Opinions on window colors update in op

[maudefindlay]

What are your opinions on window colors? Classic white or would you do black. I guess my concern is that black may be a fad and would then age our house in the future. We are having a custom home built and will be Craftsman style. Appreciate pros/cons of each.

Update: Well, we are going with neither, ha! I liked cuadrado's suggestion and I've been paying attention to window colors on the historic and classic looking homes and saw lots of dark gray and bronze which looks nicer to me, so dark bronze it is! We also changed our exterior colors, doing a light stone, white trim, and a dark gray shingle shake. Thanks for all the advice!

[simpsongal]

I don't mind the look of black windows (and I'm sort of traditional). They could look dated in a few years, but I think they'll age better than the windows w/that arch at the top ala the 1990s mcmcansions. I think they limit some of your adjacent paint color choices (I almost always see black windows paired with a white or cream exterior).

My main issue w/black windows is you can't see the mullions during the day (unless you have a white shade/curtain drawn inside. So architecturally, it looks a bit like a black void. My neighbor just renovated, she has a white home and she installed black windows. Again, you can't see the mullions unless it's at night and the lights are on. If you skip mullions well... we have a neighbor that did that w/casement windows and we call it the "iphone house" b/c it looks like a bunch of black mirrored screens.

If I were going custom I'd consider a custom color (e.g., sage green, gray blue), assuming it didn't blow the budget. Again, it's limiting from an adjacent decor perspective, but it could look very high end.

[penguingrrl]

I used to like black windows, but they’ve been so overdone in my area that I’m over them. My mom is an interior designer and was going to put them in her house and is glad she didn’t because the dad is almost over and she feels that instead of looking classic they’re going to look dated quickly. Given that, I’d personally stick with white to avoid it looking dated.

[Susie]

I agree with simpsongal's characterizations of how the black windows can sometimes look.  I've also thought of it as looking like a kid missing a tooth, esp during the day.

I've seen black windows look nice on houses at the beach that also have matching black Bahama or hurricane shutters, but that's the only application that I'd personally use it on.  Even then, I would be concerned about the temperature of the windows, and possibly fading, on areas with high sun exposure.

We replaced all the windows in our house in fall 2022, and went with traditional white.

[mrsukyankee]

It really depends on your house style. We live in an area with lots of Victoria/Edwardian homes and black windows look 'right' with the brick (as does white).

[sandandsea]

I really like black but I’d do white for windows as it seems more timeless and versatile.

ETA. We also have white shutters on the interior of all of our windows so the white blends in and I have no intention of replacing the blinds/shutters everywhere.

[mrspez07]

Our house was built in 1979. When we moved in in 08, it still had a few of the original metal windows (bay specifically) which faced west. The windows were either dark bronze or black when original, they had faded in most areas to grey.
I think white is a cleaner look. black will recede back on a medium to dark siding color but stand out on white/light.

[brooke77]

I prefer white. I like some black trim and black gutters, but for the windows my preference is white.

[SusanBAnthony]

This is one of my favorite topics.

For all building materials, lighter colors will last better, and windows are no exception. If you do go black, do NOT under any circumstances do vinyl. Research the color hold- you really want an aama 05 coating/capping, but at least an 04.

Black windows specifically sort of fade I to the background and you don't notice them. Personally I don't care for it most of the time. I agree there is no point in mullions.

I would go with a color (blue, green, etc), but I like color. Or white (but NOT bright blue-white vinyl white, which looks cheap). I have cream colored windows which look really nice but it's a huge pain in the ass to match gutters and downspouts and such. So keep that in mind.

[nicolewi]

Without actual pics, I would say white. I really like the black sometimes, but I do think black is more 'trendy' in a way and white is more classic over time.

[lessel]

I like the look of black but also worry about the fading and trend changing. Then again white/black tend to be pretty timeless neutrals elsewhere in decorating.

For a craftsman, depending on your other material choices you could also choose a light or medium like wood tone. I've seen some really nice craftsman style with wood windows... like a walnut color. We used to have a mid-century style house with a lot of wood exposed--tongue and groove wood ceilings and beams were interior ceiling and exterior soffits. We did an Andersen window that was like a light wood color to tie it all in.

[cuadrado]

What's the overall color scheme of the house? I'm no help with the fading question - we did black windows in our last house but only lived there a couple of years.

If you do decide to go dark, consider a dark oil rubbed bronze instead of black. It still looks black but is just a touch softer. I regretted not doing this in our last house.

[maudefindlay]

cuadrado, not finalized on exterior colors, but likely an off white/cream color with accents in a cream. So lighter colors, but not farmhouse white.

[maudefindlay]

Update in op.

[sonrisa]

I like your update and would love to see photos when it's done