This summer our home was under construction for three months straight. Some of the construction was elective—new windows, new exterior paint and a master bath renovation—and some of the construction was unexpected, like water meter installation, a 150′ tree removal and a leak in the basement. When I thought about what would be the most disruptive in the scheme of things, I was sure it would be the change out of our windows. I expected big gaping holes in our house and exterior repairs in our siding that may never look “right” again. Boy, was I wrong.
Replacing our 1945 original windows with the Milgard Tuscany Series was the easiest, most low effort construction we did this summer. The old windows were removed and the new replacement windows were installed in just a few hours—literally, barely enough time to capture the swap out in photos. And the best thing was, the true aesthetic update the windows provided. We have been stopped numerous times since in our front yard to tell of our home exterior “facelift” story because of the dramatic change to our bungalow style home. Here is what we did.
We selected Milgard Tuscany Series vinyl windows with an Expresso exterior frame and a white interior frame. We chose this combination because we were moving to a white body exterior paint palette with blue door accents. The Espresso exterior window frame provided the perfect amount of contrast, without going totally black, against an Alabaster White paint body of our home. On the interior, the white frame was easy to incorporate as we refreshed our interior walls with Snowbound paint. The seamless look is stunning.
We feel that changing the windows along with the color palette has increased our curb appeal tremendously and so do our neighbors. Not only were we able to make our bungalow a bit more modern looking, we were able to give nod to the home’s historic style and neighborhood. Since the Tuscany Series allows homeowners to specify which windows have grids, we could maintain the clean look of our front picture window and the charm of our gridded windows in our office and side areas of the home.
Now that we have had the windows for a few months, we have come to understand and appreciate their effortless functionality as well. The exclusive Milgard SmartTouch handles are easy to use and have allowed fresh air to stream through windows of our home that we typically were unable to open with the originals. Aesthetically, the window lock mechanism is incorporated into the window sash for a sleek, low-profile design. One smooth, single motion opens or closes the window, and locks it. And speaking of locking, when the handle is down, the window is locked. When the handle is up, the window is unlocked. It’s not only safe, but easy to use for all ages and physical abilities.
Tell us your favorite thing about the windows on our project by November 5th and you’ll be entered to win a $50 Visa Gift Card.
