News — window grilles

Interior design trends change every year. The New Year is still a month away, but bloggers, designers, and stylists are already figuring out what the hot trends of 2019 will be. Trying to stay stylish when trends change so quickly can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to your home. After taking stock of some of the year's upcoming design tendencies, Fixhome found that custom decorative windows and window grilles will always have a place in the home, regardless of where the trends go.

Color

According to HGTV, Benjamin Moore's Metropolitan (gray), Behr's Blueprint, and Sherwin-Williams' Cavern Clay are going to be the top colors of 2019. Meanwhile, Decor Mag is calling "Nightwatch green" the color of the year. Regardless of what color you decide to paint your kitchen, living room, or trim, Fixhome's window grilles can be painted or stained to match.

Pattern

Pattern trends can be hard to keep up with and tend to cycle in and out quickly. Elle Decor says Ikat and geometric patterns have been overused but florals are in this year. Meanwhile, Decor Mag argues geometric and tribal patterns are still in. Thankfully, choosing a pattern is easy when it comes to window grilles. Not sure if you prefer colonial or diamond patterned grilles? Check out our guide on choosing the right window grille style for your home.

Greenery

The most consistent advice across all the sources and articles about 2019's interior design trends was to incorporate more greenery into one's living and working spaces. Sometimes this was encouraged through green colored paints or fabrics, but many stylists pointed towards bringing more plants into the home. Succulents may have been a hot trend in 2018, but as Interiors Online writes, plants will never go out of style. That means you can't go wrong with Fixhome's garden planter window, which is the perfect way to bring some green color and life into your home.

Whether you love to keep up with design trends, or prefer timeless design, decorative windows and window grilles will fit in with whatever inspires you. We know one thing for certain: maintaining a finished and comfortable home never goes out of style.

Window Grilles & Curb Appeal

Muntin:

A muntin is a bar that separates two panes of glass within a window, helping to hold the window glass in place.

Mullion:

A mullion is a bar that separates units of windows. 

Sash Divider:

A sash divider is an individual bar that divides panes of glass in a window. A sash divider is different than a muntin in that it is not physically dividing the glass, but is placed on top of the glass to create the appearance of a divided window.

Grille:

A window grille (also called a window grid) is a collection of sash dividers that are bound together. Window grilles do not actually separate panes of window glass, but sit on top of one big window pane and create the appearance that the glass is divided into diamonds, rectangles, squares, or other shapes.

Grate:

A window grate is a frame made up of intersecting parallel and vertical bars. It is usually made out of iron or other heavy metal material, and is often used for security purposes.

Divided Light:

A divided light window is made up of several individual panes of glass that are held together by muntins.

Stimulated Divided Light (SDL):

A stimulated divided light window is made up of one pane of glass that has a window grille placed on top of it, creating the illusion of divided window panes.

When making home improvements, it's important to prioritize decisions that will result in a return on your investment. The value of your home is important because it affects your property taxes, and what you might sell your home for. It can also be an indicator of overall financial health. Someone who is looking to improve the value of their home has a number of options available, many of which can be expensive and time consuming. Adding window grids to your home is an easy way to add value to your home without expending a huge investment up front.

So, how do window grids, also known as window muntins or mullions, add value to your home?

Help make your home stand out. 

Windows are an important part of a home's outward presentation, and leaving them bare and empty is no way to make a good first impression. Install window grids and make a strong impact on those who are seeing your home for the first time. Additionally, window grids can add to the uniformity of a home's style, making your house feel well-designed and more modern.

Show a well maintained home. 

Window grids add a polished feel to your home, and show potential buyers or appraisers that the homeowner has been active in maintaining the upkeep of the house. A house where the cosmetic aspects have been preserved will convey a sense that the functional aspects of the home have also been well cared for.

Make your home feel move-in ready.

A house will be more desirable to buyers and have a higher value if it feels move-in ready. The less work that potential new owners have to do, the better, and window grilles add a sense of completion to your home.

Property value is determined by a number of different variables. Location, current market demand, and home size & layout, and are all part of the calculation. Many of these things are out of a homeowner's control, but DIY home improvements are cost affective and realistic ways homeowners can make a difference.

DIY home improvement projects are satisfying to complete. They involve overcoming challenges and you often learn a lot in the process. Updating your home's interior and exterior look with window grilles is an easy do-it-yourself project. All you have to do is measure your window, place your order from Fixhome.com, and then assemble and install your new grille bar inserts. In this process, measuring accurately may be the most difficult part.

Common Tape-Measure Mistakes

• Bending the ruler. When trying to measure the inside of a window, it is common for people to bend their tape measure to fit inside the frame, resulting in an inaccurate reading. To avoid this, place your entire tape measure inside the window, with the base of the tape measure snug against the frame. Your tape measure tells you the length of it's base on the side, so you can simply add this to the length you measure in order to get a more accurate reading.

• Ignoring the hook. The loose hook at the end of a tape measure is an important feature that is often misused. The first inch of your tape measure is exactly 1/16" short. When you hook your ruler on the outside of something to get a measurement, the loose hook extends outwards to create a 1/16" gap. The metal hook is exactly 1/16" wide, so if you measure something with the hook pressed snug against an edge, the hook will shift inwards and the width of the hook will be added to the measurement length. 

Measuring Visible Glass for Fixhome Grilles

When measuring your window for Fixhome grilles, it is important to only measure the daylight opening of your window. This is the area of visible glass in your window, from the inside of your house. The daylight opening measurement does not include the window frame or the window sash.

Other Measuring Tips

• Write down the measurements as soon as you get them. There is nothing more frustrating than taking the time to get an accurate measurement, and then forgetting it a second later.
• Make sure your tape measure is in good shape. Overtime, tape measures can get worn down. Fading makes the markings difficult to see, and any bending or breaking may result in inaccurate readings.

Fixhome is dedicated to creating an easy, stress free ordering process for our customers. If you're still having trouble, call us and we will be happy to help you.

For more measuring tips, view our How to Measure page.