Upstate House

Maybe you’re remodeling a rustic farmhouse with acres of rolling hills and are selecting new windows to frame your scenic views. Or, as the autumn chill arrives, you might be determined to replace those drafty windows and improve energy efficiency throughout your home. Whether you’re remodeling your house or building a new one, choosing the right windows can take your space from meh to marvelous.

To learn more about the range of window styles and design options available to homeowners, we turned to the expert team at Williams Lumber and Home Centers, the Hudson Valley’s premier dealer of Marvin windows and doors. With seven locations, including two design centers in Pleasant Valley and Rhinebeck, family-owned Williams Lumber has been a go-to for home improvement in the Hudson Valley since 1946.

Here are five inspiring ideas for designing your new windows from Williams and Marvin that will help you create a major design impact in your space, while increasing your family’s enjoyment and comfort for years to come.

Combine Different Window Sizes

Lining up multiple double-hung windows next to one another is a common technique to create a single viewscape. Most often, these windows will be the same size—but they don’t have to be.

Charles Cudd AHT 2021 P21034

Windows of different sizes, and even styles, can easily and seamlessly be combined by a seasoned carpenter. Combining one large center window with two smaller windows on each side can be a great solution for a wall beneath a gable. It will open up the room to more light and create a design statement all its own.

Embrace Dark Colors

Until relatively recently, window manufacturers avoided offering windows in any color darker than bronze. That’s because the sun would cause dark finishes to fade prematurely and generate excessive heat. But thanks to improvements in finishing technologies and the use of stable materials like fiberglass, Marvin now offers more options for window colors than ever.

Wooddale P20040 AHT

Looking for elegance with a bit of an edge? Black-trimmed windows are a much more dramatic way to frame any view, and instantly add dimension and contrast to any space.

Go Trimless

If you’re going for a more contemporary aesthetic, think about skipping the interior window trim entirely. This modern technique uses drywall or plaster to surround the window instead of the traditional wood casing and jamb extensions, for a clean, streamlined effect.

2021 Artisan Home Tour Denali Custom Homes P21030

There are a few additional considerations you’ll need to bring into play if you want to forgo the interior trim. Sills often get used as shelves for plants, books, coffee cups—you name it. If that has your family’s name written all over it, you’ll want to protect the bottom sill with a durable material like wood. And in regions that experience colder winters, condensation may occur on trimless windows, so you may want to invest in triple-pane glazed windows with an additional layer of insulating glass.

Add Windows on the Down-Low

Anyone who lives upstate knows that window screens are necessary for keeping unwanted insects outside of your house when the windows are open. But even high-quality screens can take away from that stunning, crystal-clear view of your landscape that you so love.

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Get the best of both worlds by installing an awning window directly under a larger picture window. You can enjoy a fresh breeze with the screened bottom window open, while enjoying the view from above to its fullest. And an awning window located near the floor is sure to make a one-of-a-kind visual impression.

Create Your Own Nook

A corner window can be just the memorable focal point your space is looking for. As the name implies, a corner window is specifically designed to occupy an outside corner of your house and uses glass at the corner instead of traditional trim elements.

With a corner window, you’ll have expansive views of the outdoors and the sweet, picture-perfect nook will be an immersive design element that everyone in your family—pets included—are sure to enjoy.

How to Get Started

The personalization opportunities for Marvin’s windows are almost endless, so it’s important to explore your choices with an expert at the beginning stages of designing or remodeling your space. The selection of the right windows and doors can last a lifetime when you do the proper research and consider all of the options.

At Williams’ windows and doors showrooms, located at its Rhinebeck and Pleasant Valley design centers, you’ll find a wide array of Marvin windows and doors on display. A visit to the showroom is the perfect way to experience everything in person. You’ll find plenty of inspiration to define your design direction, and Williams’ design experts will guide you through the process of selecting and ordering the right windows for you and your home.