Sunday, September 27, 2009

The soul of the house, with apologies to Will Shakespeare

If eyes are the windows into the soul, then can windows be the soul of the house? I think they are in the case of the Usonians. The entire focus of the Usonians is the thrust of the inhabitants to the world outside. Although the side that faces the street obscures the house from the common passers-by, and the entries are somewhat hidden from view, once one enters a Usonian or for that matter, most of Frank Lloyd Wright houses, the world outdoors is welcomed in through multitudes of well designed and well placed windows.

Windows are the most expensive part of any house, and this one is no exception. We have so many windows that, I think I have mentioned this before, we are using plywood as our framing material as well as 2x6s instead of 2x4s to ensure stability. We have clerestory windows, casement windows, windows that are also doors, sidelights on the door and windows that edge along the fireplace masonry. So, when our still nameless builder called to tell us that if we ordered them today, we'd get a 10% discount from Anderson, we jumped right on it.

The reason we went with Anderson is that they have a good rep, and they also have Frank Lloyd Wright art glass inserts. Later on, when the money all settles out, then we can see about purchasing the inserts for the front door etc.



This is right from the Anderson Windows website.



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