apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Oh no, definitely need screens.

i would vote for screens because here in texas there are all sorts of bugs that can hurt you, BUT when i was studying in London no window had a screen, they were all wide open and i LOVED it. it seemed to connect us to the outside world more.

for the last 4 years i lived a few stories up and didn't have another building facing me so i always left my blinds open. the windows also didn't have screens so i'd get the occassional bug and debris inside, which just meant i have to clean more. it was great because i could lean out the window and yell at my friends on the street.

i just moved to california and there are screens on the windows. i live on the top floor, but my living room/balcony faces other people so i don't leave it open when i'm not home or when i want privacy. my bedroom faces the ocean so i leave them open all the time. it's still weird not having my blinds/windows open 24/7.

Cheers,
Matt

Screens are so ugly, block the view, and make me feel shut in. I could never have imagined going without them when I was growing up in Minnesota, but when I moved to San Francisco, it was like a whole new bug-less world.

as much as I would love to not have screens on my window, I love my cats too much to take them off. I'd like to keep my cats, thanks!

This might be a good question to ask an exterminator, but I have been told that without a floodlight or some extremely bright light, there are many bugs that won't fly higher than a few stories. I had an acquaintance with a 7th storey condo on Galveston beach and they never had problems with flies or mosquitoes that high up. For bugs that crawl, I'm sure height is not a problem

amiencc, if you have double sash windows, you can open the top sash alone a bit (which will let hot air escape) to enjoy screenless breezes and protect your kitties at the same time.

I've never not had screens and I'm from the south where you pretty much have to. Would sure be nice to live in California and not worry about it! :)
Tabitha @ http://www.fromsingletomarried.com

Here in the northwest screens are nice at night to keep out the mosquitoes, but during the day I'll leave a patio door open without any problems. On the windows they seem to be pretty standard in all the apartments I've lived in, although there are a few holes in my current screens and neither I nor my landlord see getting them fixed as particularly urgent. Still, that should probably go on my repair list for the cure.

Paint your screens black and you're less likely to notice them when you look out (compared to when they're another color, like gray).

I hated screens growing up...

...and now I live on the 15th floor on top of a hill - so no need to close the curtains and very few bugs fly in. As far as dust, it seeps through the closed windows and building vents anyway - so I might as well enjoy the breezes and vacuum up the dust later!

When I lived in Boston, (if I remember correctly) our 5th floor apartment (in an 1898 building) didn't have screens. It was quite nice, one roommate could sit in his window and smoke, the other could climb out on the wrought iron fire escape and play her guitar. We never had much of a bug problem... except for those damn earwigs. I think there was only one or two.. but still. Gross!

As for CA, every apartment I've lived in out here has screens on the windows.

I vote for no screens wherever possible. For security reasons most of my windows have them but my favourite window is the one with none, where the cats can sit on the ledge in the sun & I can feel the rain sweep in during storms.

Living in Europe part time for the past 7 years, we have definitely gotten used to not having screens. At first we thought it was crazy. We would wake up with mosquito bites everywhere! But they have a few different options here, the best of which is this thing you plug into the wall with either a liquid (like those bath and body air fresheners, just scent-less) or a tablet, and that keeps the bugs away. I have mine plugged in now actually. I really like not having screens now, it's beautiful. Especially beautiful in a place like Venice... push open the shutters, just like in the movies. Sigh

Ugh, I hate screens. Hate, hate, hate. I find them ugly, claustrophobic, and fiddly to manipulate. I am lucky to live in a place (Pacific Northwest) where they're not really necessary.

Screens? I don't think I've ever had them. I've lived in contemporary buildings with windows that "tilted" open, an eighteenth-century house with 6-over-6 windows, and now a converted industrial loft without screens. Fortunately, I love the look of mosquito netting.

i don't have them in portland, oregon, but i need one for the window by the fire escape because squirrels come in and eat things. i'm afraid of squirrels. then my drunk neighbor broke my screen thinking he was breaking into his own apartment. i made him replace it. it was a long, drawn-out process. eeek!

Where I live in the South, opening a window without screens pretty much guarantees a confrontation with undesirable creatures...

In Europe, no one (except us) has screens... our house has been rented by North American expats for over 30 years, so someone at some point installed screens (probably imported them from home). It's hilarious, because there ARE NO BUGS HERE. They are only useful in that they stop our cats from roaming freely and they might break our toddler's fall, should he ever try to stand up in the window.

i would love to be without screens but:
my kitties at some point would probably mistakenly jump out at something.
the abundant yellowjackets outside would come in, not to mention the other flyers.

a lot of toddlers have fallen out of screenless windows here in the states, for what ever reason.