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alexa_koziol

White and black interior windows

3 years ago

We're building a white modern farmhouse type home with black exterior windows and black interior windows on the main floor (open public viewing space incl kitchen, living room, dining room). We're having trouble deciding on what color for the top floor, which will have the master, 2 kids room, a bathroom and an office. Should we just do the entire floor with white windows or maybe just the kids bedrooms since they will be more decorative and black may appear a little harsh?

Comments (11)

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    you can choose white for the upstairs if you like. not a big deal. you won't be able to see the bottom and top floors together.




    or maybe you want to do just your room w/the black. it all depends on the style






    Exterior-wise, they should all match



  • 3 years ago

    Thanks so much Beth that's very helpful. And what do you think about basements? Should it be a white Since it's typically lower ceilings and smaller windows?

  • 3 years ago

    Should? it all depends on what you like and the style you're after.

    you could do white in the basement if you prefer. or just trim out the black windows w/a nice white trim and white walls.

  • PRO
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Just make all exterior windows SAME, as in black, and know that a combo black/white, may cost you quite a bit more.

    Black isn't really a color. It isn't a case where all in your home must "echo" the black! Unless you want that!



    BUT I am also here to say this: Read it.

    https://mariakillam.com/black-windows/

    Why? Because all design has a "shelf life". Some longer than others. : )

    I think we all need to step back from the rage of internet darling of the moment and ask...."how long has this been going on"? lol You probably were not yet born, maybe mom wasn't either!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75-jIZKhgg8

    There's a reason some things last, still look good, and always will......

    But in the end? It depends.....you.

    The three here below? Can you imagine a tear down...? Someone begging "help me modernize this?, pleeeeeeze?"

    Patrick Ahearn , all.

    I realize very well, not what you asked: )







    There was a TIME........when this was the dream.....1995 style and proliferate maximus: ) Does anyone want it now? No, not really.



    But this? Still coveted.....



  • 3 years ago

    Typically, something we see emerge suddenly and see EVERYWHERE has a short shelf life as Jan says. Every block it seems has a white house with black windows. I tell my clients that want something that's all the rage they're already too late. That look may appear very dated in a shorter than average time.

  • 3 years ago

    I agree all windows should have the same exterior color.  Doing different interior colors on different floors would be fine. For some windows, such as Andersen 100s, it actually costs less to do black exterior with white interior (versus all black).

  • PRO
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    You also want to think about paint colors inside. The whole feel you want in your home. Speaking and concurring with Architectrunnerguy above...... maybe the word we want is enduring. The phrase? That which could make your heart skip a beat every time you arrived home.

    Spend a few weeks here on Houzz, and you realize it's rare : ) But you can get very close, even with compromises, and there are ALWAYS those, no matter site or resources.

    I'd add, be careful what you wish for. Example? Many folks , especially during the recent pandemic lock down found themselves "homeless" within their OWN home. Wide open everywhere, no escape from din, kids, continually messed up kitchen from all day snacking and all at home. There are more, such as having huge walls of windows that then beg coverings, vaults that are hard to heat and cool. Ceilings too high for the footprint of the room.

    Three /four decades have shown us lots of features that bear considerable thought. What looks appealing, is often not so appealing to live with 24/7/365.

    Humans..(while taller certainly) have not changed all that much. Evolution is slow cook. Perhaps building should be as well : )

  • 3 years ago

    What Jan and ARG said.

  • PRO
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    IMO your home should be a reflection of you. When I do designs for clients I try so hard o make sure it is their home not mine when it is done. Black windows have been around forever and IMO not trendy at all as for black inside that really depends on your style BTW the next time you post a dilemma post once and add any new info to the original post you have 2 posts going with this same dilemmsa now you need to read both.

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    @Patricia Colwell Consulting "Black windows have been around forever."

    That's true but what hasn't been around forever and is currently "all the rage" is the whole house design "vocabulary" as us architects like to call it, of which black windows are only one component of the organized whole. Stark white siding usually combining horizontal with vertical, stark white trim, black windows, protruding gables with steep roof pitches, black roofs.....it's the entire design of which black windows is only one element. I've used some of those elements in many designs (just go to my "ideabooks" for examples) that come off as an entirely different look because ALL aren't used.

    And you are correct in that "your home should be a reflection of you" but when I can drive down most any street with a new house under construction and odds are it has ALL of the elements I noted above and I see that EVERYWHERE, I'd be VERY nervous about doing it myself. Just honest advice to the OP while everything is still just lines on paper.

  • 3 years ago

    The problem ARG is most people don't really have a true idea of what is a reflection of them, so they wind up watching HGTV or looking through Houzz photos and think that's what they like. Hence gray interiors and white and black "modern" farmhouse. No different than fashion. Remember Nehru suits? Zoot suits? Big shoulders? Big hair? We all tend to follow the trends and it's hard to break away from the masses to truly see something different that truly reflects ourselves.

    You were in my neighborhood. Every house surrounding mine (the only one that isn't the same) looks almost exactly like the one next to it. What I call sugar cubes. And these were custom homes. The owners could have done anything they wanted!

    Ok some have slight differences. Some are 2 story, some 1. Some have brown windows. Some have white. One has silver windows. Some have flat roofs and a few have hip roofs. Some have the addition of some fake stone and others have the addition of long tile but overall, it's clear they're all from the same architect. Even though they could have brought in their own architect. And even the interiors are similar. Yet every one in the neighborhood will tell me how it reflects their taste and how original they were.