Some bay windows harmonize gracefully with the rest of the house.
Too many others are the architectural equivalent of blisters-weird swellings that don't belong. Bays came into their own on Gothic and Second Empire homes of the late 1800s, and proliferated on gingerbread Queen Annes. Bays were done in by the restraint of Colonial Revival. This Old House and the This Old House window and This Old House Online are trademarks of WGBH Educational Foundation. Neither WGBH Educational Foundation nor PBS endorses any product or service mentioned within This Old House Online or any web sites linked to or from This Old House Online.