What’s a new car that doesn’t have automatic locks, that new car smell, or a CD player? It’s still a new car but the little additions make your purchase so much more satisfying.

So it is with your home. An entry takes on new dimension when a flush door is replaced with one that has a window with decorative glass or a transom above it. Shutters can add a subtle touch to a facade. And windows and patio doors with rich hardware finishes, distinctive grilles and other options add depth and character to a home inside and out.

As more homeowners look to add curb appeal and charm to their homes, window manufacturers have expanded their offerings to help homeowners achieve their desired outcome. You’ll love the look of your home even more when you include any number of finishing touches on your windows and doors.

“Homeowners have so many choices for tailoring the windows and doors to their home thanks to the many, many options available from manufacturers today,” says Dave Koester, brand manager for Weather Shield Windows & Doors, a premium window and patio door manufacturer. “From exterior colors to interior wood species and hardware styles and finishes, the choices are practically unlimited.”

On the inside, you can choose from several types of wood for your windows – each offering unique textures and grains. Maple, cherry, mahogany, character alder, knotty pine and oak are among the wood choices available on many window brands. Higher-end, specialty window brands can also accommodate requests for custom wood species. Interior trim in a variety of profiles and styles attractively frames windows, whether it be on a window over the kitchen sink or around the picture window in the living room.

Advances in screens are one of the latest trends in windows and doors. The newest generation of screens may be completely hidden – retracting into the window or door frame – or hardly visible with tightly woven screen mesh. Weather Shield Windows & Doors has a wood-wrapped screen frame that provides classic warmth to screens that are always on display. A hinged version of the wood-wrapped screen nicely dresses up a push-out French casement window.

Hardware on windows, patio doors and screens can be subtle nuances or intriguing adornments. Collapsible crank handles for casement windows minimize interference with the view and window treatments. You can stick with the standard hardware finish, usually bright brass, or look to other lush finishes such as oil-rubbed bronze, brushed nickel, chrome, brushed chrome or antique brass to dress up your personal spaces. Hand-cast bronze hardware is an authentic enhancement in homes of Classical and Colonial architecture.

Bathrooms, bedrooms and even a home’s more public areas can benefit from specialty glass that obscures the view and enhances privacy. Through new manufacturing technology, manufacturers also now offer the distinctive look of leaded or beveled glass without the expense of the real thing.

Grilles or mullions provide allure to windows and patio doors at a reasonable cost. Whether inside the airspace of insulated glass or affixed to the inside and outside of the glass, grilles can be configured in a standard rectangular pattern or custom patterns that add to a home’s charm from the street or the easy chair.

Window and door trim on the home’s exterior serves a practical purpose while also embellishing a home’s architectural style through one of many profiles available. Weather Shield recently introduced a unique exterior wood casing line that includes hundreds of configurations in one-piece or two-piece systems that complement Colonial, Craftsman or whatever your home’s architectural style.

That exterior trim, along with the windows and doors, can be prefinished in any color imaginable for a consistent color and finish – whether your windows and doors have wood or aluminum clad exteriors. Anodized aluminum exteriors capture the look of true bronze, silver, copper or other metals in a finish that is durable, resistant to chipping and peeling, and evenly finished.

Clearly, the vast array of options available for windows and doors today can help create curb appeal and a one-of-a-kind look for your home. Each adds character, warmth and personality that enhances your home just like those automatic locks and CD player make a new car more enjoyable.

For a look at many of the available options, visit weathershield.com or call 1-800-477-6808 for a Design Solutions brochure. – Courtesy of MS.