Bay and Bow Windows

A bow window is an arc-shape window structure with at least 4 windows that are usually fixed, or casement windows. They have all of the benefits of bay windows – more space, lots of use possibilities, great lighting, better view, and increased home value.

The basic difference between bay windows & bow windows are how many sections each style of window has. Another difference is that bay windows consist of a picture window at the center with two different windows on both sides. A bow window uses the same style of window in each section, and the whole structure is rounded. You’ll see that bay windows have hard angled sections.

Wall size is an important consideration. Bay windows typically work best on large walls with at least 6.5 feet of space to spare. While it might be possible to order bay windows for smaller openings, packing so many individual windows into one tight area can look busy. These smaller walls would look more natural with a bay window. For very large window openings, bay windows can look out of place. For the window to avoid jutting out too far into the yard, the center pane would have to be very large. In these cases, a bow window’s gentle curve makes the most sense.

Bay and Bow windows can be expensive to install, take up room in the area outside of the window, be difficult to find treatments for, and can be too small for anything useful except pots and plants. You will need some space and budget to utilize a bay or bow window.
However, both bay and bow windows increase square footage, add value to your house, increase natural light quite a bit, add ventilation, and can add various uses like a daybed, read nook, shelving, a cat’s watching spot, and more.

Bow and bay windows are a good idea when you want to increase space, improve your view, improve your natural lighting, add to the look of the house, or create a space to be used for a specific reason – seating, accent a room, storage. Bow windows are a better idea than bay windows when you want more light, to make the room look larger than a bay window could, and have varying window pane sizes.

However, where budget is a concern, bay windows win head-to-head in every aspect. Bay windows are not only less expensive to purchase, but they typically also require less time to install, meaning the overall cost is lower than bow windows.

Bay and bow windows are very secure because they don’t open. The sections that do open are casements, which are also secure. In this regard, casement windows can be considerably harder to break into because of three key features:

1. The frame on a casement window is tightly sealed when it’s closed and latched.
2. Casement windows can only be opened from inside.
3. A casement window cannot be forced open from the outside, even with the help of a crowbar.