Aesthetic Appeal and More – Part 2: Capturing Views with the Right Window

Picture Windows — Framing that Vista Perfectly

There’s nothing quite like a picture window for perfectly capturing a particular view from within your home. Maybe it’s a nice patch of the beach or the sea just off your porch, or maybe it’s a grand mountain view that overlooks the valley below. Whatever it is, installing a picture window will help you relive over and over again the sheer majesty of that view outside your home.

The picture window takes its name from its similarity to a picture frame. With the option of installing a picture window pretty much lacking anything in the way of decorative grills or muntins, you can superimpose the window frame on any spectacle outside your home.

Depending on your home’s layout, you could even have a set of picture windows arranged in a multi-story configuration, essentially serving as a glass wall that brings the outdoors directly into your living room, or other interior spaces.

The large glass area also has the added advantage of letting in greater than normal amounts of natural light, which not only helps to seamlessly connect your home’s exterior and interior, but can also aid in reducing your dependence on artificial lighting to illuminate your home during the day.

Sliding Windows — View and Ventilation, All in One

If there’s one major disadvantage to picture windows, it is that, by definition, they cannot be opened. Though other windows can be used in combination with picture windows in order to provide both ventilation and a vista to view, there is also the option to install sliding windows instead.

Don’t think though that sliding windows are simply just a compromise between picture and operable windows. Rather, they’re a great choice in their own right.

Though individually they don’t offer quite the same amount of viewing space as a picture window, there is the fact that sliding windows generally come in twos, either or both of which can be set, depending on the model of window you buy, to be operable.

Best of all, not only do sliding windows open with but a touch, but since they have so little in the way of moving parts, they’re generally less prone to breakdown and will last longer, with less required in the way of regular care, than many other styles of window.

Windows aren’t all just about looks;  they can also help you save on your energy bills. More on this in Part 3.