Crittall vs Crittall-Style: What's the Difference?

People use "Crittall" the way they say "Hoover" or "Biro" — as a word for a whole category. But there's a real difference worth understanding before you buy.

Genuine Crittall

Crittall is a specific company — Crittall Windows Ltd, established in Essex in 1884. They make hot-rolled steel window and screen systems, the originals that defined the Art Deco and industrial look. Genuine Crittall is beautifully made, built to last decades, and priced accordingly. For exterior, listed or heritage projects where authenticity matters, it's often the right call.

Crittall-style

Crittall-style describes any system that recreates that distinctive look — the slim black frames and banded grid — usually in aluminium or lighter steel, engineered and priced for everyday interior use. It gives you the same aesthetic: the grid pattern, the matt-black frames, the glazed-but-divided feel.

Which is right for a home divider?

For an internal room divider or glass wall, Crittall-style is almost always the sensible choice:

• Cost — a fraction of the genuine-article price for an indistinguishable interior look.
• Weight — lighter frames are easier to handle and fit in a domestic setting.
• Lead time — typically faster to make.
• Thermal performance is irrelevant indoors, which is where genuine steel's heritage glazing earns its keep — so you're paying for nothing extra inside.

Genuine Crittall makes most sense for external windows and doors, listed buildings, or where strict authenticity is required.

The honest summary

If you want that gorgeous black-framed grid dividing your kitchen from your dining room, Crittall-style is what you're after — the look you've pinned, at a price that makes sense for a home.

Want to see what your space could look like? Browse the gallery or get a quote.