In many markets, the challenge isn’t deciding what style to build. It’s building across a number of them at once—with the pressure to deliver that variety while maintaining consistency in scheduling, trade coordination, installation, and cost control.
Research presented by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) at the 2025 International Builders’ Show underscores the point. Younger buyers tend to favor more contemporary styles while older buyers tend to lean more traditional. At the same time, “Timeless and Traditional” is emerging as a leading design trend. Together, the findings suggest today’s market isn’t converging around a single aesthetic—it is asking builders to work comfortably across several.
Those questions were the focus of a June panel sponsored by Builder Magazine and Marvin at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, where builders explored how adaptable products can help teams navigate increasingly diverse tastes. Bryan Glasshagel, head of the Texas Advisory practice for Zonda, moderated the discussion. “Builders are being asked to be more fluid in between different designs and still maintaining that discipline in terms of construction, scheduling, and cost—things like that,” he said.
Bryan Braswell, president of Fort Worth-based Braswell Custom Homes, is experiencing the shift firsthand. “Believe it or not, it’s really switching,” he said. “We did a lot of modern for the last 15 years and we’re going back to a lot of traditional design.”
For windows, that means moving between different shapes and sizes and the details that entails, he said. “How may divided lights do you have? How big is your jamb? Do you do a curve return or are you doing a casing?”
Slimmer sightlines, multiple color and finish options, and strong performance ratings also allow the same product to support a modern design centered around glass while fitting just as comfortably into more traditional architecture.
The takeaway that came to light is that product decisions increasingly need to outlast changing design trends.
“At this point, design is kind of fluid and people are doing all kinds of different things in different houses,” said Jay Miller, CFO and partner at JSZY Construction, also based in Fort Forth. “I think of it as form over function. And I would tell you that I feel like the pushback I mostly get from clients is the look—the form—is most important. And from a functionality standpoint, they look at me and say, ‘Well, you’re going to figure out the function.’”
All of this thinking helped shape the new Marvin Vivid collection. Developed through builder and dealer feedback, the fiberglass window line was designed to span a broad range of architectural styles. Large-format direct glaze windows sized up to 10 feet, narrow sightlines, performance ratings up to PG50, and a range of color options allow builders to specify the same product family across traditional, transitional, and contemporary homes while simplifying installation in the field.
“Every detail of this product is so thoughtfully engineered because of what we heard from you and where the market is going and how we can deliver upon unmet needs,” said Meagan Turnbull, director of fiberglass collections at Marvin.
“The larger size—up to 10 feet on direct glaze—that’s one of them,” Turnbull said. “We hear very frequently that you and your teams have these beautiful products that need to get into the openings, and with Vivid, you’ll see things like the rigid nail fin and changes to make shimming easier on your teams. We have done our best to solve for all of that.”
Discover bigger views, greater efficiency, and flexible design with Marvin Vivid.
