My window is 84" to resolve the faucet issue we bumped out the sink cabinet.

We have a very modest sill (3" coming in, added on a whim when the carpenter doing the moulding asked if I was really sure we didn't want to squish a sill in) and I love having it! I think 6" would be great. We keep tiny potted plants on ours so double the size would be no problem. Our window is 84" but two double-hungs rather than a center window. They are original to our house so I just restored them. Only issue we had was that I forgot to account for the overhang of the metal recessed handles so I had to sand down the sill slightly so they'd clear, but I call it old house character! If you're doing a new window, should be plenty of clearance. We have a wall-mount faucet so can't speak to clearance issues there.

Thank you for your input. The way our kitchen is laid out, if we bump the sink out we are afraid it would be in the way and we would bump into it. But I finally realized the other day that we already have a roof over the sink area so I am looking into having it built out 6 inches, hopefully it will look ok.

We have a 72" wide window. It has a larger stationary window in the center and a narrower sliding window on either side. Our sill is 3.75" deep. I really didn't want anything deep than that because I wanted the sill to be free on items and the window extends down almost to the counter top. And a sill much deeper would hit our faucet. The initial design plan specified 3 double hung windows but we really didn't want the mullions to obstruct our view.

Our kitchen window is 83" wide. We just had a meeting with GC this morning. He said only 5% percent of kitchens have large window. He suggested us to take advantage of this feature by changing orientation of our island, so that people sit by the island can look out and enjoy backyard view.

Our counter goes all the way to the window that leaves 5 inches counter space between sink and window frame. We want to keep the space free of anything.

Currently, the window is two big panels, we are thinking about to replace it with a three- panel (a large fixed panel in the center with two smaller side panels that can open) window to eliminate the center frame, or just use one big panel window. We want to feel clean and spacious and use outdoor view as the only decoration.

I'm not sure if this is relevant at all - we have a 140" window. We bumped out the sink in the redo, but the first picture is the kitchen before redo and there was no bumpout. The faucet was very close to the sill, but there was a sill and everything worked just fine.

I will say, though, for me - the sill is just a knick knack collector.

Previous kitchen:

I used a fixed center panel with two smaller panels on the sides that slide sideways to open on my 72" cleanup sink window. My sill is slightly more than 4".

My worries about the faucet clearance issues came true when my plumber told me there wasn't room to mount the facuet with the control lever on the side. He faced it forward with a little grousing from me, but this turned out to be a very happy accident! I really like the placement and purposely choose to have my prep sink facuet mounted the same way the next week when my island counter was finally ready. I rarely drip water on the counter behind the sink because I only have to reach the lever which faces over the sink. Plus, the ergonomics are better. A very deep (front to back) clean up sink means the faucet would have been a bit of a reach for me at 5'8" if the lever had been installed sideways. This all worked out great for me, AND I have a window sill!

Please excuse the highjack. 35ftcabo, we are installing new windows similar to what you have. How much space do you have glass to glass or do you know what specific size windows those are? We're debating about how much space to put between the windows. Seeing yours just make me that much more excited about starting!

Breezy girl, thank you so much for posting a picture of your window, that looks like what I envision except with mullions on the smaller windows. With your size sill, is it large enough for a small pot of herbs? Also what are the dimensions of the smaller side windows and the height of your window?

35ftcabo, your windows are to die for, simply stunning.

Aloha 2009:

Excuse the response to the hijack:

Our window are 37.5 wide by 38 tall. Each window opens independently and they are Andersons. There is about a foot between the actual windows, and about 5" in between the sills. Good luck to you with your reno.

Picture below:

35ftcabo. Thank you for all your measurements. We are planning three 48" wide x 40" high, mainly to fit in with the rest of the architecture of the home. I was going to put in Roman shades (faces west) in the upper area of 9' ceiling to give the window the effect of being taller while still getting shade when needed.

All this talk of a sill, made me ponder about having a ledge too in our new kitchen. Now that we are using more herbs perhaps it's a good time to start a few plants in a window. I think instead of the kitchen, I'll just use the 4' window in the utility room adjacent to the kitchen, which would work our wonderfully. Has the same amount of sun and water is readily available.

My sill is just over 4" deep. Keep in mind that my house was built in the early 70's when 4" thick exterior walls were the norm. Now code is 6" thick so if my house was newer, my walls would be thicker and result in a deeper sill. I've been wanting to try a little herb pot or two, but I haven't been able to find any pots to work with my new kitchen's style. My kitchen garden with herbs is an easy jaunt outside now with my new door in the kitchen so it's not tough to grab what I need most times of the year. My golden oregano didn't fair too well for winter harvest this year for some reason.

Maybe this pic will help with the sill visual, although the sill looks pretty skimpy here.

The finished window showing in the photo is 38" tall, but is actually slightly taller before the framing was done. I think the kitchen windows were 40". (I bought many windows in our whole house reno so my memory is being tested here.)

The side panels are each about 17.5" and the center panel is 35". IIRC, I ordered the window as 18/36/18, meaning the side panels were each 18" and the center was 36".

Keep looking for a way to get what you want. Depending on your faucet choice, keep in mind the idea of turning the faucet lever in the front like I did with my standard 24" deep base cabs. Not all faucets can be turned this way, and certainly not a bridge faucet if you're going for the "timeless" kitchen style with white farm sink and nickel bridge faucet. HTH!

Thanks Breezygirl, this helps a lot!

Breezygirl - I know this thread is many years old but your kitchen window is the exact one I'm searching for. Do you remember what company supplied that window??? This is the one I'm referring to:

"I used a fixed center panel with two smaller panels on the sides that slide sideways to open on my 72" cleanup sink window."

Our size is also 72"

^^ Man, I can only wish for a big window like that in the kitchen, how wonderful that would be.

No regrets designing our kitchen around a large window. So many houses in FL have "interior" kitchens with no windows and I hated how they felt. Our kitchen window is a triple window set-up that is 10' 10" W x 5' 8" tall. No upper cabinets on that wall and I tiled all around the window and to the ceiling.