I agree, only modern homes can pull that look off.

I am surprised......no muntins at all in the front?

We chose to go without in the back of the house, because we have great views and I like the open clear glass. It doesn't look as interesting from the backyard, but I am ok with it. But the front of our house would certainly be lacking without them.

CLC this is exactly my thinking. But these are brick colonial revival homes etc. now installing windows with no muntins on the front. Looks odd to me but there must be some logic behind it, or so I'd think. Thus the curiosity as to what is motivating these decisions.

Maybe it is as simple as that, Anne.

Some houses definitely need muntins. Its usually a mistake to get rid of them if they were a part of the original architecture of the house.

There are several reasons we switched. One, I have a pet peeve about blinds or shutters over any of my windows with grids, there are too many lines going on. We need privacy on two of our front windows and before switching, they looked like the silly sunglasses with lines across them and vertical lines added in. The greatest deciding factor however, is that we value bringing the outdoors in, especially when outdoor temps or wind or insects make being inside more comfortable. The large open glass has helped make rooms feel surprisingly larger and brighter and more colorful.

I agree that changing the windows without updating other exterior elements falls short and of course, the frame color has to relate. I also agree that there are some regions where architectural integrity should be preserved and honored, OTOH, many homes have been beautifully refreshed with updates which include clear windows.

I changed my windows ( my house is a ranch style so either works ) . My grilles were on the outside of the glass! A cleaning nightmare. Plus I really like the simplicity for a clean piece of glass. I wonder if people don't realize you can get the grilles on the inside?