MARVIN WINDOWS: FEATURED CASE STUDY
Live/Work: Streaming Natural Light all Day
Marvin'S Essential Collection Windows and doors add beauty and productivity to a MidTown home remodel
A new addition featuring Marvin Essential Collection fiberglass windows creates a shared space for living and working. (Photos by Matt Berger, Santa Cruz Millwork)
Working from home has never felt so good, says the Santa Cruz homeowner who gave us a tour recently of her natural-light-filled remodel in Midtown featuring Marvin Essential Collection windows and doors.
“It’s great to have a convenient office space with everything I need,” she says. “I work with people internationally and I’m able to do that from my home, which is amazing. But on the weekend I just shut the door.”
The original home was built more than 70 years ago and like most in Santa Cruz featured narrow rooms with inconvenient doorways, a tiny kitchen, and small drafty windows that were difficult to operate. Many of the rooms were dark with no natural light. “We had so many lamps!”
After a long design process working with architect Brian Friel, they handed over plans in August 2022 to local builder Mark Cramblet.
“We got rid of the garage completely.”In its place, they transformed the square footage into a spacious laundry room, an extended home office, and a garage-like storage area with access from the outside. They also removed a wall and a large fireplace clearing a path for light to stream in through a window-lined new addition.
“These two new rooms have vaulted ceilings and plenty of light coming through the skylights. And we went big on the light fixtures, it was fun picking those out.”
The kitchen is a magnet for visitors from the moment you walk in. “We both like to cook and so we wanted a place for guests to hang out and visit while we’re cooking, and that’s worked out really well.”
Not every room got a makeover, but they did replace all of the windows in the house with Marvin’s Essential casement and picture window assemblies.
The fiberglass windows feature a dark Bronze exterior and interior finish providing contrast and consistency throughout the house.
“I love the look of the windows. They have a really clean look that goes well with the basic lines of the house.”
An in-swing French door provides access to a cypress-shaded back patio that’s surrounded by casement and window assemblies featuring a dark Bronze finish inside and out.
“Now it’s just filled with light. The architect went really big on the windows in the new construction area and the skylights are life-changing. It makes the house feel a lot more connected to the backyard.”
And when they want to tune out the outdoors:
“I shut the windows and it’s quiet regardless of what’s going on outside.”
Fibergrlass is Durable and Low-Maintenance
Marvin’s premium fiberglass windows feature a strong finish that resists fading, chalking, peeling, and cracking, even in the darkest colors like Bronze featured in this home remodel.
