When the pandemic was keeping people at home, it also made homeowners acutely aware of their houses, inside and out. According to a report released in March 2021 by Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, while the U.S. economy shrank in 2020, spending on home improvements grew more than 3%, representing nearly $420 billion. Pella Windows & Doors of Omaha and Lincoln—a long-time Reader’s Choice favorite and 2021 Best Home Window Company—stayed busy adding to curb appeal, making homes more energy-efficient, creating a more modern look for some houses, and faithfully honoring the beautiful traditional architectural elements of others.
A visit to Pella’s website shows a variety of local projects representing a wide range of styles and homeowner needs.
For instance, the makeover story of one Omaha home’s front entry reflects the wishes of the homeowners to create an updated entryway to complement their almost 30-year-old house. They wanted the new doors to have a contemporary look including frosted-glass panels and solid-glass transom windows. The Pella team installed Architect Series Modern double-entry doors in a striking charcoal stain finish. The new doors brightened up the formerly dim entryway and the dark gray exterior coloration enhanced the modern design.
One Lincoln project story demonstrates how a mid-century home’s sunken family room gained better patio access, improved function and a refreshed look through the installation of three-panel sliding doors. The new sliding doors replaced a space previously occupied by entry doors surrounded by windows. The original double-paned plate-glass windows from 1951 were foggy and allowed significant air infiltration, so the new doors were much more energy-efficient. The homeowner reported being “extremely happy” with not only the aesthetic and functional results of the project, but also pleased with the reasonable cost.
A home doesn’t have to be especially aged to warrant replacement windows and/or doors. One local project story portrays a home in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, built in 2005. The homeowners, who wanted some architectural flair to differentiate their home from the uniformity of a residential development, replaced the windows throughout their home with Pella Reserve tilt-turn windows.
These versatile windows can be swung inward from the side (like a door) or tilted inward from the top for ventilation. The homeowners also replaced two sets of sliding patio doors with new Pella Reserve three-panel traditional sliding patio doors. The home’s woodwork had a light interior stain that was challenging for the Pella team to match, but the end result was flawless. The customers appreciated the aesthetic results of the project and also loved the functionality of their tilt-turn windows.
Omaha home and lifestyle blogger Kate Knowles devoted a blog entry to her new home’s Pella Lifestyle Series windows, calling out the product’s reputation for energy efficiency, beautiful casement profile details, and value for her budget. Knowles and her husband chose a combination of custom wood casement windows, both operational and fixed, with grilles between the glass for easy cleaning. They also chose two exterior Pella doors: one to the back patio and a slider door from the basement walkout. In her blog, Knowles described why the investment in Pella products was “worth it.”
“When we researched what type of windows we wanted in our home, Pella was our top choice for a number of reasons. Their high-quality products, variety of options for all budgets, and long- term customer service were most important to us in choosing windows and exterior doors for our home,” she wrote. “We couldn’t be happier with our choice in Pella windows. They stand by their products and not only helped us achieve the look we were going for, but their high energy-efficiency performance will help us save money for years to come.”
Since 1925, Pella has been a leader in innovation in the window and door industry. The company, headquartered in Pella, Iowa, understands the need for replacement windows and doors to stand up to Midwestern weather extremes from steamy hot summers to frigid winters and all the storms in between.
Local Pella Window & Doors showrooms feature products and expertise area homeowners need for their projects. The new Omaha showroom northwest of the intersection of Highways 50 and 370 (14478 Crest Road) opened in 2020 and serves the Omaha/Council Bluffs metro and surrounding areas. The Lincoln Experience Center is located at 4822 Pioneers Boulevard and serves customers in and around Lincoln.
Homeowners are welcome to stop by either showroom to see and touch a variety of windows and doors in full scale and view window options including beautiful wood, low-maintenance vinyl, and durable fiberglass; and wood, fiberglass or steel entry doors. A sales representative can also be scheduled for a free, no-pressure in-home consultation. Either way, it’s an easy process to begin turning a vision for your home into a reality.