Before the GardenWeb gets around to pulling my plug I thought I would point out that one of the greatest, if not the only, benefit of using an Eagle Window is the fact that they will put a different color sash in their aluminum clad window frames as I referenced in my earlier post that was thought to be rude. A black sash can sometimes be an excellent choice in a gray or off-white frame because it gives the windows a more dramatic, deeper, and larger appearance. It was commonly used in older houses and has worked well for me in several historic restorations. But without seeing the rest of the trim colors and materials and the general setting of the house, it would be inappropriate to recommend anything that specific. Making the entire window sash and frame black can be too strong IMHO since subtlety is an important issue in any huse although it can work when the windows are inset in brick openings with no trim. Whatever is decided it should be accurately drawn to scale in color or mocked up. Making the windows all white seems a waste of a design opportunity unless the style of the house demands it (Georgian, etc). But if you like the Craftsman Style you really shouldn't be thinking about white windows or even clapboard siding for that matter. Pick a theme and try to reinforce it with the appropriate materials. There is a reason the Craftsman houses used shingles and earth colors; it was part of a cultural movement protesting the industrial revolution, not just a fashion or a "style". mdev, you apparently thought I was speaking to you about your window color comments but you should not have. I try to only speak to the OP in a thread and often don't read the other posts very thoroughly since I'm working in my office and often don't even see a recent post because it can take me an hour or two to post if a client calls or if I go to lunch. I can't do this full time. If I had something to say to you, I would normally have used your name. Others appear to have understood that and I only just figured out what you had assumed. I believe that responding to other posters comments rarely helps the OP and it often hijacks the thread which is truly a rude thing to do. The original post should always take precedence or AH would just become another chat room like the garden and kitchen forums. People come to BAH for real answers. The late Ben Thompson often told us to never design in a vacuum. It actually took me some time to understand what he meant: never focus on one design element to the exclusion of the others. The first thing you consider when selecting anything is how it will reinforce the central idea or design motif (called a "parti" in design school and you had to have one you could defend or your presentation was over). Only then should you consider the other aspects of the design. (You can learn a bit of this from the "What Not To Wear" TV show.) Focusing on the big ideas first instead of your old favorite ideas actually makes designing easier as well as more powerful. Toward the end things just seem to fall into place. The choice of a window color should fit into the larger "parti" and if you haven't defined that yet or can't describe it to others you can't move forward and get effective help from others. In other words, your're stuck. Know that feeling? It took me 4 years as an engineering and art student in college, 3 1/2 years in graduate school (interrupted by the war) and 10 years in an office to figure how a design process worked. I offer it to you in a 10 minute tutorial for free. Whether you understand it or not, you can't say I didn't try. The photo below is of a Cambridge, MA house restoration finished last year. On a lark I applied to do a another Cambridge house advertised on Craigslist with just my resume and this photo and beat out 250 other architectural proposals from all over New England. What many years of experience teaches you is proportion and balance. I don't know how to teach that in 10 minutes but learning to design a Palladian window would an excellent place to start.

I somewhat think you need to narrow your search a bit as to what you want. SDLs are a pricey option and unless you really, really, want them...not worth the money in most cases. Contoured vs. flat grids are standard and in most cases do not cost a cent more than flat and at worst, are only a few bucks more. If you don't like the white interior, +1 to Eco's recommendation of looking at a laminate interior or other interior. If you really want the look of wood (the interior laminates on vinyl are going to look good but not quite wood) look at something like a Marvin Integrity with a wood interior or Inline Fiberglass with a real wood interior. What is the exterior cladding of the home going to be? There are some nice options with some of the manufacturers to have an integrated J-Channel or brickmold return for a seamless look. At the end of the day, they should be a one-time investment so spend the money wisely (i.e. get the performance and solid product for durability) and get the look that you will be happy with for the life of the windows.

You could check out Marvin Essential and Elevate lines, these are fiberglass and wood clad fiberglass windows. There might be some supply houses that sell Soft-Lite lower level lines and Simonton in vinyl. It is gonna be hard for Window dealer thats sells the product installed vs a general contractor that is doing the build. New construction is ultra competive . Around here subs on new construction are getting paid around $50 a window to install.

I like the way this house is finished with simple cove crown molding. I like that the molding is white, but the door is stained wood. Where the ceiling is slanted they omitted the crown molding; much cleaner look for that area. The base molding is quite generous.