Little German Details

Every couple of days I  notice something small in Germany I think is really cool.  Below, I put together three recent design observations that I find awesome.

Alternate Window and Door Function

Letting Air In

Letting Even More Air In

Almost all windows and some doors open two separate ways.

By turning the handle all the way up, you can tilt the window open to let air in.  The slope of the window keeps almost all of the rain out- even when it is pouring and windy.  Also, when the window is opened like this, a burglar can't just slide the window open more to get in- access to the handle is not possible.

If you turn the handle sideways, you can open the window open all the way, or use the door like normal. This window design would probably have to change a little bit for places with lots of bugs (add screens), but otherwise, it seems like a great idea.

Cool Refrigerator Handle

Cool Handle, with unnecessary arrow edit

This refrigerator handle has a cool pivot to gave you a little extra help when breaking the refrigerator door open.  I have been surprised in the past of how hard it can be to open a refrigerator once it builds a slight vacuum.  This handle design makes it much easier to get to your food.

Better Doors and Door Hanging

Door Picture, with Diagram!

Door design is different in Germany- for now I will limit the observation to how the doors close.  In the US, we rely purely on the door moulding to create the door's closing seal.  Back home, I have noticed a lot of doors that let light through the seems and are nowhere near soundproof.  In Germany, the doors have a second "lip" on them that grabs the inside of the door frame.  This design completely blocks light out and muffles sound much better.  Most of the doors also have a thin rubber strip which also helps with this seal.  I can't imagine this sounding exciting, but once you notice how much better it works, you'll wish you had German doors.