Founded in 1912 in Jamestown, NY, Hope’s windows and doors are synonymous with – well – style.  They are both modern and traditional, East Coast and West, industrial and refined.  Now pulling all these styles off simultaneously is a feat to be sure, but somehow they do it.

MIT’s Center for Real Estate . Design – Utile – Construction – Elaine Construction Company.

First introduced to me as the standard of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), they fit the industrial bill for the Institute that refers to themselves as “the corporation”, and where technological innovation is housed within concrete and limestone corridors, topped by “The  – famed – Dome” – site of so many clever and newsworthy hacks.  As you stroll through the corridors of this venerable institution, you are rewarded with what seems to be a never ending array of Hope’s Doors and Windows that frame out the corridors, capturing moment after moment of brilliant innovation – the doors themselves standing as an apt example of superior craftsmanship and elegance.  The simplicity of their design, coupled with their sleek lines, make them a fitting compliment for all that is conceived and executed within those walls.

Sleek and refined, yet traditional.

But then I spied them in a NYC West Village apartment, and later a California cool hacienda, and finally a modern addition to a traditional brownstone in Boston.  Why not, they fit beautifully into all these regions, markets, and architectural styles.

A touch of industrial in the kitchen.

Three times stronger than aluminum, and sixteen times stronger than wood, hot rolled steal is built to last.  It’s strength can support maximum weights from glass with the leanest profiles, combining beauty and strength.  Naturally they cost more, but they last far longer, and add distinction as they are handcrafted.  For this same reason you must be patient – lead times can be in excess of 5 months, so a commitment is required.  Some day, I will have a nest that is permanent and I will have my Hopes.

Through the looking glass.

Happy Saturday.