If you live in the UK, the problem of living in a bland-looking property can be more common than you probably realise. While the country’s housing stock has significantly increased since the 1950s, many of these homes don’t, in appearance, tend to accurately reflect the periods when they were built.
The last three decades of the twentieth century are particularly to blame here, as this was when home designers commonly replicated earlier architectural styles rather than properly modernised their designs. Newer homes show that lessons have been learnt, but what if your home is older?
You could find that simply changing a window makes a surprisingly big difference, though the beneficial effect can largely depend on which window you opt to change and how. To understand more about window options check out Bay and Bow windows Bristol.
Do you have planning permission to make changes?
It’s worth checking this first. If you learn that your particular house has been relieved of permitted development rights, you could need planning permission before you can fit new windows, BT warns. The type of building can be a factor; for example, you would usually require the local council’s consent before being allowed to alter listed buildings.
Why consider changing the windows?
There are many different aspects of a home with which you could experiment to visually impressive effect. However, you might want to largely leave your residential interior alone, as Homebuilding & Renovating points out that external revamps are usually less disruptive.
Still, why should you particularly turn your attention to the windows? Well, if your UK-located residential property was built between the 1930s and 1980s, it wouldn’t be strange for those windows to look very dated, so a replacement for at least one of those windows would be in order.
Which window should you replace?
Of course, it’s your decision, but you could benefit from heeding a few pointers. If your home is either visually bland or simply has a neutral architectural form, then you have a lot of options. However, you might want to be more careful if your home’s look follows a particular style.
That’s not to say that you can’t mix styles effectively; it just means that there’s more scope for getting things wrong in your particular case. Still, resist getting too hung up on matching; after all, adding bland features to an already bland home won’t visually improve it.
Let’s assume that your home is a period property. In that case, you’ll probably want new windows that match the old ones in style so as not to leave a horrid stylistic clash. However, this doesn’t strictly mean having to settle for outdated technology.
Consider, for example, the Residence9 premium windows available from the Bristol-based company Polar Bear Windows.
These flush windows replicate the look of nineteenth-century timber windows while still incorporating modern materials for elegance and energy efficiency.
Indeed, the opportunity to fit new windows can also be an opportunity to improve your home’s insulation. If you would like several windows replacing, you can usually expect three of them to be fitted daily, says Homebuilding & Renovating.
