I think black would look great

Can you afford black? The challenge with trendy black window frames in white walls is ably demonstrated in the two photos above. In the daytime, the black frames tend to visually disappear. In the evening they look glaringly evident.

Your choice.

We’re leaning towards white, but I was worried there wouldn’t be enough contrast on the house. Previously we thought we’d do grey shakes with white windows and it was an easier choice, but the more I look at the plans the more I think it should be a white house

Do you think it can still have that modern farmhouse look with white windows?

Absolutely! I like the contrast. But white will be fine. I think "modern farmhouse" is all in what you make it anyway. Doesn't have to be all trendy. :) Enjoy the process!

but the more I look at the plans the more I think it should be a white house

Why do you think it should be a white house? I ask this seriously because this is a trend right now and we all know what happens with trends. If you truly love a white house with black windows, then go for it, but if you're partly or even completely being swayed because it's trendy, then pick what you love.

Do you think it can still have that modern farmhouse look with white windows?

You can have a beautiful house with whatever color windows that work for you and your house. Again, modern farmhouse is a trend.

Make a beautiful house and in 5 years it will still look beautiful. Think timeless, not trendy

I love the black but it is completely personal preference. White would be a cleaner more airy look, you could balance this with some hanging baskets of ferns/annuals, wooden bench, and foundation plantings.

Your house just looks like a neo-colonial. I don't see any modern farmhouse, which is the latest fad phrase for a white neo-colonial. All the new houses that have gone up in my area lately have been white.

What about your trim color? White house, white windows, light gray trim.

I have a white "mod farmhouse/neocolonial". Windows are white and I like that. The black adds more modern to the modern farmhouse. I like it, but way way way more important is the quality of the windows. You are building a big fancy house. Don't cheap out and get vinyl windows with fake flat muntins. My windows were one of the hardest decisions I made and I have never regretted them. I look out them every day, and they bring me such pleasure. From the exterior there is a profile that they add that makes the house significantly nicer. I also think black roof is a bit too stark-we have charcoal with a zinc roof over window bay. Also consider red with green windows for a different more farm-looking farmhouse :)

Sorry looking for better pics:

What I said about windows goes for garage doors too

Ok so this is the only photo I could find of my favorite red/green house but believe me, it is beautiful!!

I think either will look fine, but I’m curious about the black roof. A dark color roof can decrease the energy efficiency of homes. My mother saw a noticeable difference in her house when she changed from a brown to a dark gray roof.

https://www.austinlonghornroofing.com/blog/light-vs-dark-roofs-energy-efficient-shingles

https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/science/earth/30degrees.html

Youve all given me a lot to think about. I do not know enough about windows. Our builder has recommended JeldWen DF. Are those considered decent quality? Embarrassingly, I don’t even know what a muntin is - so not sure what it would mean to have a flat one. So much to learn in this process! Thinking we should maybe go back to our idea of grey shakes with white windows. We may have fallen for the modern farmhouse trend and this house needs to last longer than a few years!

@greenfish1234 your house is gorgeous!

I would seriously think long and hard about all the furnishings that you will be putting INSIDE the house. Seriously . Dark framed windows can look really ugly with a lot of interiors. You modern farm house trend is fine now and you can fill the house up with all that goes in a modern farmhouse according to Joanna Gaines but when that trend dies and you are sick of it and decide you want something else how is that decor going to look with dark windows?

Hahaha yes very true. My hope for the interior is light and airy and pretty minimalist, with a bit of shiplap and warm wood but more what I’d call new traditional. I think we need to go with white windows.

Is your siding wood? If so, it will eventually need repainting/staining which will allow you to change the color if you get sick of what you pick now. I think a White House can look timeless, so choose what you really like!

I really like a grey Nantucket shake house but I’m afraid it won’t look right in our setting/with the lines of the house. I really want to choose the right colours for the architecture. The problem is our first design had a lot of dormers and would have looked perfect in grey but we had to scale it back to keep it in budget...

I love black windows....when they're black steel/bronze windows, not vinyl "fakes". If I were you, I'd go back to the gray shakes with white windows and trim. It will always look good and will never be "out of fashion". Those black windows will date you house as much as cathedral kitchen cabinet doors do.

Either would be fine right now but anything that is considered "modern" now is going to be "dated" in a few years by the very definition of the word. There's a new modern farmhouse a mile or so down the road from me that I swoon over with white siding and black windows. However, when I passed it today in full sun, the windows looked really weird. I think the muntins "disappeared" and that's why it looked so odd.

Thinking we should maybe go back to our idea of grey shakes with white windows.

That's more timeless than the white modern farmhouse look. Honestly I think your house will look lovely with the gray. The other idea is to keep the board and batten but do it in the gray. That too will look great.

I really liked your board and batten look. If I see one I see 20 houses a DAY either repainting in gray or installing new gray pre-colored siding. Do what you like not what everyone else is doing. Beautiful houses never go out of style. :)

Oh- and muntins are the cross-cross thingies. Your architect will tell you and you can observe-every bit of projection from your home creates shadow, depth, contrast. That is why a builders grade colonial looks off compared to a simple antique colonial. The antique probably has siding with a smaller lap, if there are shutters they are real and angled, and the windows, the "eyes" of the house have depth and character. All subtle differences that add up to huge impact.

"Our builder has recommended JeldWen DF. Are those considered decent quality?"

Not in any pro's mind that I know..............

Thanks! Everything we’ve read has called them - or their contemporary version - grilles. Good to know.

What brands would you recommend Millworkman?

Pella or Marvin architect series

it is a trading game for anyone. You already learned that with your gables (good choice IMO-too many gables is mcmansiony). I chose certain high quality materials over square footage. 2900 sf was more than enough for my family of 5, and I didn't want to heat and maintain huge spaces that I rarely use (I don't have any need for a bedroom suite, for instance: I would never use my bedroom for sitting on a sofa or whatever people do in their 800 sf bedrooms) but that is just me. Another thing that baffles me is the 3 car garage with cheap doors. I'd rather have a smaller garage with wood doors. But everyone has different needs and priorities. Take some of these things in to consideration as you drive around and browse Houzz. Look closely to see differences between houses that you love and houses that look similar but don't have that special something.

I thought I posted this last night but I don't see it here. Another thing you never thought you cared about but makes all the difference: eave returns!!

http://www.thisiscarpentry.com/2013/12/13/eave-returns-interpreting-gyhr-details/

One more thing! On quality windows the interior isn't the same color as the exterior. So, just like in any house with Wood windows, the exterior is painted the exterior and the interior is painted whatever color you want in every room. The difference is that modern quality windows are aluminum clad on the outside so you pick your color once and never paint. Inside you can change as often as you like. I have to say that I really do love those houses with the black 2/1 or 2/2 windows. More panes (mine are 6/1) might look too black as mentioned above.

Change the grid (mullion) to 2 over 2. Instead of black, I would consider a dark charcoal or as an alternative, a gray like you see in the first picture. It's a more modern look.

Had to LMAO at the description of a "grill" I found on an architectural site describing the difference between a muntin (small bars separating panes) and a mullion (bar that divides widow units):