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Have a beautiful view you’d like to showcase from your Long Island home with a beautiful new picture window? Choosing a Renewal by Andersen of Long Island picture window to highlight your home’s vistas is one of the most dramatic ways you can update the look of your space—both inside and out. At face value, picture windows are pretty simple. But determining whether or not a picture window is right for your space can be a little more complicated.
#1 What are Picture Windows?
Picture windows are fixed, meaning they don’t open and close. They can have window grilles or not, depending upon your taste. Because they don’t have to worry about opening and closing, picture windows come in an almost limitless selection of shapes and sizes. Most picture windows are particularly large and work well in living rooms, dining rooms, or anywhere you want lots of light—and a view of the outdoors surrounding your home. For ultimate flexibility, Renewal by Andersen offers both picture windows, and combination windows, which also highlight your view, with operable windows for ventilation.
#2 Are Picture Windows Practical?
Picture windows are actually some of the most energy-efficient options on the market. Because they have no moving parts, they offer a much more airtight seal than double-hung or casement windows that slide or swing open and closed. Non-fixed windows require a little more care over time cleaning tracks and sashes and maintaining the weather stripping or seals that prevent the transfer of air from the outside in, but fixed windows are made to form a long-term airtight seal.
Our Renewal by Andersen of Long Island consultants will help you choose the perfect glass and frame type depending on landscaping and orientation of your home. High-performance SmartSun glass is our most efficient option, cutting back on solar heat transfer during the hot summer months, and outperforming many other windows on the market during fall and winter. You can also choose from High Performance Low-E4 Sun Glass, with an optional coating, or the original Low-E4 glass, all of which block harmful UV rays and increase your window’s efficiency.
Picture windows facing the hot afternoon sun might be better served by that ultra-high efficiency SmartSun glass or coated glass to help block some of that solar heat, while windows in a more shaded area might work just as well with one of the other options.
#3 Ventilation Issues
If you love to open your windows on cool autumn days, you might miss out on that fresh air and ventilation if you switch to a picture window alone. Many experts suggest framing those large picture windows with operable windows to allow both ventilation and plenty of space for an unobstructed view.
By working with the other windows in your space, ventilation shouldn’t be a problem, but it is definitely something to think about when you’re installing a picture window.
#4 Interior Design Concerns
Depending the size of the picture window you choose, you might be looking at purchasing custom draperies or window treatments to best set off your new look. The good news, though, is that Renewal by Andersen’s picture window interiors can be framed in real wood and stained any color you want to capture your style and décor personality.
If you choose windows with grilles, you have even more options to choose from. Some grilles are set between the interior and exterior panes of glass, giving you the look of a grille with the easy-cleaning surface of smooth glass.
You may also choose a hardwood option (which snaps off to allow for easy cleaning) or Fibrex divided light glass grilles, which are designed to give your windows the authentic look of divided glass on a single pane. No matter what you choose, you’ll find you have plenty of color and finish options to work with your existing color scheme and style.
When in doubt, don’t be afraid to ask your style-savvy friends and family for advice, and call us to schedule a no-obligation in-home consultation. If you’re ready to install a couple of picture windows, or you’re ready to replace all the windows in your Long Island home, we’d love to help you decide what type of window would best complement your home. Reach us at (866) 609-5033 or enter your contact information in the form on this page for more details about picture windows and our other high-performance home improvement products for your Long Island home.