These questions may be stupid, but I'm discovered that I don't know enough about windows. Oh, I know I want low-e energy efficient windows, but what type?

1. I've always lived in houses with double-hung windows, and I've never really considered anything else. In the spring/fall we love to have the windows open . . . But we never, ever open them from the top. I'm not tall enough to use the upper portion (except when I'm cleaning between the panes, like I did yesterday. All day.). Should I consider single-hung windows that'd only open from the bottom?

2. I'm thinking I'd like to have a casement window over my kitchen sink (with no screen). I'm thinking I'd like a pass-through between the indoor kitchen and the outdoor grilling area. But I don't really want casement windows in the rest of the house. Would it be odd to have different windows -- we will have the very common great room connected to the kitchen, divided by an island layout . . . So the windows would be in the same room . . . But they'd be divided by a glass door and upper kitchen cabinets. I'm just now sure whether this is perfectly fine, or a bit odd.

Thanks for your thoughts on windows.