cannot but buy our hearts. Only a rather high price of plastic windows keeps them from being widely used, but it can be said for sure that they have a great future ahead. | 
