Homeowners will go to some amazing lengths to have their home stand out from the crowd. They are willing to spend astonishing sums on expensive accents and modifications, like a handcrafted wooden tub with a 24k price tag or 100k on a kitchen makeover. While home movie theaters and bowling alleys may make you the envy of your neighbors, they aren’t visible to passersby. That is why homeowners will choose exterior designs to make a statement: 

●Copper gutters
●Second-story verandas
●Bold colors (deep reds or vivid blues)
●Towers
●Gingerbread molding
●Wrap-around porches
 
But you don’t have to empty your savings to add beauty and style to your home. Valley Forge Cupolas and Weathervanes offers a variety of roof ornaments to bring character and sophistication to your home.

With its straight, elegant lines, this cupola is the perfect choice for country cottages. Its angular features bring out the square lines typical to cottage homes and show them in a new light. Who says being a square is boring?

Add an air of sophistication to your home with our Kingston or Yarmouth cupolas. The extra height accentuates tall roofs, and the raised seam on the copper roof sparkles in the sunlight. It is the perfect combination of form and function. The Kingston louvers add much needed ventilation to attic spaces, protecting any items you have stored there and making the space more useable. Or bring warm, natural light into your home with the Yarmouth’s custom-molded windows.

A must-have for Cape Cods and coastal homes, the Waterford cupola brings both light and air into your home. Its compact size perfectly complements small homes. It also does double duty by offering a combination of louvers and windows, giving you the most bang for your buck. This cupola has a lot of personality in a small package.

​If traditional cupolas don’t suit your tastes, our new Designer Series may be just what you’re looking for. Available in a variety of color combinations, the decorative star cutout reveals functional louvers. Choose cooper louvers to really make this cupola shine!

If you already have a cupola but are looking to add some flair, you can illuminate your roof with one of our cupola lanterns. Available in a variety of styles, these lanterns cast a welcoming glow, inviting your guests to make themselves at home.

Nothing adds personality and style to your home like a weathervane. Use them to communicate your interests and hobbies, while enjoying the touch of whimsy they add to your roof. Long-lasting and dependable, weathervanes are one of the most popular roof ornaments.

Finals are the graceful cousins of weathervanes. Available in a variety of shapes, styles, and finishes, finials are the crowning glory of a stately cupola. If like the towering grace of weathervanes but prefer something more stationary, a finial is the perfect choice for you.

​Whether you are in the market for a custom cupola or a finial, our cupola specialists are eager to pair you with the roof ornament of your dreams. Call us today at 866-400-1776 to find the perfect accent for your home!

​Weathervanes have been a staple of American homes since the earliest settlers, first for their function and later for their unique designs. Over time, weathervane designs grew increasingly imaginative and complex to depict the interests and personalities of their owners. A perennial subject of weathervane design is the ocean and all things associated with it.
 
The sea (and what lies beneath) has stirred our imaginations as far back as ancient Babylon. This is not surprising, considering three-quarters of the world is covered in water and we know very little about what those waters hold. It contains truly fantastic and terrifying creatures - from colossal squid and narwhals to hammerhead sharks and black dragonfish - so it is no surprise that legends of other mysterious beings - such as mermaids, kraken, and selkies - have enjoyed a long popularity in human folklore. Perhaps that is why copper mermaid weathervanes are one of the most popular weathervane designs.

​Modern mermaid mythology often depicts merfolk as kind and friendly toward humans; however the oldest mermaid tales paint a very different picture. In traditional folklore, mermaids were often associated with bad luck and misfortune. They - along with their cousins, the Sirens - were said to lure sailors to their death by tricking them into running their ships aground. Other popular legends, including those from the British Isles and the famous Arabian Nights tales, depict mermaids hypnotizing sailors with their beauty and song. Under the mermaids’ spell, they would rush out to sea, only to end up drowned, eaten, or otherwise doomed.
 
Even well-intentioned mermaids could be dangerous: men would think they saw a woman drowning and dive into the waters to save them. Still other tales suggested that mermaids didn’t understand humans can’t breathe underwater, and they would pull them down to the depths of the sea, accidentally drowning them.
 
However, other cultures - such as Welsh and Scottish - have mermaids befriending, and even marrying, humans. This was the stance taken by Hans Christian Andersen when he wrote “The Little Mermaid,” and our modern interpretation of mermaids is largely thanks to him. Disney turned his tale into a popular movie in 1989, cementing the image of the friendly mermaid for generations of young girls.

​Whether you prefer to picture mermaids as dangerous temptresses or curious adventurers, you can make these legends a part of your home with one of our lovely copper mermaid weathervanes. These 3-dimensional beauties want to be a part of your world. Call us today at 866-400-1776 to purchase your copper mermaid weathervane!

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. It’s the most romantic day of the year - and often the most dreaded. We feel so much pressure to get the perfect gift, the perfect card, plan the perfect dinner. And more often than not, we get it wrong. A quick Google search of “worst Valentine’s gifts” returns over two million results! The top offenders tend to be:
​
●Toasters or other appliances
●Vacuum cleaners or other cleaning supplies
●A scale or gym membership
●Anything from the seasonal aisle of the drug store (a stuffed bear, cheap chocolates, etc.)
●A fast food dinner (especially drive-through!)

“But I don’t know what they want!” you cry. Here’s the good news: most Valentines say they just want something that is thoughtful and practical. (Because how much can you do with a 5-foot teddy bear, really?) Your significant other is just looking for a gift that shows you put thought into it, that you were thinking about their wants and likes. And even better is incorporating a public demonstration of your love with that gift.

Architecture has often been used as a way to make a public, enduring declaration of love. The most well-known example of this is the Taj Mahal, built by Emperor Shah Jahan in honor of his third wife. The beautiful, sprawling, marble-clad masterpiece is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and a lasting testament to their love.
 
Cupolas have a long, romantic history in American architecture. Cupolas were used to access and provide shelter from widow’s walks on coastal homes. The wives of mariners would use these lookouts to keep watch for their seafaring husbands’ return. Today you can grace the roof of your home with a cupola, reminding your spouse of your unending love every time they return home.

​Weathervanes are the perfect crowning glory to a cupola, and what better way to adorn your cupola than with a traditional symbol of love? Doves and swans mate for life and have therefore come to stand for fidelity, unending love, sincerity, peace and beauty. Or you can choose a weathervane with a more personal meaning from the dozens of designs we offer.

Worried about surprising your loved one without consulting them? What could be more romantic than designing the perfect testament to your love together? Our cupola specialists will work with you through every step of the design process to ensure your cupola is the perfect complement to both your home and your relationship. Call us today at 866-400-1776 for a Valentine’s Day gift that will last a lifetime!

​Cupolas are a familiar sight as you drive through farming country: whether on stables, chicken coops, or barns, cupolas seem to be everywhere. Their purpose is two-fold: ornamental, yet functional. Cupolas were initially added to barns for aesthetic purposes, differentiating one family farm from another. They were also handy places to put weathervanes, which were used to predict weather. Soon after, the functional benefits of cupolas were discovered, leading to a surge in their use. Today, metal barn cupola designs have been perfected to be both aesthetically pleasing and maximize their benefits of providing crucial, proper ventilation to barns, stables, and other structures.
 
When you invest in a barn, you want it last. The most dangerous thing to a barn is warm, humid, stagnant air. The moist air can lead to mold and mildew growth, which can lead to wood rot and jeopardize the structural integrity of the barn; not to mention damaging the contents of the barn. If your barn is used to shelter animals, this unhealthy air can be dangerous to their health, leading to sickness and even death.
 
Early on, American farmers started sealing barns tightly in winter to reduce the amount of feed required by the animals. However, these airtight barns were not without problems. The steam from the animals’ breath, plus the fumes from their droppings, led to accumulated moisture. Opening the barn doors to alleviate the moisture defeated the purpose of an airtight barn - dropping the temperature so that the animals required more feed and the cows produced less milk. But not alleviating the moisture led to mildew, rot, and sickness in the animals.
 
Enter the cupola. Cupolas provide ventilation in the roof, drawing out warm, stale air and recycling cool, fresh air into the barn. Cupolas eliminate both moisture and fumes without significantly dropping the temperature of the barn.
 
Cupolas are also crucial during the summer. Not only do they help alleviate heat inside the barn, they prevent fires in the hayloft. Wet hay produces chemical reactions that build heat. Since hay also insulates, the inside of a haystack doesn’t receive sufficient cooling to offset the heat. When the haystack’s internal temperature rises above 130 degrees Fahrenheit, it is actually at risk of spontaneous combustion. Cupolas can add sufficient ventilation to dry the hay without producing either mold or fire. 

​Our line of Sundance metal barn cupolas can help keep your barn safe and dry for years to come. Available in a variety of paint finishes, these cupolas can match most building color combinations. They are crafted using cellular PVC-vinyl with a metal roof and base. Choose between 4 or 8 sides, windows or louvers.
 
Metal barn cupolas can help prevent costly damages to your barn and improve your animals’ health. Their aesthetic appeal can also turn “a barn” into “the barn.” That is an investment that keeps on giving! Call us today at 866-400-1776 to order a cupola for your barn.