We have 1 fake dormer window and 1 that acts as a skylight into our living room which has a 16" ceiling. The fake one actually is open to the attic rather than being planted, glad they did it that way though if they had planted it I'm not sure I would have had any comments about it except it would be too bad not to have it light up the attic space and wasting a perfectly good window :) .

We have two fake dormers on our house. We planted them directly on the wood that covered the roof trusses. However, before we put them on we made sure the black paper the roofers used was also placed under the dormers so it would appear black inside. On top of that, when we had our windows made, we had them put privacy glass on the inside panes of the windows but made sure the exterior panes were not privacy glass. It helped so that people couldn't actually see directly in, but it didn't look like a true privacy glass window either. Plus the privacy glass well help the window from looking too dusty.

Snookers-I like this idea. Do you recall the brand name and specific name of your window? And I'd love to see a photo of you have one

This company, which specializes in fake, faux, simulated and imitation windows, appears to shade them black.

(I imagine the president of the company drives this American classic.)

Forget fake anything!

We took a pressure rod and black piece of fabric to ours. Couldn't tell from the exterior.

Can you paint the glass of the window from behind it? Instead of painting it from outside? In other words, paint the glass. Or put a mirror behind the window. I can't use a window because the last thing I want to see is the house next door reflected in that window. I can't use painter's canvas bc of the weather, I could use wood. Same issue. Once the window is mounted you can't paint anything.

Why would you want fake windows on a house?

Yes. It's cheesy. Cheesy. CHEESY.

Late to this discussion, but often dormers are fake because they are a design element more than function. Several components of a house could fall under “fake” - window shutters are not actually used (in most parts of the country)but are a design element.

Lipstick on a pig...

we did a fake window and put a trellis over it and ran a hops vine over it bc i found a picture on pinterest and had to have it. so it takes awhile to get a gigantic hops vine to do what you want it to do and it takes either a real artist to do it to make it look real, such as forced perspective; or you have to mirror the window - which i did not want bc i do not want the reflection of the house next door. so the window is barely visible under the vine, which was the point in the first place. it was added for interest under the trellis bc it made it look complete. they may b real windows but nobody would ever open real windows under a hops vine unless they want bees all over the house so it worked for me. i think its just stunning. i love it. also looks like a ladder on the top there, the top runs way over the bottom.

Sorry...but anytime one is forced to resort to "fake" anythings on a house it's a telling critique of the inadequacy of the overall design.

Almost convincing me to go full Brutal next build.

95 Ardwold Gate, Toronto, 9,000 sf. designated historical home. arch. Taivo Kapsi, 1935-1967. (Murdered with a surveyor's stake.)

***

Hmm, maybe I can cut costs using faux concrete. Board-formed thin panels?

I had an existing window in a historic home that we boxed in from the inside and painted the interior black. We had to do it in order to create a useable bathroom. We didn't want to brick in the façade of the house and it was located on the rear of the building. It was a reasonable solution under the circumstances.

In any case, I hate the faux dormers, etc. If you need faux, you need a different design. Windows and window framing cost money. It's really just throwing money out the fake window.

A faux Colonial Revival. One owner, low mileage...

But the dormers could be real!

Do what you want, regardless of anyone else’s opinion. It’s your home, be proud of it. Until they’re paying your mortgage, go on and skip the cheesy comments.

Yep, that's what the late owner of this beauty, pimp Jerry A. Hostetler said too.

Kessler Mansion, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Done that many times. No need to paint anything. Regular fixed window with Ge one way film on interior.

I know what a fake dormer is ... but what in the world is a fake window? I'm thinking it might be a window that "goes nowhere"? That is, a window that opens in to a fake dormer /is backed only by the roof? If so, it'd still be a window. Nothing "fake" about it.

If so, that sounds like a bad choice.

If I had dormers, I'd want them to be curtained -- you know, so they'd match the rest of the house. Curtains would prevent you from seeing the trusses behind.

Before finding a way to hide what is there, think about what is there and how it might be used.

Its not the dormers or windows that are fake; its the attic full of trusses or whatever else might be preventing the space behind the windows from having a use.

You should provide access to the dormers from the attic; it would be foolish to build an inaccessible space anywhere in your house. What if you had a roof leak or a fire? It only takes a few minutes to cut a hole in the sheathing; don't wait for an emergency. I'm surprised state fire marshals allow windows that go nowhere.

But if you're spending that much money on dormers, I would delete the trusses and let the attic be a potential future habitable space (or at least where there are dormers).

If the roof is so large that the cost of rafters would be prohibitive, I suggest you rethink the design.

During the construction of the last home I built with handcut rafters, the crew on a neighbouring house were actually pointing and laughing at the absurdity of such an ancient method of construction: Spending many thousands more shekels for something that adds no perceived value to the homebuyer. You can bet Toll Brothers learned that lesson decades ago!

It’s a sad era in construction when tract builders lead the way in “innovations”. that were put in place simply to create the cheapest possible build that isn’t a square box, and for no other reason at all. Creating a demand for faux above the real is some major marketing success! Non PC Aunt Sophie would have called it “as useless as t**s on a boar hog”.

This thread is from 2015

Well...I wonder if anyone has considered a fake house with real windows...makes about as much sense.

How timely! I just drove by a new-ish house yesterday and both DH and I noticed that the 3 dormers over the front of the house were fake. The house is painted white and you could see the tan colored roof framing and plywood through the windows. If they had just painted that plywood black you wouldn't have noticed. Not sure a homeowner can even reach that area to paint it now that everything is closed in.

Maybe they could have done the dormers open to the entry for more light and higher ceilings, but I think the dormers face west so that might no have worked either.

Sheesh. All the haughtiness in the comments is really off-putting. Why would someone use a faux dormer? Simple. There are those of us who have taste and enjoy architectural details and symmetry, but don’t have millions in the bank. Does that mean we can’t still enjoy the aesthetics we so choose?

Some of y’all who are spitting on the thought of this because it’s “not the real thing” probably also have things like drywall in your house instead of plaster, vinyl windows instead of wood casing/mullions, ceramic or porcelain tile instead of marble, maybe even a high end laminate. Gasp.

Get over yourselves. From a practicality standpoint, a faux dormer allows the use of trusses instead of rafters, allows attic space to house an HVAC system, and means there’s no real need to pay extra $$$ to heat/cool the extra square footage. I’m currently working with an architect to design a colonial home for myself, and with a full basement the home is already nearing 4,000 square feet. I don’t want/need an attic, nor do I want the extra space. The majority of future buyers won’t either-based on the already sizable floor plan. So, yes, I too am looking at add faux dormers simply for the aesthetic, and that’s how I stumbled upon this post.

So, to answer the original question, I’m thinking of using a heavy tint on the backside of the window or painting the backside of the window black.

Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.

Well, personally, I can't see that fake dormers add anything aesthetic at all - give me a clean roofline every time. All ttheres a big difference between using drywall, vinyl windows, ceramic tile and laminate in your house, and adding fake dormers: the former are all entirely functional, the latter, not so much.

It's interesting how the "Pro's" here can't conceive a concept where adding a faux feature to balance an entire layout. It makes me wonder if they live in the real world or just practice their craft from behind their keyboard.

It's interesting how the "Pro's" here can't conceive a concept where adding a faux feature to balance an entire layout. It makes me wonder if they live in the real world or just practice their craft from behind their keyboard.

No they just know how to create good design and don't need to add faux things like dormers to do so. If you create a well designed house, you won't need faux anything to "balance out" anything because the balance will be already built into the design.

Poor design is what leads to adding faux stuff onto houses. Usually houses designed by draftsmen who call themselves "designers".

We are considering adding a faux window to the front exterior of our new addition because we live on a busy and don't actually want the street light or car lights in the bedroom on that side.

You problem has nothing to do with this thread so you should delete your comment and start a new thread.

Your problem can be easily solved with a black out shade.

People who say that you should never have a "fake" window shedding light into the attic have obviously never dealt with designing homes or at least for the masses. What if your client wants a gable with a window in the upper section, and there's not an inhabitable space above? You're going to tell them that you think fake windows are stupid? Or that they need to add a bonus room up there to accommodate the window? Your gable will look empty and bland, and if they don't want a gable vent, a window is very typical. The popular style these days is to not have a lot of empty space in gables or exterior walls. Speaking as if your particular taste in aesthetics is the only way anyone should choose is ridiculous. I don't like faux anything, but I design it for the client, not for myself. As mentioned above, black out the window from the interior with black material of some sort, just don't do it from the outside.

Fully sympathise!

For a custom house build I was superintending for them, the clients asked for my design input. My first suggestion was vigorously trounced. And that was the end of that. One was colour blind, which sure led to some interesting choices.

If you are being paid to design/build for someone, your ultimate obligation is to give the client what he wants. Those commenting here are under no such obligation. If we have any obligation, it is to uphold the principles of good design. I don't find that "ridiculous" in the least.

The obligation of any design professional is to give a client *better* than what they ask for. Because they are the professional. They aren’t getting paid to just do what a customer asks. Nothing would meet code or be very functional if they look at their profession in that minimalistic retail clerking sell the widget way. That’s a by the hour drafter. Not a educated professional designer. Clients often don’t understand the why’s of many of the details of good design. It’s the lazy way out to not educate them, or give them better design.

If you visit and pay a physician an evaluation and recommendation, that's what they will give you, regardless of your own self diagnosis. Same for accountants. Same for attornies. Same for pharmacists. Same for any professional, who has a state recognized professional responsibility.

A professional's responsibility is not "to give the client what s/he wants".

It's to give the client the professional's best experienced recommendation. The client can take it or leave it.

Cook and Virgil - I agree with both of you (up to a point - the pro needs to give good advice, but he also needs to pay attention to what the client is actually saying, and why - doctors are notorious for missing things because they make assumptions and don't listen closely enough to the patient. From some of the dilemmas posted here, I doubt that design and construction pros are entirely exempt from that shortcoming). Really, though, my intent was to distinguish between the obligations of someone who has already committed to deliver a product, and the role of anonymous commenters to try to improve the general appreciation of good design. To that end, I found Mr Szabo's comment a lot more ridiculous than the critcisms of fake windows.

If anyone is still around, we just cut down a tree that had been planted too close to the house. We have these fake dormers, two of them, an while the tree mostly hid them, with the tree down, they are visible now. Does painting the inside of the window black actually work? Or hanging a black curtain inside if I can figure out how to even get inside to hang a spring curtain rod?

Thanks.

Paint plywood black and put inside the window. Painting the glass does not work well.

My window treatment is now available in black & white.

We also have licensing agreements for DIY.

Fake dormers. No, no, no, run away.

Some of you people are pompous idiots in your comments

Yes, and the rest of us people are just the common run of the mill idiots; but we try to get through this house building thing as unscathed as we can.

Chat GPT--the all-knowing arbiter on all matters on earth, the universe and everything-- is surprisingly neutral on the subject, essentially saying it's a matter best worked out between the homeowner and the designer or architect. *There are caveats on its omniscience, but secretly it doesn't believe it.

To worthy about the above comment Chat GPT--the all-knowing arbiter on all matters on earth, the universe and everything-- is surprisingly neutral on the subject

WFT?

Anyway, about the glass

I would have had them glazed with a single piece of black Lexan

As these would not require any R-value

But, since you already have them

Tint the windows

Or, a more permanent solution in case the tint peels off over time, whether it be on the outside, or even worse, on the inside where you can't get at it

Put thin piece of black Lexan over the glass, and clear silicone them in place

For the haters who posted , no fake dormers with windows

This is what is called Aesthetics, Curb Appeal

This is no different, than people putting on

Fake non-operating 18" shutters screwed to a wall, on the side of a 8 foot window

Or, Fake window grills over a clear sheet of glass

Or, Fake Shaker style white cabinets that are pressed MDF

Or, Fake colonial doors , that are pressed Masonite

Or, Fake cultured marble

Or, a Fake wood floor, that is pure vinyl, with a plastic veneer over it

The list goes on and on

Also, the Fake hood scoop and air intakes on my 4Runner TRD Pro, Lol

I attached a picture of a house I am building this Spring

The whole huge front dormer does nothing and it also has a window to nowhere, that will be glazed with black Lexan

I edited the picture of the house in paint, not very well though

But you get the point of how it would not look the same without it, or the bump out window

Also the bump out window on the left side of the front of the house is in the garage and serves no purpose either

Except for aesthetics, and makes the house look bigger than it is

As it is a triple garage entered from the side

Look at the windows, they look black

The window tint can be installed on the outside of the glass as well

So you wouldn't have to take the windows out, if they are already installed

Here is one of many places on the Internet that do it, and no, I don't work for this window tint company, all kinds of places that do this, like places that tint car windows near you

https://www.rcwindowfilms.com/exterior-window-films/

Edit: I just noticed I am replying to a 8 year post

They should archive these at some point

So, you probably have already solved the issue in 8 years, Lol

What did you do?

Thank you for your comment. It was very helpful to me!

following "constandina"