apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Unrelated to this post but related to this site: I am not impressed by the Stand For Marriage ads appearing on the home page. :(

It is rather funny (not funny ha-ha), an interior design blog would have these specific hateful and misleading ads.

As an Art Director in MAINE for an INTERIOR DESIGN magazine, this is an issue that directly affects myself and many of my friends and neighbors in a deep way.

Stand for marriage AND equality, not discrimination.
:(

I used to sell windows and doors and one of the things I never understood is why people would buy divided lite windows.

Yes, they are pretty from the exterior (even on some of the most boring tract homes) but from the inside they break up the view. Many of the homes I sold windows to had gorgeous views of the mountains or the desert scenery in Colorado's Western Slope and would try to discourage my homeowners from buying them. Even the more expensive true divided lites even though they would pad my commission.

Divided lites (or mullions) are very distracting and unattractive from the inside in my opinion. I guess that comes from a woman that grew up in the window biz and my childhood home took full advantage of the view we had of Pikes Peak.

They're great in a busy inner city location though where the view is less than perfect! I've always wanted doors with mullions but I didn't know what they were called til now. Thanks!

hmmm...Muntins :)

The previous owners have replaced all our windows with nice, big open ones that let in a lot of light. :) We do have 2 stained glass ones though on the side of the house- which is great, because if it was a big, open window there- we'd be looking at the neighbor's brick wall... Like TaniaTingel, I think they're great to cover up a not-s-pretty view!

Most windows look blank from the outside without any muntins (not mullions, those are the dividers between two different windows)- like eyes without pupils or something like that. There are a few exceptions to that though. I've also never understood the argument that it blocks the view. Most of us don't have a "view" to begin with and also how can something that's only 3/4" wide really block anything? I think they add texture and detail to both the outside and the inside of a house.

elissa is totally right. Muntinless windows are are ugly. The window has to be divided; otherwise it becomes a void in the wall. (I'm talking here about classical, traditional windows.)

I live on the lower East Side of New York; all the buildings here were built with muntined windows (c. 1890); now the replacement windows wreck the facades of these buildings.

Sigh.