And how I saved thousands on my renovation

When we first bought our house, I knew straight away what had to go first. It wasn’t the kitchen (although that came later), it wasn’t the bathroom (that got sorted too)… it was those bright, blindingly stark plastic white UPVC windows. You know the ones… practical yes, but completely wrong for our late Victorian cottage farmhouse. There was something uncomfortable about the way they contrasted with the beautiful hand-cut clay tiles, not to mention the colour clash with the butter cream render.

We bought our house for the garden, the view, and its potential. It was not an architecturally stunning home, but it also wasn’t listed, so we knew we could knock it around to improve things. I started by getting a quote to switch the plastic for real timber or heritage aluminium, but the quote came back at £16,000 to replace them, and that was back in 2017! It was a hard ‘No’ from my then husband Tom, who, being a builder, is only too au fait with the high maintenance of wood windows that need repainting every 3-5 years. He also made a very valid point on an environmental issue. It’s fundamentally wrong to put perfectly functioning windows into landfill just because I don’t like ‘the look’, he argued. I’ve managed to persuade him around every design idea in the past, but just couldn’t get past this one. He was immovable. And annoyingly, probably right.

There had to be a solution. When the budget is tight, I always say ‘it’s time to get creative’ and honestly, it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

 

The simple DIY product that changed everything

So with the windows not going anywhere, I picked up a paintbrush and got stuck in. Yes, really… I painted them! And you can too. The absolute key to unlocking this marvellous revelation is using the correct product. 

The magic ingredient? An all-surface primer. That’s what helps the paint stick to the UVPC like a dream. I used Little Greene’s All Surface Primer for my exterior windows, which has the added benefit that it can be tinted to match your top coat colour. There are other Universal primers on the market, Zinsser 123 comes highly recommended, and comes in a white or dark grey colour, so again, pick which is closest to your top coat colour choice. Just double check that whichever primer you choose, it works with UVPC, as common primers are wood, metal and masonry only.

After giving the frames a really good clean with a cloth and some washing-up liquid, and making sure they were 100% dry and dust-free, I went straight in with the primer. It only took one coat as it covers really well. I then followed this up with two coats of Little Greene’s exterior acrylic eggshell. The exciting part was ofcourse choosing the colour, because the great thing about this method is you can choose anything within the colour mixing system. I chose Lamp Black, which is an almost black colour, but with a warmer grey undertone. We were also getting rid of the butter cream colour for a dark grey render, and I wanted the windows the meld away rather than pop out, because I wasn’t sure I wanted to draw attention to them. I needn’t have worried as they honestly looked so good painted. We hand-brushed them rather than sprayed the paint, as this gives it a lovely soft textured finish, which again helps trick the eye into thinking they are wood windows rather than plastic. 

It’s worth noting that painting your UPVC windows may undermine any warranties you may have. Also, painting them a very dark colour could mean the plastic will warp in the sun, as black UPVC windows have extra strengthening bars in them. However, I was happy to take the risk as these were old windows. However, 5 years on, they haven’t warped and look as good as the day I painted them.

So with the success of the makeover outside, I turned my attention to the interior…

 

It was almost like I was possessed. Now that I knew how easy it was to paint the UCPC windows, I needed to banish their tacky white plastic-ness from the rest of the house. I love painting woodwork and details in with my colour schemes, and in my view, the windows look more convincing if you paint them a specific colour other than an off white colour- although I have done that in the bathroom and kitchen. It’s not much of a colour change, but it means the white matches with the wallpapers I’ve chosen.

The trick is one coat of All Surface Primer and then match the top coat into your decor scheme, whether that’s matching in with the wallpaper, colour drenching or contrasting with it, you decide. This is what I love so much about this process; your windows are now part of the colour scheme.

 

 

Years on and still looking fabulous

More than four years later, and I’m still smiling at those windows every time I pull up outside my house. I’m seriously impressed with how well they have held up. No chips, no cracks, no bubbling. Even after soaking rain, howling storms and that almighty heatwave we all moaned about… they have stayed in top form. Just looking as good as the day I painted them. Now look, they will need painting at some point, unlike naked UVPC windows that are literally maintenance-free, I expect the paint to fail eventually. But it’ll just take a quick rub down, another lick of paint, and they’ll be good to go again. Unlike timber, that swells and contracts due to temperature, the UVPC is a much more stable substrate.

The key to success towards a heritage look is that the hand-brushed finish gives them a lovely texture that completely hides their plastic past. Friends often can’t believe they’re UPVC!

Perhaps the biggest achievement was painting the entire interior of the UVPC conservatory. Again, it was something I’d earmarked for demolition when we bought the house, but years down the line we never found the budget to do our extension, so I decided to keep it. With a handy can of paint and a lovely soft blue colour, it looks like one of those expensive garden rooms you see advertised in the weekend supplements!

 

The questions I get asked the most

Did you paint the handles?
Absolutely. I primed and painted them just like the frames, and they’ve held up beautifully. 

What about the white bars inside the glazing?
Honestly, you barely notice them. Unless you get right up close and squint, they completely fade into the background once the frames are a darker colour.

Any regrets?
Not a single one. Though just a heads-up… painting your windows could void the manufacturer’s warranty, so do check if that matters to you. For us, it didn’t, especially since they’ve needed absolutely no maintenance.

Would I do it again? Without a doubt

This simple trick saved us nearly twenty grand, let me be creative with colour and totally transformed the vibe of our home. It felt super satisfying to know I could change something that bugged me without spending a fortune or replacing everything. However, I’d love to paint the exterior of our UVPC conservatory, but its south-facing and I do worry that if I painted it black it could warp which could result in leaks. Now that would be expensive to replace! If anyone has any experience painting a conservatory a dark colour, please let me know.

So if you’re stuck with bright white plastic windows that leave you cold, with a lick of paint, you could save yourself a fortune and end up with something you truly love.

If you do give it a go, watch this video on my Instagram and… I’d love to see your before and afters!