Contrary to what many believe, windows aren’t just openings in your the walls of your house which are fitted with simple sheets of glass. The windows you have in your home can contribute to the lighting in your home, as well as how energy efficient your home is. By choosing the right windows, you can fill your house with glorious natural sunlight, all while keeping the temperature in your house moderate. Having energy efficient windows is especially helpful over the cold winter months – a time when good windows can help you save energy on heating in your home.

Here’s everything you need to know about choosing the right windows for your home this winter, as well as information on how you can transform your porch, deck or patio into a lovely sunroom for you and your family to enjoy in the icy weather.

Choosing The Perfect Windows

The first step in choosing the perfect windows for your home is deciding what kind of frames you like. Choosing the right frames is an important part of getting the look and feel you want for your home.

For instance, if you want an old school look, wooden frames are a good choice. They create the feeling of a country cottage to make your home feel welcoming. If, on the other hand, you’re going for a more modern look, there are a variety of steel frames available to cater to your personal tastes.

For new room additions to your house, it’s advisable to use the same window frames as in the rest of your home. If you can’t find the same frames for sale anymore, you might even want to consider redoing all of your house’s windows.

Another important part of getting the perfect windows is choosing the best glass. Glass can also contribute to the aesthetics of your home. This is especially true if there are areas where you’d want to add a decorative touch to your windows by using lead glass. However, when it comes to choosing glass, most of your options will be about practicality rather than aesthetics.

Choosing energy efficient glass can help you cut back on your heating bill. But if you need to save on cooling and air conditioning in the summer, energy efficient glass can also help to keep the inside of your home cooler too. Just be sure to pick the right glass for every room in your house.

Triple paned windows is great for keeping heat in your home. It has three layers, an inner, middle, and outer layer. In between the inner and outer layer is an inert gas-like argon or krypton, or a mixture of the two.

For another practical consideration, you could also look into getting self-cleaning windows. Self-cleaning window can be used for windows that are hard to reach for regular cleaning. And lastly, getting privacy glass for bathroom windows can help prevent a peeping Tom from seeing what’s happening in your home, which can go a long way to help you feel comfortable in your bathroom.

Finishing Touches: Curtains and Blinds

After all the effort you put in to get the perfect window frames and glass panes, you’ll definitely want to add the right finishing touches to round it off. Adding curtains or blinds is the last step, but that doesn’t make it any less important. While choosing your curtains or blinds is entirely a matter of personal taste, it’s always good to stick to something that allows enough natural light to enter your home.

While blinds can be a good choice in rooms that have too much light during certain parts of the year, it’s best to avoid them in areas that have poor natural lighting. In many cases, hanging a white sheer curtain will offer better privacy, while still allowing enough light to come through.

Converting Your Deck to A Sunroom

Your deck, patio or porch is a great place to spend time during summer, but unfortunately, you likely don’t get enough out of it in the winter. To use your space more efficiently, you can consider converting your porch into a cozy sunroom.

But before you take the leap, there are a few things you should keep in mind. Will your deck be strong enough to carry the extra weight a sunroom would add? While the deck foundation is made up of piers or footers that are made to be strong enough to keep the deck’s structure up, adding a sunroom might be too much for your deck to carry as it is.

If that’s the case, you’ll have to take a look at the carrier beam, which may need to be replaced. While this might sound like a lot of effort, it should be easy to do if you call professionals for advice.

Designing your sunroom is just as important. When designing your sunroom, think of it as an extension of your house. This means you’ll likely want to have electricity in the sunroom, as well as air-conditioning and heating. It’s also good to think about whether you’d like to add things like skylights, as well as how much ventilation you want your sunroom.

Knoxville Window Fitters

At Sunrooms Express Knoxville, we’re experts in sunrooms and windows. We offer a variety of services. Our services include installing windows, building sunrooms, building screen rooms, swimming pool enclosures, patio covers, fitting arbors and lattices, adding awnings and more. Call us today to learn more about how we can help you improve your home.