You should have seen Mike Miller’s face when I told him that I wanted to do white walls and black windows when we were in the design process for this house.
“White walls and black windows? ARE YOU SURE?” he would ask, repeatedly.
Seriously though. If only I had a dollar for every time that I heard that question from my husband during the building process. But I knew what I wanted and I wasn’t budging. So when we met with our architect, I came with an arsenal full of pictures of this clean, gorgeous modern design that I loved…white walls, natural wood floors, and black windows.
Our architect followed our instructions and after 8 months of perfecting our floor plan, entirely based on my idea of white walls and black windows and TONS of natural light, we started moving forward with the build.
I’ll never forget when I got that phone call from Mike Miller in freak out mode…
“Um, Carissa….did you know that every single picture you showed us of those windows you want are STEEL WINDOWS?”
“So???” I said, in my signature – what’s your problem, everything is fine, it will all work out voice.
“Well, I just priced out steel windows and they are going to cost more than a house JUST for the windows. Basically there is NO WAY we can afford steel windows and doors on our entire house.”
UH OH. This is the point at which reality hit me. So basically I gave my husband and architect a bunch of pictures of steel windows, which are OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive, without doing my research. The architect planned the entire house around said windows, and now my husband/builder is realizing that we can not do said windows. OOPS. This is how cc+mike work you guys. I pick something out with no attention to detail whatsoever then Mike Miller has to figure out the details. But in my defense…it does always work out and what fun would life be if there wasn’t an occasional curve ball??
Why am I sharing all of this with you? Because if you’ve read my post – The NON Highlight Reel – then you know that this blog is all about keeping it real. And the truth is, there are ups and downs in this process of building and moving like we do. I’m not going to show you all the pretty pictures of our home and not tell you all the blood, sweat, and tears that went into making it and yes, even the mistakes. The truth is…we were slightly terrified when we realized that we had just designed our entire house around the concept of these modern, black windows that we weren’t going to be able to use. Basically, we thought we had made a huge mistake, especially since the modern design of our home really would not look right with anything but said black windows. We thought we had really screwed up. And by we, I mean ME.
I’m also sharing this blog because I have people contact me frequently asking about the look of our home, specifically the black doors and windows, and I want to help anyone, like us, who might want to get that clean, modern look that white walls and black windows provide, but can’t handle the price tag of steel doors and windows.
So what did cc+mike do? Well we freaked out a little. Just being honest. Then we got to work, and by we, I mean Mike Miller got to work because this is his area. I need to pause this story and say that my husband is FREAKING AMAZING. He always, always finds a way to make these things happen and trust me, it’s not easy, especially when you live in Oklahoma and you are wanting to go with a modern look. He sourced doors and windows all over the country trying to find affordable steel windows. We talked about going to Dallas. We talked about going to Austin. Then, ultimately, we found something here in good old Tulsa, Oklahoma that we thought would be a suitable alternative to the steel windows. We used aluminum clad in 3 areas where we really wanted to make the biggest statement; our front door, living room slider and game room slider. The rest of the windows in the house are vinyl windows that came with an exterior finish to match the aluminum clad. So basically we got the look for way way less. In our three most important areas – dining,
But enough talk, let me show you some pictures. Here are some of my inspiration pictures for the look I wanted. These are all steel windows. You guys, they are AMAZING. I would still LOVE to have a home some day with steel windows. They are the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen and like all things in design, if it’s insanely gorgeous, the price tag will reflect that. Steel windows, alas, were not in our budget.
Via Pottery Barn. Ps basically any picture you see in Pottery Barn or any other amazing design magazine – STEEL WINDOWS. Why do they taunt us?!?
Via Luxe Interiors
Pottery Barn, Luxe Decor, Apartment Therapy, Veranda Magazine. That is where I was getting all my inspiration pictures from. Let’s be honest…I should have known better. But I didn’t. This was our first time doing a house with the black windows and I’m going to tell it how it is….we had no idea what we were doing. So, I’m sharing our mistakes with you guys in case you are ever in our shoes and you want to build a house with this look, but you don’t have a small fortune to drop on steel windows.
There are two brands of windows – Jeld Wen and Semco. We used Semco Windows but Jeld Wen is also amazing and you can get these windows locally in Tulsa at MillCreek Lumber. If you get the aluminum clad finish, it simulates the same look as the steel doors and windows. We did the aluminum clad on the exterior then the wood finish on the inside and we painted the wood black which gives the look of steel. Notice I’m saying it “gives the look” because it is not the same as steel windows—not at all—but as this post says….it is THE LOOK FOR LESS.
So…that’s our windows and doors story. We designed an entire house around steel doors and windows not knowing that they are the most expensive thing in the entire world and we had to change gears in the middle of our building process. It all worked out and we are in love with our windows. No, they aren’t steel, but I’ve always been a bargain loving kind of girl so I love my look for less aluminum clad windows.
Hope that helps if there is anyone out there wanting this look. You don’t have to be doing new construction to use these windows by the way! I am seeing them in older home redos as well and they are gorgeous. They modernize the home and give a clean, timeless look.
Here are some pictures of our look for less windows. I still love you steel windows, but I don’t love that price tag.
You can get my living room look by shopping from these product links
Beautiful and thank you for being honest and sharing this info!! I LOVE your doors and windows and they are an inspiration for our remodel. I think we are going with Marvin doors and windows. Do you have any feedback on them? Thanks again, Tiffany Van Winkle
Thank you so much Tiffany! I’m happy to share anything we have learned. Even if it’s from mistakes! 🙂
Love the black and white together. We did this for our addition last year and LOVE how it looks. Black trim and windows through out the whole room. Just doesn’t match the rest of our log cabin home. But, love it anyways! Love your blog, creativity, and how you share yourself with others.
Thank you so much for your sweet, encouraging words Megan!
Well I live in an older home and I wanted crisp, clean energy efficient windows. We had Andersen Windows come out and measure and give us an estimate on our 50 windows. (We even left out six windows we plan on taking out in the future). Anyway, the Andersen guy did all his figuring that day and gave us a $100,000 estimate! I’m not kidding! Needless to say, I’m still sitting here living with ugly windows! Lori Lucas
Lori I TOTALLY understand. Like I said our first bid for windows was more than our first house cost. We were SHOCKED. Who knew that windows could be so expensive?! Hopefully you can find a more affordable alternative like we did!
Andersen is also the most expensive, especially for replacements. Like shockingly expensive, I’ve had 5 different estimates done on windows and was amazed at the variation in cost, but especially Andersen’s. Check out competitors, you can get your black windows, or any windows, much cheaper, even with some of the other high end companies.
Breanna,
Have you checked with NT Window, Inc. They are a top 100 window company and have quality windows comparable to Andersen but the price is more tolerable. They are out of Texas.
That seems way off. We are remodeling our entire home and are doing all Marvin ultimate clad French casement windows with a ton of Marvin French doors and large door systems and it came out to almost exactly 100k and that included all of our wood interior doors. I would shop around.
Would you mind sharing the white you used on your walls, trim, and cabinets? Thanks again!
Lori I TOTALLY understand. Like I said our first bid for windows was more than our first house cost. We were SHOCKED. Who knew that windows could be so expensive?! Hopefully you can find a more affordable alternative like we did!
Our wall color in our entire house is Decorator’s white by Benjamin More. I went a shade darker on the cabinetry however. I am blanking out on the name but will look it up for you! Thanks Tiffany!
This seriously was our story! I wanted white walls and black windows. Hubby thought I was crazy. I honestly about started my own window company because there just were no affordable black windows out there! So we did the same thing- big statement wall of windows in the living room. I still fantasize about painting the rest of the Windows black but have too many fears they will flake and look terrible.
Charli thanks so much for sharing! I see I was not alone with my love for black windows but my struggle to find them!!! I would love to see your black windows too
We follow each other on IG I’m organizecleandecorate – we did Erin’s 30k giveaway together. You’d have to scroll back a ways probably but my living room has floor to ceiling black windows!
Looks amazing! I landed on this post because I too am in your past predicament. Eek. Anyways I choose the aluminum clad as well. Since this was posted about 5 or so years ago I am and wondering how the paint has held up on the interior wood? Thanks
My husband and I are just getting ready to start our build this spring and I’m wanting the same look, white walls and black windows. I’m looking at pricing out black windows for the main living area and white vinyl for the rest of the house (with all the same exterior cladding). Do you think it will look okay to combine the exterior colours like that???
Hi Larissa! It’s hard for me to say without seeing your floorplan but I can tell you that we combined. I felt like, from a design persepctive, it was fine for our house because the living areas are all in one visual space and then I switched to white in the bedrooms which you cant see from the main living area. Don’t know if that helps at all!
Your home is beautiful! Your info on the windows is great! We’re about to start a remodel/2nd story addition and I’m pricing windows now.
Are your windows upstairs Semco too? you mentioned they were white. Are they wood or vinyl upstairs? Also, are your sliding doors from
Semco?
Yes our downstairs windows/doors are from Semco! We did vinyl upstairs and they are white! Hope that helps!
Can you tell me if you have any trim around your windows? Or just a sheetrock return? I am remodeling a home and just put in new wood windows. I have different reveals on the inside of the window, depending on whether my exterior is brick or siding.
I’m at the trim selection stage and I’m having trouble making a decision on what trim to use throughout the house. ie. base, crown, and casing.
Yes we have wood trim around our windows.
HI! Can you tell me about your floors? Are they white oak? What’s the stain? I am finished my new house, going with light/grey white oak. Likely using Rubio Monocoat. Your home is gorgeous! I have JenWeld windows, and a similar decor vibe!
Hello Angela! Yes I’m happy to answer your questions. My floors are hickory #2 with a clear coat. We LOVE them! My friend has white oak with rubio monicoat 5 percent smoke finish and they are also gorgeous but I would say mine look a bit more modern than hers. Hers have a very West Elm vibe and they are gorgeous. We tried the rubio monicoat as a sample on ours and it looked PINKISH on the hickory. The number one advice I can give you is to have the wood floor people do at least 5 samples for you to choose from! Good luck!!!
Hey Carissa – Thanks for this post! I found it when I did a google search for “affordable steel windows” Same situation, I’m hoping to find the next best thing since steel is insanely expensive. I had a couple of questions about your windows:
1) for the “grids” did you do the grids that are in between the windows? When you were doing your research and comparing options, did you find that this was the closest look to steel, or did you do it because those were more cost efficient (in my research, the grids on the interior / exterior can double the cost in some cases)?
2) Are your windows functional? If so, what type did you choose (e.g. casement, single/double hung, etc) and why?
Thanks!
I really love this look. Do you have the paint color handy for the black windows? Thanks!!
I was going to consider Semco, but this site certainly has me concerned:
https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2636978/experience-with-semco-windows
Remington Avenue blog literally copy and pasted half of your post.
“Black Steel windows and Doors- The look for less”
There are two brands of windows – Jeld Wen and Semco. We used Semco Windows but Jeld Wen is also amazing and you can get these windows locally in Tulsa at MillCreek Lumber. If you get the aluminum clad finish, it simulates the same look as the steel doors and windows. We did the aluminum clad on the exterior then the wood finish on the inside and we painted the wood black which gives the look of steel. Notice I’m saying it “gives the look” because it is not the same as steel windows—not at all—but as this post says….it is THE LOOK FOR LESS.
https://remingtonavenue.com/2018/01/black-steel-windows-and-doors-the-look-for-less-8.html
I did my research on black windows. My daughter who are all fashion forward all agreed. Hands down! Go with the black windows. I’m very sad about the expense of the steel black windows. My question is the Andersen 400 series with a vinyl exterior and wood interior come in black. Any feedback as to whether that is another option?
Hello! Can You Tell Me Your Bedroom Design, And Please Suggest Me What Colour Should I use?
Thanks for the article.
https://conservationconstructionofhouston.com/storm-windows/
Can you tell me where in the Atlanta area we can get these black aluminum clad doors/window wall look.
Can regular white aluminum windows be painted black on the outside to get the black window look for even less?
Just read an article that semco went stopped production and closed.
Just read an article that semco stopped production and closed. Do you or Mike have other preferences on good window manufacturer with the wood interior?
I had a similar experience, unfortunately I wasn’t able to source a cheaper material for the windows and ended up with disastrous window. Thanks for sharing your experience, it feels good to know that I was not the only one to make such a mistake.
Thanks for posting this blog. I read the whole blog and I learned a lot
from this blog. It is important to choose the best quality and affordable
glass service for your window upgrade at home. I hope you post more
blog tips for us.
Thank you sooo much for posting this! I’m a single woman designing and building my own home and I too am in awe with the costs. This has been so frustrating just to get contractors to call me back and I’m getting alot of “so when do I get to meet with and talk with your husband ?” Windows and doors and well every detail is really important to me! Thanks for sharing your experience and some brands that are more affordable! Cheers!
Which line of Jen Weld do you recommend for the thinnest profile/most streamline look?
Love this so much!! Thank you!! We just purchased a beach home with a very unusual exterior and I want to add dormers and replace windows in the front along with all the windows in the back being replaced. There is so much work to do in this house -my husband/construction manager is an engineer so I am grateful for that but I was thinking of just letting go of the black exterior windows until seeing this!! Just to clarify you painted all the interior window trim in black to make it all look seemless – correct?? Again thank you!