Garden Window (countertops, windows, sink, installation)

[aween]

Has anyone ever had or installed a garden window in their kitchen above the sink?
How long did it take?
Cost of installation?
Any comments?

[windflower]

I have one (installed in 2003 when I re-did this house). I would not have one again. The problems aren't major but they can be annoying:

1. Because the window extends out past the house's eaves and gutters, it can get quite battered by rain, and snow can sit on the top of the garden window. I have had problems with leaks in the top outer corners.

2. Although the window comes with shelves, I never used them because if you have things on the shelves... you can't see out the window very well! Because I do have a view of the garden and don't want to lose that, I don't use the shelves.

3. If your sink/counter bumps out (toward you), you won't be able to reach the outer part of the garden window without either climbing on the kitchen counter next to the window, or standing on a step-stool so that you can reach out into the window. If your countertop doesn't bump out at the sink, it may not be as bad but you'll still need to climb on the countertops to reach the fixed glass to clean it, and possibly to reach plants closest to the glass for watering too, unless you use a very long-handled watering can.

4. The 'sill' of the window (where your plants sit) gets very cold in winter. I had the kitchen countertop people make a separate piece of Corian to fit into the window so that the wood won't get wet or need scrubbing, but it still gets cold in winter. When I start seedling trays and grow them on, I have to put a seedling heat-mat in the window underneath the trays to keep them warm enough.

5. If your garden window doesn't have side casements (is just a fixed window on all three sides) your plants will broil in a west or south exposure.

5a. If the window DOES have side casements, plants can be knocked over by the wind coming through them UNLESS the side windows are hinged on the outside (away from the house). Side windows with hinges on the 'house' side can funnel too much wind into the garden window.

p.s. - I just realized you are in CA, so the snow/cold factors won't apply to you (lucky girl!) but I left them in just in case anyone from a colder climate is interested in the answers.

[Taboo]

Right on Windflower... I have never had one of those windows but thought of all the things you wrote about. Sounds like more trouble then it is worth. Plus, in my opinion, they just look tacky !!!

[aween]

Thank you so much Windflower
I have always loved the garden windows. Mine will have the northern exposure, so I think it will be great!! I have decided to stay in sunny Calif and do some fun updating on my house. Next will be a white picket fence.
I'm such a girl!!LOL!
Thanks again for all of the info.

[Cattknap]

They are very dated looking and actually reduce the value of a home.

[windflower]

Originally Posted by Cattknap

They are very dated looking and actually reduce the value of a home.

I think that may depend on the size of the window. I agree that the small ones (30" or less) can look like add-ons. Mine was installed when I replaced all of the windows in the house and is made by the same manufacturer (CertainTeed) and so it matches all the others. It is also 57" wide and 21" deep, thus it doesn't look skimpy; it looks more like a bay window with 90-degree-angle sides, than a garden window. Other than the glass top, of course.

[aween]

My window is rather large for a kitchen window, so maybe something like a small bay window might look better.

[maggiekate]

Originally Posted by Taboo

Right on Windflower... I have never had one of those windows but thought of all the things you wrote about. Sounds like more trouble then it is worth. Plus, in my opinion, they just look tacky !!!

i have one here in florida came with the home. anyway i have no view. i also do not put plants on the so called shelf.

[jhlcomp]

Yes, we installed one in our former home. Actually we installed a garden window that was a little oversized but I loved it. It was a two person job. The one and only problem we had was leaking but that got fixed right away.

[LDDiamondGirl]

I think most garden windows look cheap and tacky. I think they are as bad as those greenhouse add-on rooms that have those brown metal vertical stripes in between the glass and make your house look like an old Arby's from the seventies.

So when I went to remodel my beautiful Cape Cod home in Ohio, I called Renaissance Conservatories who install those gorgeous atrium rooms. I got the Creme de la Creme of Garden windows. I couldn't be happier. Real Copper planter outside, beautiful wood trim, and copper bottom interior trays for plants. The shelves were glass, so I could get plenty of light through, and see through the window and still put a small plant on them. The thing made my kitchen. And the exterior was so beautiful.....just like having a bay window. It enlarged the look of my small Galley Kitchen by 3 times.

Just like most other things, I'm glad I spent the money I did. It's a real Wow factor.

Check it out:

Garden Windows & Garden Bay Windows - Closer Look (http://www.renaissanceconservatories.com/photosCloserLook2.asp?iWindowGalleryID=89&iType=4 - broken link)