Windows: original details

Bungalows typically had timber casement windows, often with leadlighting. A bay or bow window faced the street.

Window units

Some bungalows used the double-hung sash window style that was typical of villas, but these were not common. For most bungalows, window units consisted of side-opening casements with small, top-hinged windows above.

These units were configured in many different ways – from a single unit (typically for a bathroom) to two side-by-side to as many as a dozen arranged together in a bay or bow window or some other arrangement.

Often, the small, hinged ‘toplights'were decorated with coloured glass or leadlighting.

Casement windows were less draughty, rattled less in the wind, are were less prone to jamming than sash windows and the top-hung windows provided showerproof ventilation. 

Service area windows

Bathrooms typically had a single unit comprising a small top-hinged window and side-opening casement. Laundries and other service rooms typically had a single casement without a top-hinged window.

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Window sizes

Window sizes were not standardised, although proportions tended to be similar. A 2:1-3:1 proportion was common, based on a 2’ wide sash.

Typical sash sizes  for small top-hinged/casement windows were:

  • casements: 2’10”–4’2” high x 1’8”–1”10” wide (870–1270 high x 510–560 mm wide)
  • top-hinged windows: 1’2”–1’7” high x 1’8”–1”10” wide (350–480 high x 510–560 mm wide).

Feature windowsvaried widely in size and shape. 

Windows were typically finished on the exterior with 4–6” x 1” (100–150 x 25 mm) facing boards.

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Hardware

Window and door hardware including hinges, door knobs, casement stays, and fanlight or quadrant stays were generally brass or bronze-finish (‘antique copper’). In some architects’ designs, wooden handles or latches were used.

Dormer windows

Dormer windows were sometimes incorporated into bungalow roofs. See roof form for more.

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Leadlighting

The small, top-hinged windows were often glazed with coloured and/or patterned leadlight glass. The casement glass was usually clear.

Common leadlight patterns included:

  • art nouveau – stylised floral designs
  • art deco – chevrons, zigzags, stripes and circles.

Alternatively, both top windows and casements were sometimes filled with timber glazing bars in a rectangular gridded pattern, or a leaded diamond or rectangular grid or lattice. 

Another alternative in fanlights was the use of arctic glass – the ‘poor man’s glass’. This was opaque, patterned glass, often mirrored in the fibrous plaster ceiling panels.

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Feature windows

Most bungalows have a miniature feature window at the front or on a side wall. These miniature windows were often very elaborate and typically had leadlight glazing to match the other window leadlighting. They sometimes held ‘art glass’. 

These windows  are found in a wide range of shapes, including square, rectangle, diamond, oval, half round and full round.

Sometimes, these feature windows protruded, for example in a small bow or a triangular shaped projection (see figures 7-10).