I'm always in awwww of the new ideas I see on this forum. We will have the standard painted wood for our sills. I've never even heard or seen anything other than painted wood.

I looked at the site and I bet any of those sills would definitely add a "wow" factor and look great.

Most nicer homes, you're going to see marble, limestone, brick (turned/cut outward), cast stone/concrete for window sills. The marble/limestone/cast stone/cast concrete all have similar limestone type of look that add a nice contrast to the house. The brick sills are also quite nice but are generally only used on traditional houses and blend in a bit more. All of the above options depend on the look/style of your house so you can't really say one is better than the other.

I would definitely do a window sill as the little things like cornice work, sills, and other exterior elements really 'finish' and 'style' a house.

The original post and responses do not make it clear what part of the window is being discussed. Is it an interior or exterior detail?

The interior trim added to the bottom of a window tight to the sash is called a "stool". Often a "skirt" is added below the stool to cover the edge of the wall finish and support the stool. A sloping "sill" is on the exterior and is an integral structural part of the window frame. A sloping sill can also be part of exterior masonry work and is really an extension of the window sill.

In New England single family residential window stools are wood to match the rest if the window trim. Stone or composite stools are used primarily in multi-family and commercial buildings that have commercial grade aluminum windows.

So what was the question?

Here in western PA, the 'window sill' is the part where you set your plants on! (interior shelf-like thing....)

Mine used to be marble... in my 1966 home. When we decided to trim out all the windows (NO trim around any windows/doors/doorways in the original house), we redid the window sills in natural oak to match.

In Sweden stone products for interior window sills are very much the norm. Most people have a lot of indoor plants so stone makes sense with watering of plants too.

We're going to tile our sills (or stools) - between cats that will sit on the surface and the plants I'd prefer to have there, I figured tile will hold up and be cost effective. Plus, there are so many colors available, I can match to whatever elements I want, though I will match to our trim colors.

You can use the traditional names for window parts that have been used for hundreds of years or you can make up your own names for them but using the same name for two very different parts of a window installation is unnecessarily confusing and is therefore carefully avoided by most professionals.

Here is a link that might be useful: window stool installation

Mightyanvil - in my area and every place I've lived they are called window sills. Perhaps in your area they are known as stools as you mentioned. I don't question your knowledge but if you checked out the link posted, the company that provides thems also calls them sills. These are the interior bottom ledge of the window. They are installed by the drywallers - again this may be a regional thing - and marble is the norm in FL. Not wood which would not be the best choice for this area anyway.

They're called window sills in our area as well. I wouldn't have known what you meant by a "window stool" even if it is the correct term. In the midwest they are typically wood.

Terminology is definetly a regional issue.For example, a framing member supporting a header out here is referred to as a "king" stud. Back east they are generally known as a "jack" stud.

I dont think terminology is as important as getting what you want and having it installed properly.Reading up and knowing terms has it's place, but application is the key.

YAWN!

All kidding aside....we had sills in the 1950's home where I grew up. Both my son's also have sills in a few rooms of their 1950's homes now (1st time buyer's for both).
Our new neighborhood has four very expensive homes...(not our's, LOL). Each of the four were built recently and none have sills.
I don't know what style home you're building but I can visualize travertine as a more updated look. I'm not a corian or a marble fan and unless you're going for a Greek or Swedish look I think those might look wrong in say a Ranch style. Wood also was used extensively in the 50's and 60's so might look old and tired. There are SO many different looks in granite that it might be an option. I'd say have your DH pick out the granite he likes and you pick out the travertine you like and then you both decide. And, if you can't decide.... flip a coin! :)

The CABO One & Two Family Dwelling Code written in the early 80's by the three model code organizations, BOCA in the East, UBC(ICBO) in the west & SBCCI in the South, labeled the stud supporting a header "JACK STUDS or TRIMMERS". That organization is now called the ICC and publishes the IRC which contains the same diagram and terminology.

I use construction terminology from the best sources I can find and not from manufacturers, suppliers, or local contractors because I am expected to produce drawings that can be understood anywhere in the U.S.

It is most certainly a tiresome discussion but I learned the hard way in the Army that the corruption of standard terminology and procedures can get people hurt and have seen the corruption of standard building terms and prodedures cause losses to the owners I represent so I have learned to take it seriously.

I realize that most homeowners and small builders don't care much about terminology, specifications or technical building science. That's one of the reasons I can only take a week at a time contributing here.

Mightyanvil - I'm not sure why you are arguing the terminology of something like this. As I said before it may be regional as I know homes are built differently thoughout the country. Based on the link to the photo you supplied earlier, I can tell you that homes here do not have windows like that. Not even the million $ homes. It's not a matter of homeowners and small builders not using your "correct terminology." I merely stated that in my area and many others in this country are referred to simply as window sills. Obviously from the others who posted, I am not alone when referring to the interior ledge of the window as a sill.
I guess the supplier doesn't know they are not sills either then.

See for yourself, directly from Webster dictionary:

window sill
Ânoun the sill under a window.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Origin: 1695Â1705]

Ëwindow-sill noun

a ledge at the bottom of a window (inside or outside)

For those of you who have a non-wood stool, what material is used to trim out the rest of the window? You still use wood, correct? I have never seen a residential home with anything other than wood window trim (regardless of what part of the window trim we are discussing). So, to address the OP question...I will be using painted (white)oak trim for my window stools, and I will be using brick for my window sills.

FWIW, I disagree with the above posters who have stated that it doesn't matter what the correct terminology is about a material or an installation. I think it matters very much, and it serves as one example of why homeowners so rarely get what they expect during the building process. By using the correctly defined terms (and by defined, I mean by the industry guidelines, such as the IRC, and not by Webster's dictionary), the homeowner gains a measure of control over the process. There are no disagreements over what was meant during a conversation about materials, and it forces both sides to have a true understanding of the details of the transaction.

I'm on mightyanvil's side for this discussion...

Correction-what is refered to as a jack stud in the east is called a trimmer out here, not a king stud. I also stated that terminology has it's place.It's more important to some vs others.

Well...where I'm from, I've only known it to be called a sill. But, I'm not an architect, a GC, a window sales rep. and I'm just learning about this thing you all speak of on this site called home building. But I do know that the GC's that have bid on our homeplan, have called them sills and we too have debated the wood or marble sill aka stools--seems so odd calling them that, that I have to laugh! I guess I'm the jr. high obnoxious kid of the site. Sorry!

I'm from a small town in the northeast. My parents built a 4 bed. brick ranch in 1964--with marble sills. So from this lay person's point of view, I like the marble or the travertine sills aka stools,(Snicker/Ha!). Very lovely.

Here in N.O. they are called sills. As far as the material, I've never seen any, but wood. Then I read on this forum about the marble and other stones, tiles, etc. and was elated. Now I can stone my "sills" and not have to worry about my dog or cats ruining them as they have done with the current ones!!

Having lived in Illinois, Oklahoma, and California, the only term I've ever heard used for the interior bottom surface is "sill."

Around here in California, contractors seem to like drywall for the sills/stools. (Hey, what can I say?--This is California, houses sell for a measly $1000 a square foot, so I guess they can't afford to put in anything better.)

C'mon solarpowered,some ca.builders actually open their wallets and fork out for finger joint paint grade pine sills/stools.Man, they almost break the bank for that "quality" of material.

In answer to the original question, one of the builders we're talking to told me that for him granite (at $45 a sq. ft.) was actually less expensive than "man-made" or "cultured" marble (at $15 sq. ft.) for the windows because not much sq footage is involved and his cultured marble guy charges him extra for each of the corner cuts, but his granite guy does not.

Just something to keep in mind . . . (personally, I think travertine sounds lovely as well. . . . )