And bringing it in…
One of the challenges we faced in designing this house was its orientation with relation to the stream and the sun. The stream was of major importance because it really needed to be the central focus of the house. One problem though… in order to gain the best view of the stream we really needed to orient the windows in an easterly direction. But, of course, to bring as much sun as possible into the house, the windows need to be facing in a southerly direction. Thankfully, we were able to gain the benefit of both a stream view and some good light by adding windows in appropriate locations and by making windows large enough to gather reflected light from the outside and bring it in.
This collection of photos will give you an ever-so-small idea of how the outside light is being brought into our house. One of the beautiful things here is that, because the leaves are starting to come off the trees, there is now more light coming into the house. That’s what we’ll need in the winter time, when the sun will barely peek its head out over the top of Mount Beacon before it disappears again for the day. In the summer, when it’s bloody hot outside, we’ll still get plenty of light, but it will be buffered by the leaves on the trees.
The beautiful thing about this light is that it really warms the house. There’s a sense of coziness, even now without insulation, wallboard, or hardwood floors, that you know will only be enhanced when the house is finally complete.