Anthracite windows - a good investment or a trend guaranteed to date fast?

[RosesAndPoppies]

I need new windows and I'm pondering whether anthracite is worth the extra money.

Imo it currently looks very swanky but I'm worried that dark brown windows looked swanky in the 80s and now they look naff as hell.

I don't want to splash out extra cash on something that I might come to hate over their lifespan (upvc likely, so prob 25 odd years).

Equally I don't want to splash out in white and then regret my boring decision.

I live in a 60s semi with tiled front, in a row of the same. 2 houses have had anthracite windows put in, and they look lovely. 2 more have had white which also look very nice.

Opinions?

We went anthracite - though it was the same price as white - black, which I would have preferred was more. We figured that we'd never paint wooden window frames white, and that we prefer dark woodwork inside, so anthracite made sense.

It’s a trend. It will pass.

I think they're starting to look dated already, I'd stick with white

The trend is already passing.

It's all about black windows now...
I wonder being a semi if the colour of your neighbour makes any difference? If they had grey, maybe match etc??

It already looks dated and to my eye a bit cheap although they look the best they can on mid century houses like yours so if that’s what you like then go for it.

They look bloody awful on older houses, there’s beautiful detached 1930’s bay fronted houses with hanging tiles round here that have had those slab front doors and black windows install and it just looks all kinds of wrong.

Wouldn’t be my first choice but I think it would be fine it your style of house- if it was an Edwardian terrace or something then no way, but anything post 1960s would generally be fine.

If you get fed up with the colour you can always get UPVC painted anyway- I got a guy to do our front door a few years ago.

Interesting / I am Les inc towards white I think, just worries I'll regret it.

Leaning. Don't know who les inc is 👀

I think they look pretty naff but if you're happy then OK. They won't be adding anything to the value of your house IMO.

Think about the effect of heat on the colour of the frame. We have to have brown outside (deeds) and the heat that the frames absorb is intense.

On a warm day the heat makes the window frames swell in the brick, the cracking noise as they do is really disconcerting.

We had someone round to look at our windows (to fix a problem) and he advised white was best for outside due to the interaction with heat.

I think white is the classic colour for windows, I agree that anthracite will look very dated in a couple of years. If you really love the colour then get it, but I would choose white personally.

I would try to think what the original architect would have used - not just the colour but the design and the material.

Hey! Architect here! @TheDefiant is 100% correct and the issue is so bad that they’re likely to become regulated in the next few years (unless manufacturers can guarantee they won’t cause homes to overheat!)

The trend is already passing, so much so, that houses we designed in 2020 are now having their windows changed already.

They’re just the modern day equivalent to the dark brown window frames you see on 80s / 90s (a bit like in Brookside…)

If it were my choice, I’d stick to white

I wouldn't, they'll look dated like dark wood ones from the 80s
White will never go out of fashion
We went with white windows and painted the house grey instead

Been and gone
Stick to white or cream just simple

Very, very dated and a bit 'Hinch'.

We went for aluminium and had them sprayed using a RAL colour chart, we went for a honey/sage green reflecting the colour of the stone.

Plain aluminium looks nice and thin atm.

Honestly, those grey window frames look so naff already. Even worse when on a house from a period that would never have had that colour at the time. Ideally i would always make choices of stuff like that roughly in the period of the house build.

It's always looked tacky.

Slim framed white windows that sit flush would look good and are unlikely to lose value. They replicate timber windows which are timeless.

I'm so glad I posted - I had thought of this but dismissed because I thought it couldn't be an issue since they're so popular. That has made up my mind colour wise. Thanks!

Unfortunately I can't afford timber, which is what would have been here originally (annoyingly I have two original timber windows and while they're single glazed the timber is perfect. I'm planning to get the refurbished and adjusted for double glazing in the original frames. I expect that if the previous owner hadn't got dodgy upvc in the 90s the original timber would be fine all round. Oh well)
I guess aluminium is next best but I'm not sure I have the budget for that and upvc gets so much better energy ratings. 😬

Thanks - very useful to have a professional view. Can I ask if you use aluminium in your builds and if you have any view on the energy efficiency of aluminium (not top range) vs upvc?

White reflects more light into the room
all other options will date
same with sheets (look at hotels)
and bathrooms (see also hotels)