Give Your Indoor Space an Outdoor Feel With Replacement Windows

Shed some extra light on your Naperville living space.

Everyone loves a window with a view, especially if you spend a considerable amount of time working or studying from home. If you’re stuck inside on a beautiful, sunny day you still want to be able to take in that sun, but are you? On the brightest days of summer, can you rely mostly on the natural light from your windows or do you still need to use several light fixtures to brighten up your home? The direction your window faces isn’t the only thing that matters when searching for a nice view. There’s also the type of window, the glass, and the position of the windows all come into play. With the right replacement windows, and expert installation, your indoor living and work spaces can still provide a stunning, immersive view of the outdoors.

Choose your replacement windows

There are several different styles of windows to choose from when shopping replacement windows, and many of them can help you to enhance the outdoor feeling to your indoor space in different ways. Here are just a few suggestions:

• Sliding Windows. Sliding windows are horizontal windows that can easily take up the space of two windows, thus shedding twice as much light into your home. They’re also incredibly easy to use, low maintenance, and, because of their size, cost effective.
• Casement Windows. Casement windows are tall windows that open from the side at a 90° angle. They offer terrific views, and they’re great for letting in some fresh air on a lovely day.
• Picture windows. Picture windows are created to give you great views of the outdoors. They don’t open at all, so there’s no concern about letting cold air or unwanted pests into the home. You just get beautiful, unobstructed views of the outdoors.
• Bay/bow windows. Bay windows or bow windows both provide an arc outward that can make a small room seem larger and offer a wider scope of the outside view. Bay windows typically have three sides while bow windows have five sides. These are great options for creating a seating area by the window or a breakfast nook.

In searching for the type of windows to use, you might also consider daylighting the room. Daylighting involves placing windows high on the wall so that the natural light from outside filters down into the room. A popular choice for daylighting a room is awning windows. Awning windows are horizontal windows that open outwards from the bottom, much in the shape of an awning.

Convert a room to a sunroom

While you’re installing new windows, you could even convert one room into a sunroom for a full indoor-outdoor space. A sunroom can make an excellent kid’s playroom or a space to entertain your friends. It can even serve as a lovely dining area. An indoor sunroom will allow you to enjoy the outdoors while protecting you from extreme heat or cold. Hinged windows like casement or awning windows are great options for a sunroom, though bow windows are also a popular choice.

Liven up the space with plants

One way to help your indoor space look–and smell–more outdoorsy, is to bring in something from the outdoors. Add a few plants to the room, whether they be fresh herbs, flowers, or lovely perennials. With potted plants, you can add color and vibrance to the room and enjoy the fresh scents even on a dreary, rainy day outside. For this, you might consider garden windows. Garden windows bulge outward much like bay or bow windows, but in a trapezoidal shape. Because they allow plants to receive natural sunlight from all angles, garden window ledges make an excellent place to start your indoor garden.

Lower your energy bills

Adding replacement windows that fill your home with natural light will do wonders for your energy and HVAC bills, and choosing the right type of windows will help you keep them low. When looking for energy efficient windows, you want them to be low in U-factor, visible transmittance, solar heat gain coefficient, and air leakage. Basically, you need well-sealed windows with glass that allows light to filter through but reflects harmful UV rays and unwanted heat. Look to some of the most trusted, quality brands in the industry for their energy efficient window options to keep your home comfortable as well as bright.

The Door Store has been providing replacement windows in Naperville, IL as well as doors to homes for 30 years. We’re experts who can help you brighten up your home in an energy efficient way. Call us today at (630) 448-5738 or get a free estimate online to discuss window replacement options for your home.