Your Guide to Choosing the Right Windows for Your Colorado Custom Home

Choosing Windows

If eyes are the windows to your soul, windows add soul to your house.

This incredibly important design element plays a key role in making your house feel alive. They let the light and air in, connect you to the outside world, frame and focus a specific view. Natural light boosts our mood and even improves cognitive performance. So you want to get them right. 

But if this is your first time building a custom home in Western Colorado, all of the choices may feel overwhelming. That’s why you need a build/design team that will make fantastic recommendations, taking the pressure off. We’ll consider style, finish, function, shape, composition and cost, guiding you through a design process rooted in our experience.

Window Placement Is Key

During our schematic design phase, we’ll work with you and your site, to determine window placement. Not only does window placement affect how the exterior looks, it also affects how the interior feels. Larger, low windows can be used to capture your best views, while smaller windows provide privacy in bathrooms and closets. High windows provide light while hiding unwanted views, such as a utility pole or a neighbor’s backyard hot tub. 

We take an intuitive approach, framing natural views of the landscape, while also providing living spaces with plenty of air flow and daylight. We integrate strategically-placed higher windows to let natural light into unexpected places, like closets and laundry areas. Have you always wanted a large “picture window” filled with plants near your kitchen sink? Now is your chance.

Grids or Picture Window?

From a design perspective, the first question we’ll ask is whether you prefer to have divided window panes, called grids, or to maximize your views by using a single sheet of glass (picture windows). 

The color and functionality of the windows we choose will drive the overall aesthetic of your custom dream home. Large, black picture windows with sharp lines offer modern flair. If you’re interested in a traditional look, you might consider going with a divided window in classic bronze or gray.

When Choosing Windows, Don’t Forget Function

You also want to consider how your windows will work. Windows can be fixed, single-hung, double-hung, or come in a casement or awning style. The choice comes down to personal preference and taste, although the placement of operational windows is also determined both by local building codes and airflow needs. When we’ve nailed down the finish and operation, we explore options by requesting prices from our vendors. Windows are a big ticket item when building a new home, so we try to ensure we pick the highest quality your budget can accommodate.

Whether you are remodeling your existing home or building your Western Colorado home from the foundation up, our team will help you to make the right decisions, about windows, window placement, and so many other design elements. Contact us to get started!

There are no “Must Haves” too wacky or too big when building your custom home with R.G. Cowan Design.

Allow yourself space to dream, and we’ll make it happen.

Windows in a Fruita Modern new custom home.
Picture of Ryan Cowan

Ryan Cowan:
Owner I Operator

RG COWAN DESIGN BUILD crafts dynamic custom homes in Grand Junction, Redlands, Palisade, Appleton, and Fruita, Colorado

We believe that good design is born of inspiration, iteration, and collaboration. It is born out of a process of idea making with a goal of creating beautiful spaces for people. It happens through the interaction with our clients, our collaborators, and our consultants, while always respecting constraints and the natural world. The process is Fluid, founded in the spirit of engagement, while adapting to the needs of a changing world. We think, we design, we build.

These buidling resources will help you navigate the process of building a custom home in and around Grand Junction, Colorado.