I think it depends on the styling of your house. We have some MCM folks around here who would know just what to do, if you'd like to post a pic.

Sorry to interupt, but what does MCM mean?

Mid-Century Modern. We have some contemporary homeowners around who would know the right look : )

Thanks...I have no idea how to post a picture but my daughter will be home tomorrow and she probably will be able to..

You need a digital picture of your home and then just sign up with a photo hosting website like PhotoBucket or ImageShack. It's free and you can upload the photo and paste in a link.

Have you thought about fiberglass windows instead of aluminum? Unlike aluminum or vinyl windows, you can paint them if you don't like the color.

We're in the process of replacing our wood windows with Milgard wood-clad fiberglass windows. We chose a dark brown for the exterior.

Here's the sliding window above the kitchen sink:

And double-hung with big picture window:

Here is a link that might be useful: Milgard Windows

I'm interested to hear that sliders are out and casements in; we're replacing our windows as part of a remodel and were encouraged to use sliders by our contractor and window installer (Milgard). We're in Oregon, maybe things are different in various parts of the country?

In any event, I would probably go with white windows (that's what we're using) but then again I tend towards the safe and boring. I think white is pretty standard in a lot of houses, so it's unlikely to look dated.

We also just replaced our windows with fiberglass (Infinity by Marvin) ... we don't need to paint, because the white works fine, but I would look into fiberglass if you're worried about the color.

Then you could do anything ... I always love painted sashes on the stucco or wood houses ... reminds me of Europe or other travels.