My previous house was a 1994 tract-type GenericCape. Borrrring. Reasonably cute on the outside, although whoever designed it was drunk when he chose the window and dormer placements because the proportions were off. But I thought it was plain ugly inside, since the rooms were all open to each other without so much as an empty doorframe or soffit between, and even though it was built in 1994 I swear it was built with all the 1980s crap no one else wanted (guess the builder got it all cheap)! I think the only thing that would have really "gone" with the architecture (such as it was) was Pottery Barn! We had no option at the time of moving to a house that matched our style better, we had a limited budget and the selection in the towns where we needed to live for DH's commute was dreadful - since the only one that was in a great location would have required at least $200k in renovations (on a house that was $265k to begin with), we simply took the best-condition one in our price range. I will admit that I just pretty much rammed my stylistic preferences into it, damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead, and for the most part it did work okay. Probably because the house was SO much of a dull, soulless, boring blank canvas all by itself. I did tame back some of my more over-the-top urges, like the carved-to-death Savonarola chair that I came THIS close to buying :-) because they would have been too much for the house to carry. When we remodeled the master suite I was able to change out all the moldings which made a HUGE difference in getting the atmosphere a little bit more toward the Arts & Crafts-y look I prefer without trying to make it into a bungalow, although we never got a chance to do the rest of the house as we wanted to. Changing lighting to get rid of the "brasstone" and pressed-glass fixtures helped quite a bit. Replacing the ghastly wall-to-wall with hardwood helped a LOT, as did my color choices. We put enough of ourselves into it that it did suck to have to sell it last year, but now it's in the hands of a family who really like it and have promised to take care of it. To keep your birdies from crashing into the windows, why not hang the sheerest of sheers over the window itself, something like an ultrafine linen (fabrics-store.com has an excellent price on it BTW) or a lovely lace (I love Country Curtains' Point d'Esprit Lace) so you still get plenty of sunlight, as a starter? Those hanging stained glass pieces would also go beautifully with your decor style, and they certainly don't need to fill the whole window to prevent your feathered friends from crashing. Then, put furniture pieces like benches, console tables, low bookcases, sideboards, under/in front of those horizontal windows to draw the eye down and give the whole assemblage more vertical massing. If you can do flanking draperies that just barely kiss the floor and that also bracket that piece of furniture nicely, it will look even nicer. Don't do sill- or apron-length WTs because those will just emphasize the horizontal nature of the windows and you want the eyes to be going up and down; I think blinds with horizontal lines (wood, Roman shades, etc.) do the same thing but some others don't agree with me. Walls of draperies do NOT have to look modern if you use the right fabrics in generous amounts and loads of trimmings! Do you think a jewel-toned velvet or a heavy damask trimmed with bullion fringe and wide silk braid would look modern? No way! Now, to get back to your original question about window grids/grilles. I've never used these, but I did have a site called NewPanes in my sixteen gazillion bookmarks. Because of the connectors I'd still want to hang some sheers over them but I think they might look pretty good without completely gutting your poor pocketbook. Fancier but also pricier is Big Blue Window, which makes custom grilles. BTW, I'll be honest. This last time around, the house I REALLY wanted was a 1972 ranch! It was on a good big lot, had excellent exterior proportions so I could have tarted it up into a cute little cottage with some bungalow flavor, and the interior, although a hideously dated 1970s idea of modern, had a LOT of potential to, again, be tarted up quite prettily. The "Victorian Lite" we ended up in was actually our third choice! Now I do think it's a bit bizarre to take an over-the-top detail-loaded Queen Anne and decorate it in an ultra-contemporary fashion (I cringe whenever I see it, and it's getting all too common) or to cram an Eichler type house with Louis Whatshisface gilded frills-and-furbelows, but something really bland can indeed be amenable to some additions.

harley, LowE2 (or more correctly LoE^2 - squared) is Cardinal's copyrighted designation for their dual-silver coating. Since Cardinal is the 800lb gorilla of the residential LowE market, it is pretty common to see folks using the term(s) LowE-two or LowE-squared when speaking about any of the various dual-silver coated products - whether a Cardinal-version LowE2 coating or not. Are LowE2 and LowE "...the the same and it is window lingo in the window business..." - well, absolutely no to the first comment - and a qualified "sort of" to the second. While it isn't uncommon for folks to refer to LowE2 as simply LowE - even in the window business - when speaking specifics, as you asked, then I suspect that the person with whom you spoke is somewhat ignorant of his ignorance in this area - based on what he told you. They are definitely NOT the same thing, and while folks in the window industry may refer to various versions of coatings as "LowE" at times to one another, it is with the understanding that everyone involved understands exactly what product is being discussed. If there was any question then the speakers would likely be more specific about which coating they were refering to. A typical softcoat LowE may have from five to seven layers of metals or metal oxides. The primary or "active ingredient" of those layers is a single layer of silver. A LowE2 coating may have from seven to 11 layers of metals and metal oxides with two of those layers being silver. Thus the "squared" part of the name - twice the silver in the LowE^2. The silver layers are the actual reason that the coating works - the other layers are also important for a variety of reasons - but it is the silver layers that block the heat. By definition, a LowE coating can be either a hardcoat (primarily a layer of tin-oxide that is applied when the glass is still hot in the furnace) or it could be a single-silver layer softcoat product. A LowE2 coating, on the other hand, is always a softcoat. While a LowE coating will benefit you in a heating climate, a LowE2 will benefit you in both heating and cooling areas. Following up on skydawggy's reply: who is the window manufacturer? Give them another call and ask what coating is on the window's - is it Cardinal's? AFG? Guardian? Pilkington? Other? If they answer yor question about who manufactured the coating then ask for the "name" or designation of the coating - from that we can tell you if it is hard or soft coat and if it is dual or single silver - if a softcoat - LowE or LowE2. I also agree with skydawggy that it isn't a matter of the price difference, it is a matter of a potentially major performance difference that is at issue. Hopefully the label was as ignorant as the individual that you spoke to on the telephone and that you do have a LowE2 coating. One other quick comment - there is something of a common misconception (even among some otherwise knowledgeable window folks) that while LowE is a coating applied to one surface of a dual pane IG unit (applied to surface 2 or 3 in the IGU), and that LowE2 consists of a LowE coating on two surfaces (2 and 3), this is not the case (see LowE and LowE2 as explained above). While there have been, and without doubt still are, some companies that do build IG units with LowE coatings on surface 2 and 3 in a dual pane window - if anyone is dealing with a company that advertises such - then RUN (don't walk) away from that company. Having two surfaces (2 and 3) with a LowE coating in a dual pane is a sales gimmick that will cause problems with the IG unit due to heat retention between the lites. It is a very bad idea that is best avoided - completely. Triple pane IG's are a totally different story, however. In a triple pane coating two lites works very well and is a primary reason for the increased energy performance of triple pane IG units over dual pane IG units.

yes, I have researched and gotten quotes from both Inline and Fibertec. They are nice options, but were quite a bit more. So I was looking at the vinyl options. I have ran the numbers in my software several times and several different ways. There is a clear payback area and cost savings depending on their specs. The standard dual pane inlines vs the integrity for example, using their published tested values, put me around an 18 year payback, the triple panes was 30+ (cant remember exact years). I did these calcs last winter when I was first researching my fiberglass options. The house will be in north east Iowa.

Hi Needwindows. Thanks for your comments. While I am well aware that there are cheaper windows available I'm not interested in vinyl replacement windows if for nothing else but aesthetics. (Vinyl siding on a house will always look like vinyl versus true clapboard or stone; vinyl floors may mimic but will not look like true tile.) I'm hoping others on this board might be able to provide insight on a true "apples to apples" comparison w/ other wood/wood clad high grade windows on par w/ the Pella architect series. I'm cutting and pasting some comments I found on the web that I think give a fair overview of the wood vs vinyl issues: Their are major difference in not only wood and vinyl but also aluminum to vinyl. Window salespeople like to talk about R and U factors in discussing window insulation. Industry standard is approx .35, thats for wood, vinyl and aluminum. Here's the catch...that rating is at the center of the glass and DOES NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE MATERIAL OF THE FRAME. Wood is a natural insulator, its an organic material...but also comes with the highest price point. Aluminum, obviously is metal so ambient temps which can reach below zero in our winters gives very little insulation from the frame. Vinyl has its problems in the opposite end of the spectrum, summer. Vinyl is PLASTIC, frame surface temps can reach 140 degrees...plastic begins to breakdown at those temps which is why vinyl is none for SEAL FAILURE. Seal failure=merky looking windows, white cascades on the glass...insulation is nil when this occurs. The cascades of white is actually moss build up from condensation. Being in the field, I can tell you that wood holds up the best over the long haul. The price is damaging to the wallet and ego. Beware of insulation factors with aluminum but they are durable and have a niche with the cost concious. If you feel like saving money up front but have the means to replace windows every 6-8 years buy vinyl. Another hint for you home owners- the reputable window makers have higher prices but also accomadate with the easiest payment programs. Don't let "cash on hand" be the deciding factor here...payment programs are the way to go and salespeople will actually give you a better prices if you use the payment programs. Posted by: Jay at September 17, 2005 2:14 AM I replaced 55+ double-hung, wooden sash windows with white vinyl windows and had not a single seal failure in over 8 years. I discovered a tiny crack in one pane, which was barely visible. No sash lock failure, either. The quality in the construction of these windows varies greatly, however. Having said that, you can always tell it is a vinyl window and not wood, just like vinyl vs. clapboard siding on a colonial or Victorian. If I owned a $2 million brownstone, I might spend the money and go for the aesthetic appeal and insulating qualities of wood.