New Double-Hung Windows and a Half-Circle Transom Refresh This Home's Front Gable

Built in 1999, this Greenfield home was designed with a tall, arched gable window as its centerpiece, a half-circle of fanned glass sitting above a pair of windows on the front of the house. The shape gave the home's entry a distinct architectural touch from the day it was built, and the homeowner wanted to keep that look intact through a window replacement. 

What needed to change was underneath the arch. The two windows below the transom were single-hung, meaning only the bottom sash moved, which made the outside of the top sash difficult to reach from inside the home. Working with Pella sales representative Wesley Edmonds, the homeowner replaced the pair with new double-hung windows and kept the half-circle transom above them, finishing the whole opening in a color closer to the brick to bring the look together.

The gable window sits front and center on the home, so any change to it was going to be noticeable from the street. The original single-hung windows had done their job for years, but reaching the outside of the fixed top sash meant working from a ladder or hiring it out, since only the bottom half of each window tilted in for cleaning. 

The homeowner's priorities for the replacement were straightforward: windows that were easier to maintain, a finish that read closer to the brick than the original white trim and a result that still looked like it belonged under the home's arched transom.

In place of the single-hung pair, the homeowner chose two-wide double-hung windows. Unlike the originals, both the upper and lower sashes on a double-hung window move and tilt in, so the outside glass on either sash can be cleaned from inside the home rather than from a ladder. 

Each window closes with a cam-action lock and includes a full screen, so the change in hardware brought a small security upgrade along with the added convenience.

Above the new double-hung windows, the half-circle transom was replaced with a new direct set fixed window, factory-joined to the double-hungs below so the whole opening reads as one unit. Where the original arch was a single pane of plain glass, the new half circle was ordered with a starburst grille pattern, adding the fanned, radiating lines that now give the gable its focal point. Because the half circle doesn't open, it was built without hardware or a screen, so nothing interrupts the pattern. 

It's a small change with an outsized effect on the front of the house. The double-hung windows below stayed close to their original grille pattern, so the new sunburst in the arch is the detail that stands out most from the street.

All three sections of the window, the two double-hung windows and the half-circle above them, use insulated glass with a Low-E coating and an argon fill between the panes. The coating is designed to block a significant share of the sun's UV rays while still allowing daylight through, which helps protect flooring and furniture near the window from fading. 

For the homeowner, the bigger difference was comfort. Argon-filled glass manages heat transfer better than standard insulated glass, which was part of why the front room felt warmer near the window once the new units were in for the winter.

Color was one of the homeowner's top priorities going into the project, and the new windows were finished in Almond on both the interior and exterior, a warmer tone than the original white that reads closer to the home's brick. New trim was installed to match, including painted pine casing on the interior and Almond-finished trim on the exterior, along with a new window stool beneath the lower sash. 

Keeping the trim and glass details consistent across all three sections of the window, rather than treating the transom as a separate accent piece, is what lets the finished project read as a single, cohesive window rather than three parts pieced together.

The finished project keeps the architectural detail that made this Greenfield home's entry distinct while solving the everyday problem that came with the original windows. The homeowner now has double-hung windows that tilt in on both sashes for cleaning, a warmer Almond finish that matches the brick instead of standing apart from it, and glass built to keep the front room more comfortable through the winter, all without losing the sunburst transom that first gave the gable its character.