I think grids or mullions stop the eye. If that is what you want...to draw attention away from what is beyond the window, then get the grids. If you can put some nice plants out on the deck and have something you actually enjoy looking at, then I would skip the grids. Personally, I think of windows as "necessary evils" protecting us from the weather, but I like to keep them as unobscured as possible. I also do not care for grids that pop off...would rather have the cleaning issues that come with more realistic looking mullions. But, that's just me. Can you get the grids and then just take them out if you don't like them? Or do they leave little bits of hardware behind? Is there a cost differential? And finally....can we see pics? :-) Your place sounds lovely!

This is actually interesting timing for this thread. I am in the process of having my house re-sided and new windows/doors put in. I ordered the grids between the glass on the front windows, but they got the order wrong and they came without. In order to keep the project moving, the GC installed the plain windows and ordered new ones wtih the grids. Last Thursday night, the windows were replaced. My neighbors - even those who are anti-grids - all have made a point to tell me how much more finished the house looks with the new windows. One person commented that the windows looked like black holes before the grid and now the windows look balanced with the siding. (See pfmastin's comment above) I've had strangers stop to do the same. From the inside, I really like the windows so much more. The view out the front is not gorgeous, but now when I look at my windows, I have that fuzzy new windows feeling I just didn't get with the plain windows. Granted, true wooden mullioned windows have a ton more character. They also are not a smart upgrade in my neighborhood and would likely have tripled to quadrupled my window budget. They are also hard to clean. I took pictures of the front of the house with the first version of the windows. Maybe just for fun, I'll take some new ones and post here so folks can see the difference if folks are interested.

I have interior grids on all windows and doors (not my choice; Toll Brothers development) and the one positive is they are great for cleaning - much easier/quicker than exterior grids. Mine are white, so I'm not sure about the black hole thing. The problem was when I had to replace one slider because the seal broke. Of course I had to replace with the exact same grid (HOA) and of course that sliding glass door was no longer made and of course it was an odd sized 8 3/4' door. I had a heckuva time finding someone to do this "little" job and the price he charged for new glass and grids was excessive. With Andersen, you won't have the replacement issue I did, however.

The vibrate I guess you can say. When I originally selected the door, I wanted one with built in blinds but was told with the amount of sun exposure we have, the gas filled ones would be better but I could not have the ones with built in blinds because they aren’t gas filled due to the movement of the blinds within them. The installed doors have mullions. Our previous door had them also, they never moved at all, and neither do the mullions in our windows. These ones do.