7 Best Custom Window Designs For Apartments That Feel Surprisingly Spacious
Window designs that create the illusion of space.
That feeling of the walls closing in is familiar to anyone who’s lived in an apartment. You can rearrange the furniture a dozen times, but you can’t change the square footage. Or can you? The secret isn’t in adding floor space, but in creating the illusion of it, and your windows are the most powerful tool you have.
Choosing the right window isn’t just about the view or the hardware; it’s a strategic design decision that can fundamentally alter your perception of a room. The right design can borrow light, extend sightlines, and dissolve the barriers between your indoor space and the world outside. It’s about making your apartment feel boundless, not boxed in.
This guide isn’t about the most expensive or obscure options. It’s about smart, practical window designs that solve the real problems of apartment living. We’ll look at specific types and what they achieve, so you can turn a cramped-feeling flat into a bright, airy home that feels surprisingly spacious.
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Your Guide to Windows That Maximize Small Spaces
The biggest mistake people make is seeing windows as just holes in the wall. Think of them as light-gathering tools and psychological expanders. Your goal is to maximize two things: the amount of uninterrupted glass and the connection to the outdoors.
More glass and less frame is the fundamental rule. A thick, chunky frame visually breaks up the view and reminds your brain where the wall is. Thin, strong frames, on the other hand, let the glass dominate, making the window feel less like a barrier and more like a continuation of the space.
Ultimately, you’re trying to trick the eye. By drawing attention outward—to the sky, the cityscape, or even just the branches of a nearby tree—you make the interior walls feel less significant. Your room stops at the view, not at the glass.
Pella Impervia: Your Unobstructed City View
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A picture window is the simplest way to make a wall disappear. It’s a single, fixed pane of glass designed for one purpose: to provide a completely unobstructed view. There are no grilles, no meeting rails, just a clear portal to the outside world.
The Pella Impervia series, made of fiberglass, is a great example of why material matters here. Fiberglass is incredibly strong, which means the frame can be much thinner than vinyl or wood without sacrificing structural integrity. This maximizes your glass-to-frame ratio, which is exactly what you want when every inch of view counts.
This design is perfect for a living room or any space where you don’t need ventilation from that specific window. By replacing a standard double-hung window with a single pane of glass, you remove the horizontal line that cuts your view in half. The result is a cleaner, more expansive feeling that makes the entire room feel larger and more connected to the city beyond.
Carve Out a Nook with an Andersen 400 Bay Window
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A bay window is one of the few window styles that physically adds square footage to your apartment. It projects outward from the main wall, typically with a large fixed window in the center and two smaller, often operable, windows on the sides. This creates a small alcove or nook inside.
This newly created space is incredibly versatile. It can become a sunny reading nook with a built-in bench, a small indoor garden for herbs and plants, or simply a ledge that adds depth and architectural interest to a flat wall. The angled side windows also have the unique ability to capture light and views from multiple directions, not just straight on.
Be aware, this is a significant architectural change. It’s not a simple replacement and requires structural work, making it a better fit for owners than renters and always requiring approval from building management. But if possible, a bay window doesn’t just add a view; it adds a destination within the room.
Marvin Ultimate Casement: Open Up Your Walls
Casement windows are hinged on the side and swing outward like a door. Their single greatest advantage in a small space is their ability to create a 100% unobstructed opening. Unlike a sliding or double-hung window, where at least half the space is always blocked by glass, a fully opened casement window removes the barrier completely.
This has a profound effect on how a space feels. On a nice day, you can swing the window open and truly merge your indoor and outdoor environments. It’s ideal for catching cross-breezes, making it a functional choice for ventilation in stuffy apartment layouts. The single, large pane of glass also provides a clear view when closed.
The Marvin Ultimate Casement is a prime example of this form, known for its narrow frames and durable hardware that can support large panes of glass. The key takeaway is the function: if you want the option to completely open a wall to the elements and create the feeling of a seamless transition, a casement window is your best bet.
Borrow Light with a Custom Interior Glass Wall
Sometimes the best window isn’t on an exterior wall at all. An interior glass wall or a high transom window between rooms is a brilliant strategy for sharing light within a deep, narrow apartment floor plan. This is a common technique in tiny homes and boat design for a reason—it works.
Consider a typical railroad-style apartment where the bedroom is in the back with no direct sunlight. By replacing the upper portion of the wall between the bedroom and the living room with a panel of frosted or reeded glass, you allow daylight to penetrate deep into the space. You get the light without sacrificing visual privacy.
This custom solution makes a huge impact on the feel of interior rooms, preventing them from feeling like dark caves. It creates a sense of connection and openness between spaces while maintaining their distinct functions. You’re not just lighting a room; you’re making the entire apartment feel like a single, cohesive, light-filled unit.
Milgard Ultra: Wrap Your Corner in Natural Light
A corner window is a high-impact design feature that can make a small room feel dramatically larger. By placing two windows on adjacent walls that meet at the corner, you effectively dissolve the corner of the building. This draws the eye diagonally across the room and out in two different directions.
This design creates a panoramic view and floods the room with light from multiple angles throughout the day. The effect is powerful; it challenges the very definition of a "box" room by removing one of its defining vertical lines. The Milgard Ultra series, another fiberglass option, is well-suited for this application because its strength allows for the narrow frames needed to make the corner feel as open as possible.
Like a bay window, this is a more involved installation that may require engineering to handle the structural load that the corner post would normally bear. However, for its ability to make a room feel wider, brighter, and more integrated with the outdoors, a corner window is one of the most transformative choices you can make.
Your Custom Clerestory for Light, Not Looks
Clerestory (pronounced "clear-story") windows are short, wide windows mounted high up on a wall, near the ceiling. Their primary purpose is not to provide a view, but to bring in daylight while maintaining privacy and preserving usable wall space below for art, shelves, or furniture.
This is an ideal solution for apartments where the main windows face a close neighbor, a busy street, or an unattractive brick wall. You get the benefit of natural light pouring in from above—which illuminates a room more evenly than light from a standard window—without having to look directly at something you’d rather not see. They also create the illusion of a higher ceiling.
A custom-sized clerestory window can be fit into spaces where a traditional window wouldn’t work, like above a kitchen cabinet run or over a bed’s headboard. It’s a strategic choice that prioritizes light over the view, proving that sometimes the best way to feel spacious is to control what you see—and what you don’t.
Jeld-Wen Premium Sliders: Sleek & Space-Saving
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While they may seem basic, modern sliding windows or doors are a workhorse for small apartments, especially those with balconies or patios. Their key advantage is their zero-clearance operation. Because they slide horizontally on a track, they don’t swing inward or outward, consuming valuable floor space.
Think about a small bedroom with a Juliet balcony. A swinging French door would require you to keep a large area of the floor clear, limiting furniture placement. A high-quality sliding glass door, like those in Jeld-Wen’s premium lines, provides the same large glass area and easy access without imposing on your layout.
This operational efficiency is critical in tight quarters. Large modern sliders with thin frames can offer a picture-window-like view while still providing easy access and ventilation. They are the ultimate practical solution for blending indoor and outdoor living without sacrificing an inch of your precious interior real estate.
Your windows are not passive features of your apartment; they are active participants in your daily life. They dictate the light you live in, the air you breathe, and the perceived boundaries of your home. Making a deliberate choice is one of the highest-leverage decisions for improving a small space.
Don’t just replace what’s there. Think about what each wall needs. Does it need a sweeping view, a gentle breeze, borrowed light, or just privacy? By matching the right window design to the specific challenge of each room, you can craft an apartment that feels open, airy, and far more spacious than its measurements suggest.
Ultimately, the goal is to feel a sense of freedom and possibility within your own four walls. The right windows can do that. They are your connection to the world, and with a little strategic thinking, they can become your best tool for creating a home you love to live in.
