Houses look better with sash windows - but they can be expensive and they don't hold in heat very well. Right? Wrong. That used to be the case, but with the modern sash window - even the modern wooden sash window, which is just as well sealed as a plastic one - a home owner can finally blend that classic look with modern finishing and quality.

A modern wooden sash is framed in absolutely top quality wood, well weather proofed and treated. The wood is bevelled neatly, superbly joined and blemish free - to give every house that "just finished" look. Proper bay windows and upstairs sashes alike get the new school treatment with the old school look: they're completely impervious to weather, sound, heat differentials, the lot.

The modern wooden sash window is fitted with high tech glazing - double panels designed to keep out all street and exterior noise - and to keep in all interior noise. The panes work equally well with heat and coolness. In the summer, the panes will keep the heat out and the cool air in - in the winter, central heating hardly has to work at all as the superior insulation of the modern panes does its thing.

That, of course, isn't all - though it would be enough, having resurrected a design classic from the graveyard of building history. The modern wooden sash window is capable of being completely removed for easy cleaning - there's a rather funky little click lock hidden in the inside frame, which allows the user to swivel the window around front to back or eject it from its frame completely. That means two things: one, the window can be cleaned inside and out without needing a ladder (sorry, window cleaners!); and two, that any damaged windows can be fully and cheaply replaced, without any need to hack away at the wall or interior decorations of the house.

Naturally, one of the oldest problems with the sash window was the falling sash. Modern wooden sash windows are free from this peccadillo: they're all equipped with coiled spring, block and tackle balances that ensure smooth operation and superior holding. While the old dropping sash was the stuff of comedy legend (unless it was one's own finger that were caught on the sill), the new one is more like an old dependable documentary. Sensible and reliable. In operation, anyway - where looks are concerned the modern sash is every bit as stunning as its classic counterpart, and, in most cases, more so. The materials are more durable; the glass is better quality; and the overall finish looks like the window has just been installed by a master carpenter. The modern wooden sash window, in addition to doing things the old sash never could, has edged it on looks as well.

So - where does a person go to get one of these wonder windows? At the moment, unfortunately, they're pretty hard to find - though the excellent Marvin Architectural has designed its own modern sash, which can be fitted either in a new build or as an addition to an existing home. The Marvin sash windows are completely custom designed, so they fit into any frontage in any style. The wooden sash window is back.