Not so much. You can't really change the identity of a house with a different style of window, not into something that different.

You think the simple grid just on top of the casement would be too much?

The #1 rule if any attempted remodel project is: First, Do No Harm. Your ideas do not pass that test. It would make the house look silly, and give it a horrible identity crisis to attempt those windows in that house. You want to do what is called a remuddle, which is to take a home with a strong identity and attempt to unsuccessfully erase that identity, to the detriment of the home. It usually results in something neither fish nor fowl, and a huge drop in resale value.

Embrace the ranch. Until you find the perfect cottage to buy and move. Work on a cottage garden in the mean time. Working on that garden upkeep every single day will give you an appreciation of the simplicity of ranch style.

It's your house and if it will make you happy, then do it. The house will get over it. But before you decide whether you'd really like those windows on that house, maybe you could post better pictures of the front of the house and see if some kind soul would photoshop that style onto your house. You may be able to see if it looks as bad as others say, or if you could live with it. (I'm sorry I have no photoshop skills so you'd have to ask others to help you).

Oh, I just looked quickly on the internet and Andersen has a visualizer where you can post pics of your house and try different windows. They surely have similar styles to Marvin, or maybe Marvin has the same tool...I didn't check.

Andersen visualizer for windows and doors

Many houses of this style had divided lite casements originally so maybe a fully divided lite style, a grid pattern over the entire window, would be a compromise.

I don't know what the inside details are of course, but this house is really the "soft contemporary" of its day, so its from the mid-century period but it's not particularly modern. Many of these houses had plenty of traditional details.

But I think a cottage or craftsman style window is "too specific" and a style that would not have been combined with contemporary architecture while a more generic full grid would have been. You could not really make this house cottage style without major structural changes.

I really wanted to do a true SDL like this but wondered if it was too much. I guess I'm just gonna tape different designs on the windows and see how it looks!

A four light window is still not quite right. I know I am being picky here, but I will tell you why:

When glass manufacturing started to get cheaper, with industrialization, in the 19th c. it was actually many divided lite windows that were cheaper and larger pieces of glass were more expensive. And at least where I live, Victorians even put different styles of windows in different parts of the house, depending upon who could see them and where they were on the house, so for example, the front of the house might have single pane sashes on all the windows except maybe up at the top, 2 over 2 on the upper floors on the side, and maybe even multipaned windows around back. 2 over 2 (or four panes in a double hung window) was a "cheap" window for a long time, into the 20th c. The rows of factory houses in the town I grew up in all had 2 over 2 windows. And then craftsman and bungalow style houses had 4 pane windows like you show, although the fancier ones in the suburban Chicago neighborhood I lived in for a while had a lot of large panes of glass. So these four pane windows had "old fashioned" "dated" and "cheap" associations. When modernism started to take hold, picture windows and large panes of glass were what people wanted.

But Americans also perennially liked "Colonial" architecture, so various forms of Colonial Revival styles were popular at various points throughout the 20th century, and the window most commonly associated with "Colonial" is 6 over 6, which now, ironically is a standard format window for between the glass dividers and relatively inexpensive, but relatively expensive in a true divided light.

So in the middle of the twentieth century, the "colonial" style divided lite window was the only one that really got plugged into the contemporary house vocabulary. A two over two was still looked at as old fashioned and cheap because it was so common pre-War, and bungalows were considered "dark and old fashioned". So something that had the same general configuration as a "colonial" window was okay, something with a different divided pattern was not. It didn't really matter that it was often applied to casements and not particularly authentic, it was the proportion of the lites that people responded to:

Here sre some examples from the 1960s. This sort of divided lite would give you the divided lite look you want, while still being an "authentic" sort of window for a rather contemporary house. (And of course the plain glass you have is the most authentic option because that's what it was built with).

Heres your house with some sloppily divided lites added. I still think I like it better with single lites, but I have seen plenty of houses like yours with this:

Thank you so much for your detailed response and taking the time to explain and photoshop! I actually love the look of the mock up! Call me crazy I know. Any way possible you could do a mock up with the 4 lite grid? I am so inept with photoshop. I honestly was gonna just go outside and use tape to see different grid patterns.

Lesley, did you see the link I posted above where you can put a pic of your house into the Andersen window visualizer program and try different style windows? You don't have to tape them up, but thanks to Pal, you've seen some different styles already.

Not so keen on this one:

Yes I've tried that link on multiple occasions. Idk why it won't work for me unless it has to be done from a computer and not a phone. Believe me when I say I've tried every app and window visualizer. None will work from my phone.

Oh, maybe it needs a computer. You don't have access to one? If you really want to try it, maybe your public library has free computer access. Ours does. It would just be so nice for you to actually try real windows on your real house before you commit all that money.

This may help.windows

@Lesley - I’m currently in your exact shoes right now! What did you end up going with?

Hi Haley. I have only replaced half of the front so far because windows cost a small fortune. Here’s a photo of the front that’s been replaced thus far. I’d love to see a pic of your home.

Thank you so much for replying! It’s so frustrating on these boards when there is never any follow up to questions/posts! We live in a traditional mid 70s rancher that needs a facelift! We’re in the process of adding on a master suite and a covered patio. I know windows are costly so i wanted to go ahead and pick the new style for the addition. Then I’ll replace the others as time and money allows. May i ask where you live and what brand you went with? I have never shopped windows before so this is definitely a learning experience. Don’t want to overbuy but definitely want quality. Yours look fantastic!! I definitely think the same as you when you mentioned above about not worrying so much as to the style of your house, you want to make it what you want. I’m the same way! I love to see houses who have undergone a transformation into something totally different! Here is our house and a picture of where we’re heading with it.