Modern Window Colour Trends and Why They Endure

A decade ago, dual-colour frames (a different external and internal finish) were a premium option. On most contemporary aluminium and Residence Collection systems today, they are close to a standard specification, chosen by the majority of homeowners rather than a minority. The appeal is straightforward: a confident, dark external colour that suits the building and any planning context, paired with a lighter internal finish that suits interior decoration and reflects more daylight into the room.

The first wave of grey aluminium frames, a decade or more ago, leaned cool and blue, epitomised by RAL 7016 anthracite in its coolest form. The more recent shift is towards warmer greys and greiges, such as RAL 7039 quartz grey and RAL 7022 umbra grey, which pair more comfortably with the warm timber cladding, natural stone and terracotta tones common in current extension and new-build design. This is a genuine, durable shift rather than a fad, driven by a broader move towards warmer, more tactile material palettes in architecture generally.

Gloss powder coats, once the default, have been steadily overtaken in specification volume by satin and matt finishes, and increasingly by fine-textured 'structura' coatings, particularly in anthracite and black. Matt and textured finishes reduce glare, show fingerprints and light scuffing less, and give a slightly softer, more tactile appearance that suits both contemporary and traditional properties. This is a durable shift because it is driven by practical performance, not novelty.

As more homeowners choose aluminium and Residence uPVC for performance reasons on period properties, demand for finishes that genuinely resemble painted or stained timber, rather than a flat, uniform colour, has grown steadily. This is covered in detail in our woodgrain finishes guide, but the underlying driver, wanting low maintenance without losing traditional character, is a durable one rather than a passing trend.

Very bright or saturated accent colours on full window runs, rather than a single feature door, tend to date faster than neutral palettes and are harder to resell a property against, since buyer taste in bold colour is far more variable than taste in grey, black or heritage green. If you want to express a bolder colour choice, an entrance door is a lower-risk place to do it than the whole window run, since a door can be recoated or replaced far more cheaply than a full set of frames.