How to Match the Right Window and Door Styles to Your Home
Whether you enjoy feeling a calming breeze through an open window, bask in the warmth from a skylight on a cold day, or welcome your guests through a beautifully themed front door, your windows and doors are crucial to the overall appeal of your home. Not only do they contribute greatly to your everyday enjoyment, they lend character to your home and connect you to the exterior world.
Yes, they serve a practical purpose for keeping pests and burglars out, but more importantly, they frame our view of the world. Planning to update your windows and doors? Here are helpful tips on how to choose the right window and door styles that will complement your home in the most ideal way.
Traditional
A traditional home is a blend of simple and classic architectural styles. These styles include Colonial, Cape Cod and Georgian homes, all bringing a classic look utilizing brick, stone or stucco. They usually feature front-facing gables and symmetrically-placed windows. When selecting windows for this type of home, your best bet is to go with double-hung windows.
These have two window sashes within a single frame, giving a clean and timeless look to the space. If you want to mix it up a bit, you can also try bay and bow style windows, transom windows, and traditional pattern window grilles.
When it comes to doors, traditional entryway doors are often comprised of wood or even fiberglass in wood stain finishes.
Craftsman
Craftsman-style homes originated from the Arts and Crafts Movement of the early 1900s. With exteriors characterized by low-pitched roof systems, porches with square columns, exposed beams and stained glass windows, Craftsman entry doors are usually made of solid wood with a decorative glass or divided-light window at the top. Dentil shelves are also common. These are pieces of molding topped with blocks of decorative wood.
Contemporary
Contemporary homes are characterized by clean lines, asymmetrical designs, flat roofs, multilevel roof lines, and unembellished windows. Contemporary homes get a lot of natural sunlight, which is why skylights make perfect window choices. Other window styles that complement a Contemporary include fixed, sliding and casement windows.
Entryway doors should be unadorned, sleek and chic, with sharp geometric shapes. You’ll also want to choose lever handle hardware in metallic finishes. To balance it all out, the door itself should be a warm wood finish.
Spanish/Mediterranean
Inspired by the seaside villas of Spain, France and Italy, Mediterranean homes feature red terra-cotta roofs, stucco exteriors, balconies, and arched windows and doorways. Solid window choices for such a home include window walls, and wrought-iron or wooden window grilles.
What’s a window wall, you ask? This replaces an exterior wall with fixed windows spanning from floor to ceiling for awe-inspiring views.
In terms of entry doors, double doors with arched windows, and wood or wrought-iron grilles are perfect. Go with dark and rich finishes complemented by decorative hardware.
Victorian
Victorian style homes usually showcase bay windows, turrets, steep roofs, clapboard siding, rambling porches, columns, and intricate moldings. Following suit, the windows are ornate, expansive and varied throughout the exterior. Consider a mixture of double-hung, transom, arched, bay or bowed, and specialty windows.
For doors, try decorative glass panels and stained glass effects with fiberglass or wood materials featuring decorative embellishments. You may even want to place a transom window over the doorway. Bold colors are common in Victorian homes, so go ahead and try it out with your new entryway door.
Contact Dallas Door Designs
Need more inspiration? Contact us at 214-973-0373 or go online to schedule a free estimate.