Homes here haven't been built with wood windows for decades -- they are high maintenance and IRL tend to leak and rot in the sub-tropcs and with our temperature extremes. We have painted trim inside, but the homes I can remember with stained trim still have windows that are white on the interior becauase that is what was available when the homes were built. The trim around the windows, if any, and sills would still be stained. What you are describing would be found in a lot of homes here regardless of what anyone might think "the rules" say.

It is really hard for me to picture any of the scenarios. But I think white vinyl windows, generally, would look better than wood-look vinyl windows, regardless of the trim elsewhere in the room.

I tried to find some photos by going to local real estate listings -- everything I looked at had white trim. It is more popular here. And I would be more leary of wood loke vinyl too.

Some manufacturers offer multi color muntins. White or tan exterior and woodgrain interior. You can also order vinyl exterior with natural (poplar or oak) wood interior (expensive) but widely available.

Here are two pictures of my foyer, the subject living room windows are off the foyer with a wide 5' doorway arch. One is a picture of the coat closet and a chest, the other looking toward the stair case and seeing the basement access door. Lots of white with natural wood trim. While the windows (didn't photograph as too much contrast to really show wood windows but standing in foyer surrounded with white and white wood trimmed in window wood tone (throughout living and dining rooms, in fact same stain on kitchen cabinets not visible form foyer) are not in photo one can stand where the pictures were taken and took toward the living room and see at least three windows. The curtains will cover all but the window frame, grid, and sill. With White inside vinyl the sill will be the shown wood color and the grid will be white. Seems a nice combination in the photos.. but that's me, and I post here because I'm about as far from being an interior designer as I am from Mars.

I would be scared that wood like vinyl wont look natural and also that it wont match the house trim. I put white vinyl pella windows in a home I rent out and they look great. Very clean and crisp. I think I ordered them through HD or Lowes and hired someone to install them.

Lowes guy is coming on Monday they have Pella, Home Depot was here last week and gave a price in Andersen wood windows which is what I now have. The price was too high for me, expect the same will come on Pella. HD introduced me to the wood tone vinyl, Simonton I think the supplier is, about 40% less $$ I next got a bit using Enviro-Star model, top end for Okna windows. They were even lower cost and the display looked great. But in wood tone vinyl.. I'm now in the process of convincing myself white both sides would be best and at another 10% reduction in cost. Sitting here as the sun sets with full cloud cover and think white in the windows would look more cheerful and bright. Since my wood work is, well, wood someone buying the house could always paint the wood white at minimum cost. I think the new windows will outlast the rest of the house, and me for sure..

I think white would be the best choice. Like you point out, it might be too much dark trim with the addition of the windows, plus someone else might prefer white trim someday. I was lucky in that I got the windows on sale. I think I may even have applied for the HD card also to get 10% more off. I found someone cheaper than their contractors to install them.