Skip to Content

18 Houses With Bay Windows  

Posted on

Categories Houses

Exploring bay windows? Check out our list of 18 architectural house styles with bay windows to help you make a more informed decision.

Cream two-story house with brown trim, lots of windows, 3 chimneys. green grass and trees all around, small bushed in front of house

As a general rule, bay windows are multipanel windows that extend beyond the building’s outside wall. The outward protrusion is stabilized by a sill height wall, interior recess, or a bay. Bay windows have angles of 90,135 or 150 degrees and are square, polygonal or rectangular.

If you have been to a church, mosque, museum, or an ancient building, chances are that you’ve come across the beautiful large bay windows. That’s because they were initially used by serious stone cathedrals of the Gothic era and are still used today due to their elegance, practicality, and aesthetic benefits.

The intended function of a bay window is to create extra space, ventilation, and natural light for your living space. If you’re looking for a house with bay windows, it’s essential to understand the types of bay windows available and choose what fits your style. It also helps you know the benefits of each type, common issues and the style of house associated with them.

In this article, we explore a list of houses with bay windows to help you narrow down your preferences and find your perfect home. We will also include pictures of homes with bay windows.

Table of Contents show

Houses with Different Types of Bay Windows

Are bay windows outdated? Definitely not. Modern houses today feature different bay windows. Over the centuries, these varieties have gone through minor alterations to help fit modern house designs. That means there are many ways you can build your bay window, most of which involve three or more panes of glass cut into different shapes and sizes. It is these shapes that define the type of bay window in your home. Here are the main types of bay windows.

Rococo: Oriel Bay Windows

Red building, close up of oriel bay window, old paintings on building

An oriel bay window increases the size of your living space cost-effectively as it allows optimum use of a restricted site. It is an ancient type of bay window that was mainly used in the Rococo house styles. The protrusion is typically designed to project from the upper floor of a storey house supported on corbels and brackets. This classic type of bay window is often placed over the entrance to a building, just where the porch is supposed to be. You can also use the oriel bay window to bring natural light and ventilation to the upper, narrow, and gloomy corridors.

Apartments: Box Bay Windows

Yellow and cream apartment building with bay windows, blue sky

A box bay window features a 90-degree angle to form a box-like shape. It includes one large window in the center with smaller windows on either side. From the exterior view, a box bay window appears rectangular with a flat front, flat sides, and a small roof. It is a common style primarily found in apartments and condos. If you already have a few sleek bay window ideas, a home with a box bay window may be the right option for you.

Semi-Detached: Bow Bay Windows

Blue sky, spring trees, green bushes, white and red brick house with bay windows and red front door

The bow window is a gently curved, semi-circular window that sticks out from the house wall designed to create space and increase natural lighting. Bow windows can be found in semi-detached family houses and several ancient buildings like the Greek Revival. They became popular in the 18th century when England began building country estates. To create a bow bay window, you need four or more glass panes.

Country House: Circle Bay Windows

Two-story country home made of stone, 3 car garage, green grass, lots of tall trees and green bushes, blue sky

A circle bay window is a more nuanced version of the bow bay window that joins three or more windows to form a smoother circular area. They are common in country house styles to create space and increase natural light. A circular bay window in your country house can enclose the home corner, living room, or bedroom suite. You can also use this type of window to illuminate the stairs from the bottom all the way up to prevent accidents.

Architectural Home Styles with Bay Windows

For a home to qualify for a bay window, there needs to be structural stability in the building’s foundations. A strong foundation helps to support projecting windows and roofs. Here are a few examples of homes with bay windows.

Cape Cod

Small Cape Cod gray home with American Flag and red front door, black roof and shutters, brick front steps and chimney, green grass and blue sky

The cape cod house style was built to withstand the rough New England winter. The first house was built in the 1700s in Massachusetts. The style involves the creation of a single central door and adding several bay windows on the upper floor of the house.

French Eclectic

French eclectic style home with a clock at the top in the front, lots of windows, ornate style building, blue sky

The French Eclectic style is a combination of styles inspired by French architecture and brought back to America by World War I soldiers. The style features a complex structure with solid walls and oriel or bow windows on the upper floors.

Contemporary

Contemporary style house, tan-colored brick with brown trim, straight modern lines, lots of windows, green grass, small flowers planted out front, large green trees

Contemporary style houses are big non commercial houses often confused with modern house styles. Most contemporary house styles seek to modernize an existing home by refining walls and adding box bay windows.

Colonial

Gray with white trim Colonial-style house with bay windows and a wooden door, green grass and shrubs, cloudy blue sky

Colonial style is similar to cape cod style and features a simple rectangular structure with a central door. Architects, engineers and designers are continuously working to combine all colonial styles to meet multiple consumers’ personal needs and accommodation requests. That means your colonial house style can go with all bay window types.

Prairie

Prairie home with white columns, brown brick and black shutters, bay window and black roof, large green lawn all around, green bushes and trees

The prairie style is among the first architectural styles that originated from America. Prairie homes can feature a variety of box or oriel windows on the ground and upper floors.

Cottage

Storybook style cottage, steep roofline and bay window up front, large green trees grown all around, green grass with little white flowers throughout, blue sky with large fluffy white clouds

Cottages are cozy and charming little square or rectangular houses. They typically feature fewer rooms than a typical house. They can have two or three bedrooms with a bay window on either side.

Townhouse

All brick building of individual townhouses, each one having its own colored bay window, green trees and shrubs

A townhouse is a space-saving type of property where families share a wall but have their own access points to the street and neighborhood. They’re common in big cities where real estate companies want to save space without sacrificing quality. Townhouses built with a circle, box, or oriel windows usually have them on the upper floors.

Greek Revival

Greek Revival style home, red brick with large white columns, white rocking chairs across large front porch long front walk lined with green shrubs on either side, green grass and large trees

Greek revival homes are easy to identify due to their large impressive columns that resemble the ones on Greek buildings. They’re also known to have oriel windows just above the porch or on different sides of the house.

Cabin

Small log cabin in the woods, 2 chimneys, bushes and large green trees all around, sunny day

Cabin houses are structures built far from the city, often in a forest or close to the woods, creating a calm, serene environment for resting. The most common cabins are traditional log cabins with limited space for sleeping, cooking, and sitting. However, with the development of modern house designs, clients can buy modern cabins with plenty of space and bay windows on the upper floors for better viewing.

Farm House

White farmhouse with black roof, 3 bay windows on upper level, detached garage, green grass, bare winter trees, fluffy white clouds in the sky, beautiful mountains behind home

A farmhouse is tall with exposed beams, a rectangular layout, and a large front porch. Some may have barn-shaped roofs. Depending on their complexity, farmhouses can have box windows protruding from the upper floors and exterior doors.

Mediterranean

Tan Mediterranean style home with red tile roof, white double front door and large white columns, green grass and small green shrubs and trees, blue sky, lake behind home

Mediterranean houses resemble Italian villas. They’re popular in the coastal regions in states like Florida and California. Most houses have circle windows that start from the ground all the way up.

Ranch

Single story ranch style home, a combination of red brick and white stone, green shutters, green grass, bare winter trees

Ranch houses first appeared in the 1930s. They’re simple one-story buildings with low-pitched roofs, large box windows, and large backyards. They can be surrounded by trees or a large farm.

Victorian

Victorian style townhouse building with bay windows and arched doorways, sitting right on the street, cloudy blue sky

Named after Queen Victoria, Victorian homes became popular from the early 1830s up to the 1900s. They can appear old-fashioned, but if you look closely, they’re massive, unique two or three-story buildings with personalized designs. Victorian homes feature large oriel, box, or bow windows from the bottom to the top floors.

Tudor

Tudor style building, bottom half made of cinder blocks and top half red brick and black trim, bay windows, red front doors and 3 chimneys, blue sky with white fluffy clouds

The Tudor home style was brought to America by London-trained architects in the 1800s and has remained popular ever since. Tudor houses usually have a large bow window or circular window on the first floor of the building just above the entry porch.