Thanks for all of the advice! I've posted a few inspiration photos. Regarding, the current tudor style, while this style certainly does have charm, it just isn't our favorite. We'd prefer something a little more modern and clean looking. For now, the tile roof will need to stay but down the road we plan to replace it, mostly likely with shingles. I should also mention we live in the Pacific Northwest and tile roofs and stucco siding are not real common here. I don't think the materials perform as well as other in this climate. As for the windows, we've decided casement windows would be best, at least for the large front windows. I appreciate that suggestion! I think we are leaning toward no grids in the back of the house so that the view is clear. As for the front, we are still torn. We may have to get some renderings worked up to help us decide. Any thoughts on black vs white windows? We were thinking about staying with the black to contrast with the white but I've also seen some white houses with white windows that also look great. There's just so many great options! Again, thanks for all advice. I will definitely post after photos when the project is complete!

A lot of it is house dependent. A friend of mine was replacing an upper story dormer window and I showed him how different windows would look to help him decide. If you're interested in seeing options on your house check out my web site, Creative Visual Concepts. Here's what I showed him. Current window: Option #1 Option #2 Option #3

@K Kohr @Jon Alan and @res2architect helped me a ton with windows and the charm they bring to your home's design. They are a wealth of knowledge. I agree with PPF when he describes window pane sizing. I think that you want to have the same width of pane size. To explain that here is an example... See how the panes in the dormers are similar widths to the panes in the lower windows. Here are some of the colonial style. Honestly with the size of window you have I think a 9 over 9 would be just fine. I love the charm of the cape pictured above with it's 12 over 12! These are all equal widths and 6 over 6 This stone colonial has 9 over 9 on the bottom and 6 over 6 on top. Notice the side windows are 4 over 4 (kind of hard to see because of the tree in the way but they are attempting to keep the grids equal widths like PPF stated above. The dormered windows look to be 6 over 6 which is fine imo. Window grids definitely add charm if done right. So make sure you draw it all out and are ok with the look before you order your windows. Looks to be a beautiful house. Can't wait to see more of your build. You'll have to share your milestones on the home building forum when you get started. It is a fun group of people! Here is a photo of our exterior. We just finished building this summer. While it's not the same scale of build (financially) as your home will be (I'm basing that off of your window selection. Marvin's were definitely out of our budget). The addition of window grids gave our custom home the old world charm my husband and I were looking for. Thanks again Res and PPF for the help with window grid design :)

I was torn between grids & no grids. I like Celery's rendition very much. The color change is the Real Biggie. All of that black & esp the black gable end were troubling me. Celery chose a really nice color that complements the stone. I would change the siding, get a new door and then stand back & take a good look at the results. The existing windows may look just fine with those other changes. (Of course, the windows may be old, rotten & in need of replacement anyway...)