What Is an Eyebrow Window? Take a Peek Into This Unique Style
Take a closer look at this unique type of window
Highlights
Eyebrow windows, indeed, look like eyebrows.
They provide natural light and ventilation to attics and top floors of homes.
While some are charming, some “brows” can be downright creepy.
There is an alternative option you can add without creating an entirely new hole for a window.
There are many details in home architecture that are easily recognizable—even if you don’t know the exact name of whatever it is you happen to recognize. Case in point: You’ve definitely seen an eyebrow window, even though you might not have known it by name. Keep reading and we’ll catch you up with this interesting type of window.
Eyebrow Windows at a Glance
Some windows protrude in a box-like structure from a roof and feature a sash window or a casement window. The vertically projecting window, often called a dormer, serves to let in light and allow a bit more breathing room on the top floor. You can find this roof addition often on the front or back of Cape Cod homes, for example.
Then, there are dormers that are not box-like, nor are they even big. Rather, they look like bumps or even waves on a roof. In each of those small protrusions is a slim row of windows. Unlike a shed dormer that can serve as a small room, one can barely look out the window of these petite dormers, let alone open one. Look at it again, and it almost appears as if the roof has eyes. Indeed they do; these are called eyebrow windows or eyebrow dormers.
The Advantages of Eyebrow Windows
Eyebrow windows might not be the look for every home. But there are some distinct advantages to consider when installing these small but unique dormer windows to yours.
Ventilation
While these windows certainly can’t provide egress, they can provide ventilation. You’ll see some of these in the sloped roof of homes where the attic might be. As attics are notoriously stuffy—heat rises, after all—the ability to open even a little sliver of a window is helpful.
Natural Light
Windows also allow natural light. Eyebrow windows act as a sort of skylight, though instead of them being flat like a traditional skylight, the roof is raised to permit the row of windows to peep out rather than up.
Affordable Character
Eyebrow windows have long had their place in architecture, but their quirky look still manages to raise, well, eyebrows. Whereas a larger flat dormer might be too big to add to your home—and possibly too expensive (building a “bump-out” can cost up to $30,000)—it only costs around $4,000 to add an eyebrow dormer. Thanks to the “bump” in curb appeal, you’ll get plenty of double-takes from neighbors and passersby.
The Disadvantages of Eyebrow Windows
Once you see an eyebrow window, you can’t really unsee why it’s so aptly named. And while it’s often been said that the windows are the “eyes” of a home, eyebrow windows might indeed be a bit too on the nose for some people’s liking. Here’s why you might want to look toward other types of dormers for your home:
They’re Not as Useful as Standard-Sized Windows
Though eyebrow windows can open and let in light like any other window, they do so in very small doses. They can’t serve as a form of egress, so they can only be used as accents to living spaces, not as the main window.
They Can Be Creepy
Some eyebrow dormers take their roles very seriously. For example, there are famous eyebrow dormers in Sibiu, a town in Transylvania, Romania, that are quite unsettling. Sure, they’re just dormers—but they really do look like eyes with furrowed brows. Couple that with the fact that Dracula hails from Transylvania, and well, it’s understandable that the Eyes of Sibiu, as they are called, are indeed haunting.
In American architecture, some eyebrow windows are not dormers but rather curved rows of windows high up on the second floor of a home. And even though there’s no “brow,” they can still be quite foreboding. If you’re a classic horror movie fan, you might have arched your own eyebrow recalling one of the most famous—or rather infamous—eyebrow-style windows on the home that featured prominently in the 1979 film, The Amityville Horror.
We’ll skip most of the scary stuff and get to the architectural details: The home had two flat eyebrow windows set on an angle on the top story of the home. It made the house appear to be staring at you— and if you know the movie, it was!
An Alternative to Eyebrow Windows
If you like the look of the eyebrow arch but don’t want to build a dormer or add a new window to your home, you’re in luck. Window accents called eyebrow crossheads can be installed at the top of a window frame, like molding to a window or door on the interior of a home. These accents are typically made from wood, polyurethane, or other sturdy, rigid materials that can stand up to the elements, providing a gentle or more pronounced arch, depending on the style you choose.
While this last alternative is more DIY friendly, if you want a true eyebrow window or dormer added to your home, it’s better to leave it to the pros. Call a window company near you and get advice on what an eyebrow window will “look” like for your home.