What does the Marvin sales person say?

IMo there is no functional difference but visually there can be a huge difference . I would ask my architect not my builder what the total look of the exterior is. Could you post a pic of the elevation you are talking about.

From an architectural point of view, it depends on the style of architecture of your house. Have you discussed with your architect?

it also matters when you go to put drapes on them. and make sure you know if inside mount shades are possible. don't have a particular 'look' in mind and then find it cant be achieved with your single unit choice.

Don't disregard how this affects the interior. How do you plan to address window coverings? One blind versus three blinds, three pairs of drapery panels versus one pair of drapery panels, one shade versus three shades. Lot to think about.

You're showing us two different window shapes. The second drawing has longer, more 'farmhouse' style, IMO. Do you want the 'squatter' look, with the gable-in-gable, shorter windows with upper muntins, or the 'farmhouse'?

There's no need to have every window operational. You'll probably only open one or two of the side windows. (A little savings there, and the non-operational will be 'tighter'.)

When I replaced my windows a few years ago (with Marvin - love them!), I replaced a 2-wide unit with 2 single double-hung windows and I like it so much more. Can't really tell you why, I just prefer the look and the feeling of "balance".

IMO I would select linked windows. See examples of farmhouse styles below.

Good choice, Kirsten!

Being able to open windows is very important. I have a couple of stationary picture windows and I would never do that again--you get all the heat buildup but no way to vent it.

Kirsten, Just thought you should see the examples, but it is your decision. IMO, from the inside windows that are less than 2 feet apart are a nightmare for drapery panels, but if you plan to use shades or blinds that's different.

Deep windows will look peculiar with furniture (especially casegoods) backing to them.

A breeze requires only a few inches of open window on each side of the house.

I think she means low windows. Windows that are low to the ground definitely affect furniture placement, so that's something to consider.

Windows that extend lower than 18" from the floor have to have tempered glass which adds quite a bit to the $$.

I would not consider casement windows, they cost more than single or double hung and I don't like the idea of screens inside the house next to my window treatments. Just something to think about.

A double hung window allows you to crack the window at the top and still keep a level of security. Not something you can do with casement windows.

Well...to go back to what a very wise person posted upstream, the type(s) of windows appropraite for a house depends on the architectural style of the house. What's the style of your house?

Here's two examples, using different windows:

Colonial:

Modern:

Can you see the differences? Which most closely parallels the architecture of your house?

Oh! A modern farmhouse...I take it all back! :-)

I recently replaced a 3-lite window (what you're calling 3-wide) in my condominium. (I didn't have the option to replace it with three windows but wouldn't have wanted to anyway.) A few comments:

1. The three-lite window consists of three windows with mulling to attach them together. The mulling between the windows substantially reduces the glass area over that of, say, a single-lite window. However the total glass area is still greater than that of three windows occupying the same horizontal space. My personal preference is to maximize the amount of glass area so I would choose the 3-lite window over three windows.

2. Someone wrote not to install casement windows. Casement windows provide better ventilation (they "catch the wind") and are more efficient than double-hung because the lock handle pulls the sash in tight against the frame when the window closed. Double-hung do not close tight and the rail between the upper and lower sashes is particularly inefficient. And of course you lose glass area because of that rail which also obscures the view right in the center of the window. Picture windows are the most efficient of all.

3. In addition (or in place of) casements, consider awning windows -- for example over your kitchen sink. While they don't provide the ventilation of casements, they are great because the top hinge allows you to leave them open even in sloppy weather. My old 3-lite window had two casements separated by a fixed window but I replaced it with casement+fixed+awning. Casement and awning windows don't look any different from the outside and the inside difference is minimal (an extra lock for the awning).

4. Bali manufactures honeycomb shades with up to three shades on one head rail. This means you can have one shade per lite each of which operates independently. The gap between the shades is narrow (but some light does leak through between the shades).

I have just had to go through the same thought process of our upcoming build. I ended up going with mostly mulled double and triple windows. While I might slightly prefer the individual window look on the outside, I much prefer the group windows on the inside.

My current house has windows separated and you dont really feel any sense of the outdoors in the rooms. The views are just too broken up and small. Additionally it effects the usable wall space in the rooms. For example our upstairs bedrooms are only going to be about 11.5 ft wide having the windows mulled in a double configuration gives me room along the too side walls to fit a desk or shelving, etc without it coiner part of the windows.

Marvin does manufacture inswing casement windows and fantabulous 'tilt turn' windows -- popular in Europe -- both of which would eliminate the front porch furniture problem.

I don't know the reason for the builder's narrower casement option; it doesn't appear to be a limitation on the maximum window size (if I'm reading this correctly) though a 30" wide casement is still a pretty big window to swing open!

@marjen My condo's master bedroom as a 3-lite window and the second bedroom as three separate windows. The total glass area in the two rooms is about the same but the master feels much more open because the 3-lite is perceived as one big window. (Each lite/window is about 24w x 39.5h and the independent windows are 31" apart.)

@Kirsten Eloise It depends on the room, anywhere from 2-4 ft.

@Lawrence Sprowls i agree. For example in my current office I situated my desk to face the windows to view the outdoors. But the 2 windows in the room have a 4 ft gap between them so unless i am really concentrating on view I dont even notice it. Where as in my current kitchen i have 3 2' windows mulled together and you get a much better sense of the outdoors.

A few years ago, “This Old House” built an ocean front house in New England; they had a segment where they tested the different styles of windows and found that casement windows sealed better against high wind and rain than double hung windows. Casement are also much more difficult to open from the outside (We were accidentally locked out when we were in high school and even with one of the windows cracked open, it took 20-30 minutes to get it open enough for one of us to crawl through)

Had some in swing casement two houses ago (1920's - these were custom built on site back in that day) havoc with window treatments.

The great thing is that a house can have nice big windows and still be well-insulated because of improvements in window design and, more importantly, glass technology. On the flip side, one must be careful to select windows with the appropriate thermal characteristics that consider the location of the house and positions of the windows. One can turn a well-insulated house into a furnace by installing south- or west-facing windows that don't handle solar heat gain properly. I've read that super-efficient houses in even cold climates can become overheated by their west-facing windows.

Modern double-hungs have no problems sealing the mid-rails tight to one another. None at all. It's ridiculous to claim that casements seal better.

Some of them are even hurricane rated, so the double-hung design is not inherently less able to seal out water and wind.