The rebuilding continues in Point Pleasant Beach more than five years after Hurricane Sandy flooded 1,800 homes and damaged miles of boardwalk at this New Jersey shore town that attracts beach lovers every summer.

Residents and businesses alike are still working to put their lives together after the effects of New Jersey's most devastating natural disaster. Lombardi Residential, based in nearby Brick, New Jersey, is just one of the many developers at the forefront of this effort. The company, which specializes in single-family housing, office, and retail space, as well as luxury apartments, recently completed the design and build of a two-story, single-family-home along Point Pleasant’s River Road. Among the many highlights for the new four-bedroom residence were the windows manufactured by MI Windows and Doors in a surprising but trendy new color: black.

“Black windows are the hottest color right now--it’s very easy to match anything white or grey,” says Robert J. Lombardi, the lead architect at Lombardi Residential and designer of the home. “You can have a ton of color palettes in different shades of whites and greys and you know it will always match.”

When it came to selecting windows, Lombardi selected MI’s 1650 Series vinyl windows with painted exteriors. He said black was the ideal option since it created a trendy contrast with the home’s white trim. In recent years, darker-color windows have also become increasingly popular for maximizing curb appeal and making over drab exteriors. Known as the Modern Farmhouse trend, this includes pairing black, bronze, or other dark-colored windows against white or neutral siding to create exciting exteriors that stylishly stand out against the sea of white windows that traditionally dominate residential housing developments.

“White windows were popular for so long,” Lombardi says. “Eventually, after so many years, people started to look for a change. Social media has played a big role in this transition. Painted windows are now the rage on Instagram and nearly every TV redesign show. It started small and now everyone wants it for themselves after seeing all the exposure.”

MI’s Director of Marketing, Anthony Matter, strongly agrees that the painted window design trend is on the upswing. “With the growing interest in colored vinyl windows, color technologies are advancing exponentially with more customization and economic pricing,” Matter says. “In fact, industry analysts predict that more than 16 percent of all window sales will feature an alternate exterior color by the end of 2019.”

MI’s 1650 double-hung windows feature eight exterior painted color options, superior styling, handcrafted quality, and exceptional long-term performance. Features like beveled sashes and endless grid design options also integrate with insulated dual-pane glass and heavy-duty weather stripping to provide heightened energy efficiency levels. Other benefits include two moving sashes that tilt in for easy cleaning and a warm-edge spacer system.

To complement the project’s double-hung windows, Lombardi Residential chose MI’s 1650 picture window and 1615/1617 sliding-glass doors. Featuring beveled exterior edges and a welded vinyl mainframe, the 1650 picture window is available in numerous shapes and sizes. The 1615/1617 patio doors come standard with saddle sills and heavy-duty rollers and are available in configurations up to 16-feet wide to enhance any view of the great outdoors while seamlessly integrating interior and exterior living spaces.

In addition, Lombardi believes that the combination of the town’s charm and proximity to New York City — just a 90-minute drive, and easy to access via train — explains why so many residents chose to rebuild in Point Pleasant rather than relocate. “It’s one of the most popular beach towns in New Jersey,” he says. “It’s a quaint, comfortable town with water on two sides. The boardwalk and downtown are great places to shop and dine -- there is so much for tourists and residents to do during the summer.”

And now it offers a spacious white rental home with MI’s stylish black exterior windows. “If you take a close look, you can really see the workmanship throughout the house,” says John Bott, MI’s salesperson. “The black painted windows complement the exterior and white moldings so well. They really bring out the home’s character and make the home stand out in a striking way. Every homeowner wants the new window colors.”