These stylish windows add a
decorative element to any room.
Photos courtesy of Andersen Windows.

Buying Smart

Like many products for our homes, windows just aren't what they used to be. In this case, that's a good thing. Certainly their principal function -- providing access to fresh air and natural light -- remains the same, but the refined materials and improved details in today's versions put a lot more control at your fingertips. Not only can you get a wider variety of standard shapes, sizes, and designs, but the product also is more likely to be engineered for performance levels that older windows just can't match.

"The thing I always tell people is that they need to start looking at their windows rather than through them," says Alan Campbell, president of the Window and Door Manufacturers Association. "With all the developments in technology and materials, they're literally appliances in the wall."

Granted, you can't open a window and pull out, say, a chilled bottle of juice or a hot pan of freshly baked bread, but Campbell's point is that windows are no longer the passive light-bearers of yesterday. Today, they boast efficient designs and materials to keep wind and water outside where they belong and let the best of the sun shine through.

Window and Door Manufacturers Association