Older homes hold a certain charm that’s hard to come by in modern homes. The craftsmanship and attention to detail, for the most part, is nothing like we have today. Hand carved wooden trim, beautiful cabinetry built into the walls, and homes built by hand are more or less characteristics of the past. When you’re living in an older home with windows that are equally as old, how do you go about replacing windows without losing charm? The good news is, you don’t necessarily have to sacrifice your home’s appearance to get the benefits of new replacement windows. Selecting the correct style on windows for older homes makes all the difference — and you don’t have to lose appeal to get the best of both worlds.

Evaluating the Style of Your Original Windows

Victorians, Cape Cods, Tudors and Colonials are traditional style homes dating back to the 1700s. The style is still constructed today, although there are obvious modern variations within the newer models. If you’re living in a 100-year-old Tudor with wooden windows that bit the dust some years ago, you’re not out of options. Take a close look at the overall architecture of your home, and more importantly, the style of your current windows. Taking note of the following characteristics will help you keep the charm of your original windows as close as possible:

✓ Color of the window frames
✓ Size of the window
✓ Fixed or operable
✓ Grid patterns
✓ Geometrical shape

Stylistic Options to Recreate Old World Charm

Since your new windows will be custom made to fit your home, almost all geometric shapes, colors and grids are a possibility, regardless of age. There are stylistic characteristics tied to certain period homes. For example, the Victorian home is a gothic-inspired style home with various shapes and sizes of windows. Typically, Double Hung windows work the best with Victorians. Selecting a contrasting frame color adds a dash of authenticity, back when some Victorians were yellow with green window frames, or other color variations.

It’s fairly easy to recreate older windows using various grid styles. A lot of older windows grid patterns, ranging from diamond grid to standard top sash grids. Getting the right grid style for your old warm home is one of the surefire ways to keep your home’s original curb appeal. Keep in mind that almost all older homes originally had wood windows. To replicate the wood window look with modern efficiency, select vinyl that has the appearance of real wood windows.

Paying close attention to the style of your original windows will help you select the most authentic looking replacement windows possible. You’ll get the efficiency of today’s triple pane windows with the charm of windows from another century.