Will Black & Grey Windows Go Out of Fashion? | Williams

If you’re choosing a colour for new windows or doors, it’s natural to hesitate. This is a purchase you’ll live with for 20 years or more, and nobody wants to look back at photos in a decade and wince at the choice they made. It’s one of the most common questions we get asked — and it’s a fair one to ask before committing to spend this kind of money.

The good news is that the three colours homeowners are asking for most right now — black, anthracite grey, and chartwell green — aren’t trend colours in the way a paint colour or a kitchen worktop might be. Here’s why.

They’re rooted in architecture, not trends

Trend colours tend to come from fashion, interiors, or a single influential product launch, and they fade the same way they arrived — quickly. Black and anthracite grey window frames didn’t come from a trend cycle. They came from architecture: from the steel-framed Crittall windows used in industrial buildings and warehouse conversions from the early 20th century onwards, and from the black-framed timber windows found on traditional Scottish tenements and townhouses.

Modern uPVC and aluminium frames in these colours are essentially referencing a look that’s been part of British and European building design for over a hundred years. That’s a very different foundation from a colour that’s popular because it was on a home renovation show last year.

Chartwell green has a similar story. It’s named after Winston Churchill’s home, Chartwell in Kent, and has been a standard colour on period and heritage properties for decades — it’s practically the default choice for a traditional front door in a way that magnolia is for a hallway wall. It’s associated with the same enduring aesthetic as sash and case windows and Georgian or Victorian doors: it looks right because it’s been the right choice for a very long time.

Neutral and dark tones don’t date the way bright colours do

Bright or unusual colours date quickly because they’re distinctive — they tie a house to a specific era almost instantly (think avocado bathroom suites, or the orange front doors of the 1970s). Black, anthracite grey, and chartwell green all work the opposite way. They’re closer to neutrals: they sit quietly alongside brick, render, stone, and most roof colours, rather than competing with them. A colour that doesn’t clash with its surroundings doesn’t become “wrong” for those surroundings later on, either.

They suit the way Scottish homes are actually built

A lot of colour trends fail simply because they don’t fit the housing stock they’re applied to. That’s not a risk here. Anthracite grey and black are widely used across new-build estates and modern extensions throughout Glasgow and the West of Scotland, while chartwell green sits comfortably on the sandstone tenements, bungalows, and villas that make up so much of the local housing stock. Both looks are already the established norm in this part of the country, not an emerging one.

They photograph and resell well

If you ever come to sell your home, dark frames and traditional greens are safe, broadly appealing choices to a buyer — they read as considered and well-maintained rather than “of their time.” Estate agents and property photographers consistently favour black and anthracite frames because they add definition to a property’s exterior and make white render or brick stand out. A striking or unusual colour can actually work against you at resale; these three don’t carry that risk.

The practical side matters too

It’s worth saying that these colours have also become popular for reasons beyond looks. Darker frames hide weathering, marks, and general wear far better than white over time, so they tend to still look sharp many years after installation. That practical durability is part of why they’ve stayed popular rather than being a passing phase — they perform well, not just photograph well.

Our advice

If you’re drawn to black, anthracite grey, or chartwell green, you’re choosing colours with decades of precedent behind them, not a passing look. The only real caution we’d give any customer is the opposite one: think twice before choosing something unusual or highly specific to a current trend, since that’s the type of choice more likely to feel dated in years to come.

If you’d like to see samples against your own brickwork or render before deciding, get in touch and we can bring swatches out to you or talk it through in the showroom.

Williams Windows & Doors — manufactured in Clydebank, fitted across Glasgow and the West of Scotland.

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