Fabulous Frames

Style wasn’t always a consideration when selecting new window frames but times are changing thanks to this company. MARTIN PILKINGTON reports

- Martin Pilkington

AS a nation we have a shared obsession with our homes and how they look and, as recent trends demonstrate, one of the major ways of putting our personal stamp upon those homes is by choosing windows that enhance and differentiate them.

‘In the 1980s and early 90s, people who were replacing their old single-glazed windows often chose them for their low maintenance properties without considering the aesthetics, or how they matched a building’s heritage,’ says Simon James, head of marketing at VEKA. ‘But now they’re being done for the second time – as more than 70 per cent of such purchases are - very often it is a much more considered decision. People want to make their homes look better, not just fit a window.’

VEKA, as the world’s largest window systems company, is playing a central role in this trend by providing rather more stylishly enticing options than the ‘shiny white’ units of old. Their Burnley factory celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, and for the last 20 of those years VEKA has worked closely with the group of professional fabricators and installers now branded as Independent Network.