photo courtesy of Breezway

Let the light shine in. But keep prying eyes out. Let through just the right amount of cooling trade breezes. But none of those pesky bugs. Withstand all that Island heat, humidity and salt. And please, windows, look good while you’re doing it.

It’s a tall order. Hawaii Home + Remodeling talked to some industry experts about window-ware solutions that work.

Love the Louvers

Many people underestimate the importance windows have on the home, but they’re an essential means for letting natural light and air flow into the home, says Aaron Dillaway, of Breezway.

Breezway has taken an Island staple—louver windows—and transformed them into the next generation in window ware. Breezway louvers can wrap around entire walls, and are a perfect fit with the trend toward sleek, modernist designs.

Taking louvers even further into the future is Breezway’s new Altair Powerlouvre. With the push of a remote button, you can open and close louvers in hard-to-reach places.

The Altair louvers are ideal in the Island heat, allowing almost 100 percent airflow. Keylocks and security bars are available. Tight seals keep air conditioning in, allowing homeowners to easily hose them clean from the outside. They’re available in numerous colors and finishes and, for extra privacy, you can opt for obscure blades, such as wood or aluminum.

Art Glass

Privacy is one of the big conundrums in the window business. A creative solution comes with glass blocks and art glass, which let the light shine in, but not inquisitive glances from outside.

“Glass Block is perfect for Hawaii, where we have the issue of zero lot lines and need to maintain our privacy,” says Mark Brower, of Hawaii Glass Block.

The shimmering walls of light can be used to create anything from dramatic curved bay windows to entryway sidelights to unique architectural details. There are numerous designs, shapes and colors available and even a block that filters out harmful UV light.

Stained glass windows are a perfect solution for entryway sidelights and bathrooms, says Annalee Jones, of Glass Rainbows.

Jones creates a wide range of designs, from contemporary to Hawaiiana to marine scenes. Just as important as the design, however, is the structural integrity, she says.

“You have to work with somebody who does know the structure and how to make it right,” she says. “It’s just like building a house, if you don’t do it right, it could fall apart.”

Stained Glass artwork by Glass Rainbows (left), and glass artist Joe Dwight (right).

Stained glass injects something extra into a room, says glass artist Joe Dwight, who confesses to being addicted to the medium.

“A stained glass window changes everything,” he says. “It has a life of its own. Every time of day, hour by hour, what you see changes as the light conditions change. It’s addictive.”

It doesn’t hurt the bottom line, either. Realtors have told Dwight that a stained glass window that costs around $3,000 can add double that to the sale price of a home.

Etched glass allows the same artistic license.

“It’s a unique custom look,” says Arts Hawaii owner Gary Oda, who likes the clean lines and light-giving properties of his medium. “You can customize it to match your house, your environment.”

For a home in Manoa, Oda used a taro design; for a Molokai house, he captured the lush greenery outside; and for a residence in Pacific Heights, whose owners are gardenia enthusiasts, he crafted spectacular blossoms that are more than a foot tall.

Oda notices that homeowners are turning to other Hawaiiana looks these days, with native foliage, taro and breadfruit designs.

Shutter Style

The return to plantation-style design has also made shutters increasingly popular.

Polywood shutters by Sunburst Shutters.

“If there’s any place that should have shutters, it’s Hawaii,” says Mark Iwasaki, of Island Shutters. “Shutters are the only window treatment that allow you to control your ventilation, light and privacy. With other treatments, at least one of those elements is sacrificed.”

Island Shutters designs and makes its shutters in Hawaii, building a product that can take the beating—and the rain—that comes from our open-window lifestyle. The company provides a range of affordable shutters, for those on a budget as well as high-end customers. The shutters are available in wood or a high-density polymer.

“Polymer is not vinyl,” Iwasaki stresses. “Unlike vinyl, it is solid, so it’s structurally sound.”

Shutters are also a cost-effective way to dress up a home, whether you’re selling or just moving in, says Brent Wilson, of Sunburst Shutters.

“They have that natural, plantation-style look, so they’re very complementary to most home decors here,” he says.

Sunburst Shutters uses a licensed, patented product called Polywood, an engineered wood that is warranteed for life not to peel, chip, discolor or warp.

“They’re weatherproof, termite proof and sound and heat resistant,” Wilson says. The company also carries a full wood line that comes in 35 different colors.

The most popular slat size is three-and-a-half inches, although there are signs that homeowners are getting more comfortable with the bigger look—California windows are being dressed up with five-and-a-half-inch shutter slats.

“The wider slat gives you more view space,” Wilson says. If you want a completely unadulterated view, shutters can be placed on tracks that pull off to the side, he adds.

By day (top) these Breezway jalousie windows offer nearly 100-percent airflow when the entire windowpane is open. By night (bottom) the windows highlight the home’s architectural elements. Photo courtesy of Breezway.

Hard-Wearing Windows

Bigger is also better when it comes to the windows themselves. Hawaii homeowners are getting more in sync with the stunning outdoors and installing more—and bigger—windows, according to Pam Barrett, of Coastal Windows.

The big seller for this 16-year-old local company is its product’s durability. Coastal Windows designs and custom builds its vinyl windows and hardware specifically for the Island environment, taking into account the salt, the humidity and even hurricanes.

“A lot of other products have trouble here, because they’ll corrode,” Barrett says.

It’s also easy to get creative with window shapes these days. Coastal Windows can custom build windows in any shape, from circles to octagons to trapezoids.

There are no-holds barred on designers at Island Cedar, either.

“Anything the architects can come up with, we can do,” says owner Dan Hawkins. The company recently installed an impressive 16-foot-wide window, which the customer told him he’d been unable to find anywhere else.

Island Cedar uses Vinyltek to construct its durable custom windows and doors. Vinyltek offers the look and feel of wood windows, with the convenience and durability of vinyl. It’s manufactured from virgin uPVC, with some of the thickest walls in the industry, providing comfort and energy savings.

Hawkins also finds that many clients are concerned with security. “With our window design, the glass needs to be broken to get in,” he says, because you can’t take out the sliders or the frames, or pry the locks from the outside.

If you’re looking for windows that work well with Hawaii’s old-style plantation homes, Kolbe Windows & Doors offers wood and wood-clad aluminum windows with some authentic details, including a push-out casement and French casement windows.

Cabinet Distributors Inc. just reintroduced the Kolbe range to the Islands.

“Kolbe Windows & Doors is a unique product, because it offers so much variety from one manufacturer,” says Jon Ashton, president of Cabinet Distributors Inc.

The Kolbe line includes vinyl, which the company has taken extra steps to make it look like natural wood. The exterior trims come in a multitude of colors, the mullions have a traditional wood look and the interiors include a cherry or oak wood grain.

Kolbe windows are built strong, helping them stand up to the harsh environment. They include stainless steel hardware for corrosion resistance and their painted exterior finish is one of the most durable on the market.

Another fast-growing trend in Hawaii’s high-end homes is the demand for wood varieties that blend with cabinetry and flooring selections, says Jana Goo, of Pella Architectural Products Inc.

To meet that demand, next month Pella will begin manufacturing windows in mahogany, alder and Douglas fir, in addition to its current Western pine.

Pella also offers its Designer Series windows and patio doors with between-the-glass blinds and shades. Protected within the window, they don’t collect dirt and salt residue that make ordinary varieties a headache to clean.

There are 10 different blind colors—ranging from cirrus clouds to bamboo—and 15 fabric shades, in addition to decorative panel inserts. New additions in the decorative panels include bear grass and sea glass.

Bringing good looks, privacy and ease of maintenance, they’re a creative solution to meeting all the demands we place on our windows.