How to Choose the Right Windows for Your Kitchen
For many homeowners, the kitchen isn’t just a place to prepare and store food. It’s the central part of the home, a gathering place, and a place where the whole family can spend time together before the day begins and after it’s ended. That’s why setting up the right windows for your home kitchen is such a big deal. It might not seem like choosing between a variety of standard types and custom windows can have a big impact on how you use and view your space, but if you’re someone who knows that you and your family will be getting a ton of use out of your kitchen, you don’t want to design a space that’s hard to work in and look at. From finding the best frames to choosing the right glass, here are some tips on how windows can create a warm, lived-in look for your kitchen.
Choose Convenience
Whether you spend a lot of time cooking, convening, or reading in the kitchen, you don’t want any part of it to feel inaccessible. Kitchens are typically set up to create a sense of ease when cooking or preparing meals, with a designated, easily-reachable place for all a homeowner’s tools. Why should your kitchen windows be any different? If you’re trying to create a space with lots of natural light and energy efficient properties, choosing a casement window is a great way to make things easier on yourself. Not only are casement windows great for hard-to-reach areas, such as right over the sink or in a higher-up location, they also provide great airflow due to their crank-operated way of opening. Casement windows also operate on smaller frames, giving you a much better view. If you’re someone who wants the house to be filled with light in the early morning, installing a casement window in a central location will do wonders for your kitchen.
Use Light and Color to Your Advantage
Some rooms in your home, like a study or den, can afford to be a bit moodier when it comes to color scheme and style. Your kitchen is not one of those rooms. It doesn’t matter if you plan on using your kitchen for cooking or are envisioning it as a strictly social area. You want it to be a warm, inviting, and open space for friends, family, and guests. Because of this, you want to make sure you install windows that are going to let the light in without causing discomfort. In addition to choosing glass with a low-E coating for maximum comfort and UV ray protection, think about installing at least one picture window or casement window in your kitchen. If your space overlooks a nice view, you have a perfect opportunity to show it off while letting in tons of light. You can also use your kitchen windows to dictate your color scheme for the space. For instance, if you’re not getting enough light with your kitchen windows, consider painting the room a pastel yellow or blue or putting up some light-colored wallpaper.
Think About Size
Home kitchens tend to benefit from a series of smaller windows rather than one large, central outlook. While it’s important to have at least one window that offers a good view and lets a lot of light in, this effect is enhanced by installing a number of other more traditional double-hung windows to let in a bit more light and create a more open feeling. You’ll also be able to ventilate the space with much more ease and have far more control over the light and sun exposure of the space throughout the day.
Increase Airflow on Heavy Cooking Days
Not everyone plans on using their kitchen to cook lavish home meals every night. But if you do plan to cook even once in a while, you’ll need windows that support the function your kitchen was made for. Making a kitchen look beautiful is one thing: Creating a space that makes it easy, and even enjoyable to cook meals and host guests, is totally another. That’s why your choice of windows should make it easy for you to ventilate your space on days when you’ll be cooking up a storm. If your kitchen is attached to other high-traffic areas of the home, this is even more important. As pleasant as it can be to have a lot of cooking smells wafting through the house, having windows that can increase the airflow and freshen the space up more easily, such as casement or double-hung windows, will make your job a lot easier when it comes time to clean up after the meal.
