• Historic Window Stylesstained glass window,glass,window,stained glass,sa image by Earl Robbins from Fotolia.com
  
  Old window styles tell us as much about history and invention as they do about the aesthetics of the cultures that used them. Windows with glass were a status symbol, reserved for the wealthy who could afford the architecture, transport and artisan fees. Churches made early use of elaborate glass windows in their most ambitious cathedrals. The influence of some of the ornate and practical window styles developed throughout history can be seen in homes today.
  
  

Multi-paned Windows

• Six-over-six panes were commonly seen during colonial times. Large panes of glass were expensive and didn't travel well, but smaller panes could be packed for transport and fitted to wooden frames with relative ease so merchant and pioneer families could have the light and protection of glass without the expense. A typical multi-paned window had six panes in the top section and another six in the lower section. One section, usually the bottom, could open and close.
  
  In factories and in some old homes, many-paned glass windows were fixed in a wood frame, letting in light without opening. Depending on the size of the window there might be dozens of small panes of glass in one large, divided frame. Casement windows are a variaton on this style, with two panels of framed glass panes that open outward or inward.
  
  

Mullions and Arches

• Mullions are rectangular vertical openings in a wall, originally developed to support a building's structure at an opening point. Mullion windows add glass to that shape and are frequently arched at the top. These graceful columns were features of Medieval churches, where they had large panels of colored or stained glass. In castles and manor homes, the glass might instead have been divided into diagonal panes or another decorative treatment. Today, mullion windows are a period feature, evoking a monastic or historic architecture with a simpler appearance and no role as a building support.
  
  

Rose Windows

• The rose window was a combination of the round Roman wall hole, called the oculus, and the Medieval Church's effort to educate illiterate peasants in religious doctrine with pictures of Bible stories on the interior walls of churches. In the twelfth century, Gothic churches incorporated large glass windows with religious scenes made of colored glass set into them. These windows were divided into strict geometric sections. The most important spiritual figures or scenes were set in the center and careful attention was paid to how the light of the rising or setting sun spilled through the glass, bathing features of the church in colored light. Today rose windows are created for custom homes generally without the religious themes and may use a limited color palette or clear glass.