I wanted the doors with the mini-blinds inside, but they are more expensive. And then I could see one of my kids breaking off the handle or constantly opening/closing them until they broke & then more money to fix them!!

In our current house, we got the grills on the inside. It was more, but not crazy more. So much easier to clean. Another option on sliders that we did in the old house - the "grills" were really just etched into the glass. I don't have a photo, but it was 2 etching about 6-10" inches in that ran up & down and across the door. I really loved that, easy to clean but a little fancier than the plain white grills.

I think my old house is near you - just off Navesink River Road???

I have kitchen windows with the grills inside and I love that they are easy to clean. I also have a huge window in my living room with removable grills. A real pain to clean! I'd definitely go with the inside grills.

Sorry. Detachable grilles look cheesy imho. I have both the real kind, and the fake kind in one room, and I had to choose a window treatment in that room specifically to disguise the fake muntins.

Reviews on the between-the-glass blinds have been decidedly mixed. Make sure you research folks' opinions on them.

We had detachable muntins in our old house, hated them. I also do not like the ones between the glass because they have, to me, this odd, flat look because there is no depth or shadow lines...I can't explain it. In our new house, we have what I think are considered simulated divided light windows. There are muntins (non removable) on both the inside and outside of the glass...so it looks like it COULD be separate lights in each little pane, but it of course, isn't.

Pella makes between the glass blinds. My Mom has had them for 25 years and had not had any problems.

We prefer Marvin Ultimate windows and doors, but they price higher than Anderson 400 Series with inside removeable mullions, snap in grid. I have Marvins and Anderson 400 products. The Marvins are a more traditional look IMO.

I vote grilles between the glass. We had the simulated divided lite in the old house it was a PIA to clean. We went all between the glass on the new build & so happy we did.

You may want to check out PlastPro's doors. They are all fiberglass units and come with or without grilles, with or without blinds between the glass, and smooth or wood grain texture. But most of all, they have the flush mount glass. They do not have the cheesy looking (IMO) plastic frame that goes around the glass. We found them in a competitor building supply store to the one our GC was using who said no one made this type of door. We have 2 full lite doors and 1 1/2 lite door all with grilles between the glass. We love them!

Here is a link that might be useful: Plastpro Flush Glazed Doors

mydreamhome- Thanks! These look similar to the fiberglass Thermatru. The model they put on my estimate is a full lite door with removable grilles- 15 lite- (but I am pretty sure I'd do in between the glass). Also it is flush glazed. I'm glad you described it a bit b/c I wasn't sure what it meant and if that was better than the other option or not.
*Are the half lite glass doors more $ than all glass? Or is more glass more expensive?

not sure how old your house is but would replicate what you have in other parts of the house. i think the removable grilles are cheap looking personally. my house isa 1942 cottage and i had to replace all the windows. went with marvin all wood windows - double hung tilt pacs. not sure that this applies to your situation but their product is terrific! you cannot even tell that they are replacements, they look wonderfully original from the street. they were not cheap but worth every penny.

I am pretty sure we paid the same for the full lite and the 1/2 lite doors. Here's a closeup of the frame where the door transitions to glass. As you can see, there is no plastic raised frame surrounding the glass like you see on the doors at HD and Lowes. It looks more like the ones you get from the window manufacturers.

Here's the only pic I could pull of a Thermatru door with a screen vented lite. I would make sure you saw this in person before ordering...

What about installing a retractable screen instead of the vented lite?

Also, if you were going to leave a window treatment on the door all the time, you could attach those sticky-backed magnets to the door and then use a magnetic curtain rod to hang it from. Maybe one of those ones that you can raise & lower?

Looks great! Not so sure about the screen one? Thermatru didn't have a retractable screen. I can get them from another company. I think Andersen does them but didn't know if they mix with other companies.

Actually, I wanted the retractable screens for my kitchen casements but I don't see they on Andersen.com with the casement windows. Maybe they don't work with casements?

Marvin & Pella offer the retractable screens built in to the windows. There are several other companies that offer them for any make of window. We saw Phantom Screens in person at our local home show--seemed well made & we plan to do their big ones for the porch.

Here is a link that might be useful: Phantom Screens

I agree with matching what is in your house or in your neighborhood. If it's an older home - pre 1960's and you have divided lights in the windows - it's likely they are true divided light and you should try to replicate the look with simulated divided light. Yes, cleaning is harder - but I guess houses with no architectural integrity are worse to me. But, most people would not notice. Grills between the glass, vinyl windows say "builder cheap" to me... that said, in my screened porch to sunroom conversion we are using some patio doors with grills between the glass - the price difference is over $3,000 and I'm on a tight budget so just can't justify the cost difference.

OH! So Phantom Screens are an after market item? It would be great if we knew it was an option after the fact so we can do them a bit later (when we save more $!)

Regarding matching our home, it is 1950 but all of the window were replaced by a previous homeowner not long ago and they are vinyl with the internal grilles. They are not wonderful looking but that's where we are at... They are fine.