Your property is stunning, with a sweeping vista over a sparkling lake and a pine-dotted shoreline. Your new cottage will enjoy the ultimate view: to frame it properly, you need the Ultimate window.
Ultimate and Modern are the two Signature lines from Marvin, a company that has been making windows and doors for over a century.
“Ultimate and Modern are the absolute best windows and doors on the market,” says Jeff Kussen, who co-owns Great North Windows and Doors with his father Ken and brother Brad. “The Signature lines really are designed for the finest homes and cottages.”
Ultimate and Modern have different styles, but they have a number of things in common, including the fact that they are perfect for statement windows.
Making a statementWaterfront homes present some interesting design opportunities, particularly when it comes to windows and doors.
“When you drive up to a cottage, you’re not usually seeing the most exciting part of the property,” says Jeff. “But when you walk inside, you’re rewarded with the unobstructed view of the lake. That’s the moment when you say ‘wow!’”
The windows and glass doors you’re looking through at that moment are the statement windows, and they need to be the absolute finest they can be.
Ultimate and Modern windows enhance that wow factor in multiple ways, says Brad. For starters, like all Marvin windows they are designed to have incredibly narrow frames, minimizing the amount of material that distracts from the view. “If you have a wall of glass facing the lake, then you want that to be glass, not a wall of window and door frames,” he explains.
That thin appearance belies incredible strength and versatility. “We’re talking walls of glass 30 feet wide, and doors 12 feet high that will open at a gentle touch,” says Brad. “You want to make a statement? This will make a statement!”
Fit and finishIt isn’t just about size, though: quality counts too. And in windows and doors, that starts with fit and finish – the details that ensure everything about each window is perfect.
“One of the reasons we started working with Marvin was because we knew how good the fit and finish were,” says Ken. “Their fit is twice as good as the industry standard.” Ken’s decades of experience in the industry includes years spent running a door manufacturing firm, so he knows exactly what it takes to make windows to this standard.
“Every Ultimate and Modern window undergoes an average of 20 minutes of quality audit before it leaves the factory,” Ken says. “That means a trained specialist is going over every detail of that piece, ensuring it is perfect. Nobody else goes to those lengths. They truly are hand-crafted pieces.”
CustomizableThis approach also means that the two Signature lines are highly customizable. No matter the shape of the opening, the design aesthetic, or the colour palette of the cottage, there are Marvin windows to suit.
“Architects love to work with Marvin, because they are able to achieve their vision without limitations,” says Jeff. “If you want the clean look of burnished bronze, or perhaps the warmth of polished Douglas fir, we can do that. Colour options are nearly infinite.”
Ultimate windows have even been used in historical restorations, where period-specific designs are needed, and off-the-shelf designs just won’t do.
“There really is nothing like these windows and doors,” says Jeff. “If you’re building the ultimate cottage, you deserve the Ultimate window.”
TEXT A. WAGNER-CHAZALON
