Ways to make small windows look bigger without replacing them?

[AlicethroughtheSpookingGlass]

We’ve recently moved into a new flat and I have become a bit fixated on the short windows in the kitchen making it feel dark and small. We are having our kitchen replaced in a few weeks so the tiles/worktop will not look this horrible for that much longer - we’re going for an oak worktop and (clean) white walls so hopefully that will make it feel a lot brighter - but is there any way to make the windows look bigger than they are? At the moment I’m contemplating whether we could replace the existing windows with bigger windows (probably in a few years time) but is it a horrifically expensive or complicated job?

i would make more of a feature out of them. Put sheer blinds over the top half so you're not looking a roof tiles

at not a

We once stayed an Air B n B that had strips of mirror on the sides of each window (in red in the pic). It wasn’t obviously noticeable that it was mirror, but the view was wider IYSWIM.

Thanks for the suggestions, @MazDazzle that’s intriguing! Did it look nice? I have visions of it looking a bit tacky but I think I’m basing that on that weird reflective paper you put behind radiators.

Ideally I want them to feel longer rather than wider (although tbh, I’d settle for anything now.) I was thinking I’ll paint the sills white to try and help and was considering having a mirror on the wall opposite the windows.

I don't think making windows bigger is too big of a job, depending on what's surrounding them. One big window would look lovely! But may cost more than you're willing to spend - depends how long you are going to be there.

I like the mirror idea as long as it's done well (possibly risks looking tacky) and the semi-transparent blind/pelmet would look good.

If it's a flat you'd need freeholder consent to change the size of the windows. Unlikely to be given since they'll want to keep the visual continuity in the building.

I really don’t think it’s the Windows is it a north facing kitchen, does it just not get much natural sunlight? Windows are really expensive you won’t recoup the money on reselling the flat. I would put in lots of new lighting with their new kitchen.

The problem with UPVC is that lots of your useable window space gets eaten up with chunky plastic frames.

You could replace both windows with eg low-profile aluminium without a central window bar (would have to be tilt and push I guess) to get more actual window space. My guess would be about £400 per window.

If you were looking at actually making the window Apertures bigger then that's a bigger more involved job and would prob need a steel and permissions etc. Is the view worth it?!

Or with some clever interior design you could definitely draw focus away from the windows as they are. I'd explore that option first.

We have a share of the freehold so I assume we’d just have to negotiate with our downstairs neighbours? The other windows in the flat are all longer length - there’s one to the right of these two in the utility space off the kitchen that comes the full length down, it’s just these two that at one point have been replaced with shorter ones.

@redpandaalert it’s actually west facing so gets lovely sun in the evening! Mainly via the normal length window in the utility space to the side.

Here’s a photo of the mirrored window.

There were two windows along the front of the apartment and both has mirrored ‘sides’. As you can see from the pic they fit exactly, so I’m assuming they were cut and fit by a professional.

They blend in so well that we didn’t immediately realise they were mirrors.

*had

@MazDazzle oh wow! They look amazing. I guess mine would be reflecting something slightly less exciting than that gorgeous sea view, but that’s such a clever idea.

Easy just fit roman blinds on the outside and high up to the ceiling, I'll try find a photo.

I think that mirror idea is genius!

Obviously these are half down but you get the idea.

www.hillarys.ie/blinds-range/roman-blinds/

personally I would not put any window dressing that covers the window, sheer or otherwise, it will make the room darker

I don't know if this works in reality, but from reading too many interiors magazines in my time....

Hang a roman blind but from too high up - so that the top of the blind is up near the ceiling. Only just cover the top inch or so of the window with the blind.

The idea is that your brain will be tricked into thinking the window is much taller than it actually is. Not sure this equates to thinking it's lighter in there, but you could give it a go!

I think part of the problem is that the view is onto a dark roof on the house opposite, and I don't think you'll ever be able to do anything about that :-(

I would have chosen a lighter worktop that would reflect more light into the room. The wood will absorb rather than reflect I think.

We have a largeish window with splayed returns at the front of our kitchen with views over a wooded area. We're getting mirrored panels (perspex/acrylic) fitted either side of the window in the splayed returns to maximise the view/light.

I'd thought it was an original idea, lol, as I hadn't seen it employed elsewhere when I suggested it to DH a few months ago 😃

With a bit of smoke and mirrors you could do quite a lot without having to replace the windows. I would take @MazDazzle's idea and run with it! I visited a gorgeously decorated restaurant that had mirrors on three of the four surfaces inside the window recess (all but the windowsill surface). They'd been cut to size and looked fabulous. If you fancy a bit more of a DIY project you could also replace the wooden architrave around the window with something much wider, which will trick the eye that the whole window is bigger- it sounds counterintuitive, but I've seen it used to amazing effect and I'm quite tempted to do it in my own home! If you search something like 'replace window trim before and after pictures' on Pinterest you'll find some images that will give you an idea.

I'd also paint your windowsill white, rather than leave it the wood colour it is at the moment, and I think the chequerboard black and white tiles are visually drawing horizontal lines across the wall, which is making the windows look smaller than they need to. As you particularly want the windows to look taller I'd hang roman blinds high enough above the windows that when they're in the up position they are completely clear of the window; you just want them to just 'kiss' the top of the window pane to give the illusion that there's more window behind that's been obscured by the blind.
Finally, its an oldie but a goodie, but fit a blind with a vertical stripe. It can be quite subtle, but it has the same effect as that old advice to wear vertical stripes to look slimmer and taller, it draws the eye upwards and gives the illusion of height.

I’d change the rest of the decor and see how you feel (mirrors, pale surfaces etc) but I agree with the poster upthread that those UPVC windows have such thick frames and the bar across the middle is so thick that they are doing nothing for the space. A nice wooden sash replacement (or maybe even a UPVC sash) would definitely help.

I did the Roman blind trick and it really works - looks like a full size window

The black and white tiles are making the windows look shorter as are the dark window ledges. I'd go for white window ledges and silver under the windows. Weirdly,silver gives the effect of being air. Lighter work top - or at least a decluttered one with white or mirrored work top savers would help too. Lighting can make a huge difference, The most extreme I've seen was really strong fluorescent tubes concealed behind a wooden pelmet above the windows. It did give the effect of daylight pouring through the window. You'd never have guessed it was artificial . Finally, try and have something to act as a focal point drawing the eye and taking the focus off the windows. From the picture,it seems that extending the windows might just be an expensive disappointment.

PS if you can paint the exterior part of the window frame that is visible from inside silver,that will help.

Replace bulky white frame with thin (timber or aluminium) frame. And reconsider if the wooden counters would take in light instead of reflecting light. I'd go for something light&bright