If the window panes are indeed black--go with tan to match the siding. If the panes are clear go with black. 4-8K is not much compared to cost of entire house.

Currently there are solar shades on the windows, which will be removed when the new windows are installed. We are hesitant to go black because of potential issues with fading. It gets hot here in TX and the house faces SW

I don't think I would like black. I perfer tan with your brick, but white would look good too.

Dark Bronze from my opinion.

+1. Arch Bronze or a deep brown.

Do we have to worry about a dark color fading over time? The house faces SW so we get a lot of mid/late afternoon sun in the front of the house. That’s our big concern going dark

I have similar brick (without the dark areas), and very hot and dry climate during summers, south facing. We did black windows (Andersen 400) approx 3 years ago. A great facelift for the house! Our window broker said that they haven't had any problems with the black (newer) windows.

What we have seen...hold up great.

One of the first companies that came out brought a black window. Did look good!

This one is called “desert sand” which is close to a sandstone

" Do we have to worry about a dark color fading over time? "

Quality product no worries.

We are going with NT Presidential series which uses vivid color application. They warranty it for 15 years

I like uniformity . I’d match the soffit and fascia colors. If you are changing those I ’d go terra -tone.

The tan would be the safe choice, the black says, yeah baby I'm a standout here!

@toddinmn fwiw the tan matches our soffits and siding almost exactly.

I am an outlier here, I know. No to the black.

I like the Desert Sand. I’m in Texas, too, and have black windows (I didn’t choose them). They have faded and gotten brittle from being baked. The front of my house gets so hot some days, you can’t touch the front door handle … it’s like that Joe Pesci scene in Home Alone.

My last house had tan brick and stone with tan windows, looked great. Classic.

I like the tan. I think black might look dated before it looks faded.

I vote for the tan. The windows will still look highlighted but softer.

White vs tan this morning

Brian! What did y’all do to that poor Crape Myrtle?

(I’m teasing you.)

I agree with blueskysunnyday. Tan looks perfect.

I’m in Texas too and going through buying new windows. I’ve driven around so many neighborhoods and finally decided to stick with white. I originally was planning on tan, but was hesitant. My neighbor went with tan and hers look great. Im going to go the safe route and stick with white. I feel your indecision! It’s taken me 3-4 years to get to this point. It’s such an expensive decision.

@jilly when we moved in it was about 10 feet taller than our house. The two arborist that came out said it was the biggest CM they had ever seen. We are trimming it back to a more reasonable size

Absolutely not white.

Got a sample of sandstone/desert sand. Sitting next to tan. If we repainted the trim, I think desert sand would look nice but maybe too dark with current trim?

I still say Dark Bronze, even more so after seeing your other options visualized.

I am disappointed with how the tan looks. It's definitely better than white, but insipid. I agree to try dark bronze. That's what I have and love it. But I have brown brick, so I thought it might be too dark. Not any more. I say see what it looks like like these other colors.

Not white, not black. Neither harmonize with the brick. The lighter muddy color works well with your existing trim, the darker muddy is better but only if you plan to repaint.

I’ll try to get a dark bronze sample.

@hallett & co. We do think the tan offers the most flexibility with trim. It’ll look good if we leave as is or paint it darker. We feel a darker window would definitely look best if the trim was darker while looking ok if we leave it lighter. Picture for inspiration. The dark gutter acts like dark trim. Thoughts here? Second pic is one I Found of our brick with tan windows.

Why would you do dark gutters? They aren’t something to highlight and should match your trim.

I was just pointing out that the gutters in the first picture acted liked dark trim (visually speaking) for purposes of seeing a light window frame next to dark trim. We would match the trim and gutters.

No, you don't have to match gutters and windows. Gutters and downspouts should blend in with the colors of the walls and siding. The dark bronze will "match" the dark of the glass, will disappear into the void, and visually enlarge the opening in addition to giving it a sharper edge. Try it in a photo or better yet, go to a part of town where yo might see high-end buildings to see what they did. No travel budget? That's why we have Google Earth street view. Try Washington DC. Its an important and expensive outlay, so consider all possibilities, viewed every way you can. But again, anything but white.

Also, to really be happy with your windows, get one of the divided light options: https://www.andersenwindows.com/windows-and-doors/options-and-accessories/grilles/

The difference, when viewed from the outside is qualitative (yes/no). Windows and doors are everything to a home's appearance.

Or try terratone by Anderson. That's a darker brown but not dark bronze. How does that look?

I have a cheap tract home and got the divided light in dark bronze. Yes it costs more, but worth every penny. The color on the outside and breaking up the pane is worth every penny. I find it's better to look at the cost difference on a project basis instead of a per window basis. It seems like a lot on a per window basis. But when I look at the project cost and compare it with the perceived value of the house, it seemed like a good investment, and it was. It's great to hear the neighbors wow about it. The house doesn't look cheap anymore. You know how you feel when you go house shopping and you look for evidence the house is well built and has been cared for? These choices scream quality. White windows with no divided panes scream cheap.

Got a black window sample. In order of pictures:

1) The sample card resting on the 'tan' window is a NT sample card in tan. The window itself is from another mfg and likely beige. The window has more 'yellow' in it than the tan sample card.

2) The sample card resting on the black window is a NT sample card in bronze. I couldn't get a bronze sample.

3) 'Tan' and black

4) Desert sand and black

I really like the bronze or black. I wasn't the one who originally suggested the bronze, but it was a good suggestion. It makes me see the interesting dark bricks. And now I like the black too, maybe more than bronze because of the other bricks, the reds and oranges. These typically are stunning against charcoal grey. What do you think? You sound tired. Sympathies. I know this is a big decision. I really hope you go for the divided light in the windows.

Look for a quailty brand, especially with a dark color. And Dark Bronze is still the winner in my opinion. NT Window maybe not so much.

What's an NT window?

Fort Worth Texas based window company.

Tan is my winner for You. Being contained partly in brick, on side walls, high entry with doors and under roof, it simply minimizes the overall color elements. However, being so well harmonized, the building can take a massive look with serious impact, but maybe a boring unified result. For me black would broke the unified effect, being a contrast to the brick, but I respect you don 't like it, and futhermore it would be not consistant to your high entry with doors and side walls. White would broke the overall look but looks too much sweet fairy tale :) Tan for You.

I still like the tan, as well. It’s soft looking and the shape and size of the windows create their own drama or personality, I believe, without highlighting the frames.

I’m glad I’m not deciding, I like them all.

I really don’t think you can go wrong with any of them looks-wise (only risk being possible fading on the black trim due to our scorching sun).

Not exact, but similar to your three choices:

Tan:

On my monitor the next two are closer to the Desert Sand:

Black:

http://www.bricks-tiles.com/Chicago.htm

Ooooo....the grey connects with the grey roof!

Thanks for all the help, time and consideration! Houzz is such a great resource. We decided to go the tan route! Now the waiting game begins!

Yay! Thank you for not choosing white!

I think the tan will be perfect. Great choice!