Are screened, opened windows upstairs overrated for relaxation?

The windows that open in my home all have screens on them. Not so much for the bugs, but for the pollen. I leave them open almost all year round. The breeze blowing through is something I would feel odd without.

Even section 8 housing requires that Landlords maintain window screens.

The only place I saw screen-less windows was in Santa Barbara, CA. But here in MA, it’s a necessity. The mosquitoes and critters will enter your house without them.

I love my screened windows. My house is on a gentle incline about 1500 feet above the valley below me, on an open 10 acre meadow, so I always get a breeze. I’ve never had A/C.

When I moved to TN I could not believe the entire house had no screens! We lived in the woods it was ridiculous. We made some and put them on the windows. Now here in Tampa the weather is moderate many many months, I have my doors and windows open a lot. No way I could do it without screens. I will be screening in a pool in my new house, I love living in a screened bubble.

I don’t know what upstairs or downstairs has to do with it.

I too love the idea and here even my balcony doors have screen. In Kerala, we have an ancient traditional style of architecture called “Naalukettu”. This style of construction provides ample ventilation and sunlight to each and every room in the Nalukettu. There will be a balcony covered by screens where you can sit and enjoy the cool breeze.

We have a two story place with screened windows all over. We open them whenever we can. We actually live near a fairly busy street, but early in the morning or late at night you can hear mostly birds or just far away train sounds.

I live next to a wetland and if I did not have screens my house would be infested with insects especially mosquitos. Our sheers still waft in the breeze with the screens in.

@Aster I think you should be the first on your block. Get some screens. Quick, before summer sets in. You can just screens few windows, the ones you are most likely to open.

Currently do you never open the windows? Or, you just risk it sometimes and let the bees and mosquitos fly in? Maybe you live near the ocean? Near the ocean I didn’t have to worry about bugs as much.

My house was built in the mid 50s and still has the original windows. Except for the large picture windows in the kitchen, LR, DR and FR they all had screens. I have removed the screens on the windows I never open, (about half). The screens got dirty, filled with pollen, and milkweed fuzz and blocked the view. The windows without screens look great but can’t be opened without letting in bugs.

Note: I keep my bedroom windows closed so that room stays clean and pollen free. A quiet ceiling fan provides a gentle breeze when I need it.

@JLeslie sadly, until spring and summer we are all closed up. No windows are ever opened. Not that we have a screened/glassed in back porch with hot tub and furniture we will have screens all the way around soon. We leave the den door open and get fresh air that way. We simply open the windows on the porch. But it’s in no way the same as being up in the air overlooking the treetops with windows open. Maybe I’m nuts.

@Aster Not nuts at all. I prefer having a bedroom upstairs. My new house will be all one level, and I question my decision to have a one story. I like the bedroom upstairs for many reasons. One is I feel more at ease with the windows open and it is not as easy for someone to get inside my house. I also like the view better from one story up. My apartment is on the second floor and I love it. I also find with one story houses it can be more difficult to get cross ventilation, which is the way to feel the wind breeze through, because usually part of the house is blocked by the garage or the cross window has fancier curtains in the dining room that you might not want the window open there, etc. depends on the house of course. I will have trouble getting cross ventilation in my new house actually in some rooms, but I am going to have a triple sliding glass door to the back yard and a 6 foot wide sliding window in my kitchen facing the back yard also that can be opened completely, the track goes over onto the wall, so it should still be good.

I also like bedrooms up because in the winter heat rises and you can save money by just heating the bedrooms warm enough to be comfortable and keep the first floor cooler. Lastly, if you are making noise in the kitchen if the bedrooms are around a corner and upstairs you are less likely to wake other people in the house.