W....is for

Following on again with Toni's A-Z, "a...is for" meme, this week's letter is W.

W....is for...windows.

Windows are an important part of your home or office, they give you something to look out of when the view inside becomes boring, you can glance outside to check the weather, they can be opened to let in fresh air.
And they come in all shapes and sizes, ship's portholes are windows too.

In centuries past windows were small and screens to prevent insect entry were non-existent.

Shutters were very common, opened during the day to let in light, closed at night and during violent weather. I think they are a good idea and should be on all homes where the windows are small enough to accommodate them. Like mine.

I searched the internet for some time looking for photos of even earlier windows that were often just a shutter held in place by a plank of wood when closed, from the days before glass was readily available to the masses. I couldn't find any. I saw such windows in an episode of the TV mini-series Against The Wind, when freed convict Jonathan Garret built his first cottage on his land.

Many windows in the past were made from leaded glass and had a crystalline quality. When light entered through this glass the refractions caused rainbow reflections to appear on the interior walls of the room. Small panes of glass were used and held together with strips of lead in the days before lead poisoning was known about. Now, leadlight windows are still popular and the panes held together with wood or aluminium strips.

Another favoured window treatment was (and still is) stained glass. Here we see stained glass surrounding and as an insert for a front door. There are many varieties of stained glass available, some predesigned and readily available, some specially made to order.
Here are a few>>>

Churches and Cathedrals use stained glass windows too, something to look at when the sermon goes on a little too long perhaps?
Tiffany lamps are another great example of stained glass use. 

The mid twentieth century saw the introduction of plate glass and soon large picture windows were all the rage, some of them just very large within the wall, others, like the one above, being the whole wall.

Louvered windows with slats of glass that could be opened and closed via a lever, were popular, but I don't recall seeing any this size. Most often I saw them in laundries or outdoor toilets. 

Interior doors sometimes had panes of glass in them, particularly living room doors in federation styles homes. Often they were made of "frosted" glass which was also a popular choice for bathroom windows.

A window box adds extra space for growing small pot plants as well as letting light into a room.

 art deco leadlight

and two more examples of window walls.

Personally, I wouldn't want to be responsible for keeping that amount of glass sparkling clean on a daily or weekly basis. 
And I think the heating and cooling bills would be enormous unless the glass is double or triple glazed.
W....is for windows.