Architectural Style
Maintain your Home's style & elevate curb Appeal
Architectural Styles
Get inspired. River City Windows will match windows to your home’s architectural design. Elevate curb appeal with beautiful windows while keeping true to your home’s distinct style. From Cape Cod, Colonial, Tudor and modern, to Ranch, Mediterranean, Victorian and more, we will ensure your windows are suited to your home.
Cape Cod
Originated in 17th century New England, Cape Cod homes are generally one-and-a-half stories with a steeply pitched roof. Traditional in style, windows are generally multi-paned with shutters on each side.
Recommended Windows
The best windows for this architectural style are double hung, traditional in style, with grids to match the multi-pane look. Double-Hung windows offer a traditional look and performance for a Cape Cod home. Both top and bottom sashes open and tilt inward for easy cleaning.
Colonial
Colonial homes have wide and varied styles due to influences from Dutch, French, Spanish, New England, and Georgian architecture. Like other traditional-style homes, Colonial homes are often fitted with multi-paned windows and shutters. Ventilation is important in Colonial homes due to its older structure with little or no open space layout.
Recommended Windows
Double Hung/Single Hung windows are recommended for Colonial homes. The windows pair well with shutters, marking the essence of Colonial style home. The window can be operated from the bottom or top sash, sliding up and down for ventilation.
Tudor
The Tudor style has been around for several hundred years, developing out of fifteenth-century English during the Tudor period. Defining features include brick and stone exterior, arched doorways, and combinations of tall, narrow windows with dark trim. Many of these homes contain exposed wood features that the windows may match or complement.
Recommended Windows
Casement windows are recommended for Tudor homes. The long, narrow shape complements the architectural design. Choose a wood or wood veneer frame to match the exposed wood features of the home.
Modern
Clean lines, smooth surfaces, and lots of light encompass the look of contemporary homes. Ornamentation is kept at a minimum to focus on large perceived space and welcome indoor-outdoor living.
While contemporary homes are varied in how they are designed, sliding horizontal windows can almost always be a great choice. The slim profiles and narrow frames create a sleek appearance. Grids are seldom applied and generally kept to valence grids if employed.
Recommended Windows
While contemporary homes are varied in design, sliding horizontal windows can almost always be a great choice. The slim profiles and minimal ornamentation can create or continue the clean lines of many contemporary homes.
Craftsman / Bungalow
American Craftsman style and bungalows are variations of an affordable housing type that swept across America in the early twentieth century. Distinguished with many low-pitched windows and an open floor plan, craftsman and bungalow homes are ideally suited for mild California climates. Bungalow style houses typically have plenty of natural light. The style was initially marked by its modernity and break away from the ornate Victorian-style homes. Craftsman bungalows are now popular with homeowners who want to restore a historic house as many are over 100 years old. Many of these homes have wood features that replacement windows may match or complement.
Double Hung windows in combination with casement and awning windows help create the patterns with which Bungalow style houses are typically associated.
Recommended Windows
Double Hung grid windows in combination with casement/awning or picture windows help create the patterns that Bungalow style houses are typically associated with. Bungalow style houses typically have ample light, and combinations of larger grid windows provide plenty of natural light.
Prairie
Frank Lloyd Wright revolutionized the American home when he began to design “Prairie” style houses. Rooms were a direct contrast to the Victorian era style; rather than ‘boxed in’, the interior spaces were open. Mostly an upper class or upper-middle-class movement, prairie style homes usually have low-pitched roofs, horizontal lines, and open interior spaces.
Prairie Style houses employ the use of a high band of narrow windows – the perfect place for awning windows. The style of awning windows allows for ventilation while maintaining the accented look of a Prairie Style home.
Recommended Windows
Prairie Style houses employ the use of a high band of narrow windows – the perfect place for awning windows. The style of awning windows allows for ventilation while maintaining the accented look of a Prairie Style home. Large picture windows also help maximize your view in living room, dining, or master bedrooms.
Ranch & Split Level
Ranch/Split-Level homes become popular as suburbia expanded to accommodate the growth of families in post-World War II America. Split-level is a variation of the raised Ranch style with a basement, main floor and upstairs. The basement often features a garage that is level with the driveway. Large windows and sliding glass doors are popular in Ranch/Split level homes as the architecture lends towards a more contemporary style.
Large, narrow-frame picture windows fit the Ranch/Split-Level style of home very well. They are in line with the design of large areas of glass to let in light as well as staying in a more contemporary style. Grids are often very simple, if used at all.
Recommended Windows
Large picture windows fit the Ranch/Split-Level style of home very well. They are in line with the design of large areas of glass to let in light as well as staying in a more contemporary style.
Stucco, Spanish & Mediterranean
As the name suggests, Spanish/Mediterranean/Stucco homes are influenced by the region in its descriptive. This ranges from older homes with small windows and large doors topped by arch windows, to new-style Mediterranean homes that have larger windows..
Arch windows complement very well with the lines and pattern of Spanish/Mediterranean/Stucco style homes. Grid patterns can be used to create the illusion of multiple panes.
Recommended Windows
Arch windows are very popular in stucco style homes and complement well with the curved lines for a softer look.
Victorian & Queen Anne Homes
During the twentieth century Industrial Revolution in Great Britain, millions of houses were built in a housing boom now referred to as “Victorian” houses. In the United States, Victorian-era houses often include ornate décor with elaborate details, a multitude of trim and bold color palette.
Victorian homes often use traditional-style double hung windows in combination with arch windows on top. Bay and bow windows are also recommended to complement the ornate style of Victorian/Queen Anne homes. They give a focal point to a formal room as well as create the illusion of a bigger interior.
Recommended Windows
Bay and Bow windows complement the ornate style of Victorian/Queen Anne homes. They accentuate the view by dividing it into different planes and bring in more light. Bay Windows can be customized for a combination that suits your home best.