I replaced my windows last year and went without the grids. I love that they gave a cleaner, more updated look. I have a brick home with almond colored trim, and had to pay more for the almond windows. A house down the street from me had similar colors and put in white windows....screams to me that they are replacement windows. Another feature that I got was a 60/40 split, meaning that the sash is not centered in the window, but slightly offset. My front windows are 6 feet tall, and I think this is much more pleasing to the eye. I do think the lines of your home are contemporary, and that windows without grids would look great!

Personally I would stay with what you have style-wise. Why do you want to change them?

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

I have the Marvin sdl and they were a large part of our house expense. No regrets. But my windows are the fractional style with just the mullions at the very top so window washing is not much of an issue. i wanted these windows in our last house built in 2005 but they were not in the budget. so we used the Andersen dh with the grills between the glass. Lots of grills on both sashes making window washing a breeze. I really thought they looked great and not offensive at all, especially from a distance. I was on this board even way back then when we built that house and one of the members suggested the wider grills. Yes, Andersen gives you the option of wider than standard gills between the glass...making the between the glass grills look more realistic. Worth taking a look if you find out you are shocked by the price of your Marvin SDL window package.