Transform Your Window Exteriors from Boring to Extraordinary

By Christine Cooney, The House Designers Staff Writer

You can take your home's exterior from ordinary to extraordinary by adding decorative trim, moulding, crossheads and shutters to your windows. Adding these affordable, do-it-yourself features to your windows will set your home apart from the rest by adding warmth and character to your home’s facade.

“With so many options for enhancing window exteriors using lightweight polyurethane products, even the most novice do-it-yourselfer can change a window exterior from boring to beautiful in a short time,” says Niki Decker with Fypon®. “If you can use a tape measure, a hammer and a caulk gun, you can transform your window exteriors!”

Fypon® offers hundreds of decorative products to enhance and protect your windows.

Affordable window enhancement options include:

Top off your windows with decorative crossheads. They can be plain or detailed with keystones in the center or dentil trim along the length of the crosshead for a more traditional design. For a softer look there are crosshead arches and eyebrows.

For a more dramatic window top try decorative pediments. Choose from curved and peaked sunbursts, triangular peaked caps, acorn and rams head styles to draw attention to your windows.

Try adding smooth, plain or fluted pilasters to the sides of your windows to add appeal and to cover any imperfections. Centering a plinth on the top and bottom of the window is a great way to balance out the window design. You could even frame the entire window with pilasters.

A simple and affordable way to surround a window is using flat or decorative trim with corner plinth blocks. This easy do-it-yourself project requires no miter cuts and can be painted to complement your home’s exterior.

Draw attention to your windows while protecting them from the elements with decorative shutters. Choose from louvered and raised panel styles that can be painted or stained.

Perfect for craftsman style homes are window panels, which are added below the window and then enclosed with trim. Window panels add depth and draw attention to the window.

If you’re looking to dress up your dormer windows, Fypon® offers complete dormer trim systems. These dormer trim systems come with a triangular-shaped pediment to go above the window, a set of pre-measured side trim pieces and return moulding to finish off the window surround.