white trim and stained windows look just fine to me, IMO. This is purely a preference thing, and no one here can really tell you otherwise.
Will naturally sealed windows darken? slightly, but not that much. They certainly wont turn orange nor darken as much as cherry. All of the windows in our home will just be a natural sealed window, but it also ties into an exposed fir glulam beam we have too. All of the trim is painted Iron Ore by SW. We have drywall returns, so no trim around the windows. The sills are natural strand bamboo, so it also ties in nicely with the natural windows.

The bottom photo with the stained sashes and painted frame and trim looks really nice--you don't blow the budget with stained trim everywhere but you can call attention to the windows and doors which you see, touch, and operate. Especially if you're not hiding the windows with a lot of treatments. But I don't think you'll go wrong either way. Which window manufacturer?

Our windows are pine (Kolbe) but our doors and ceiling beams are all clear douglas fir with a very light stain. After ten years they have darkened slightly, as most natural wood does with exposure to light. (Cherry does this the most, which is where that dark rich red color people think of as cherry comes from, always a mistake to stain cherry wood dark unless you want black wood, IMO!) Anyway, I see douglas fir as having a sort of reddish gold color, and it does deepen but not to a harsh orange. I find natural douglas fir to be a beautiful wood, possibly the loveliest of the softwoods.

In fact, I think it is a pity to paint over any wood that is of high enough quality to warrant a clear finish.

Rosefolly

Thank you very much for your input.

lzerac -- your beam sounds beautiful, as do the bamboo sills. Really nice details!

virgilcarter -- our house probably is best described as transitional. We have tried to stay true to the original Concept (is that the Parti?) but there's always been a bit of tension between the architect (who leans modern) and the family (which leans traditional). We like the lines of primitive/Shaker but not peeling paint, and "utilitarian" is a good word to describe the "style" (or lack thereof).

dadereni -- thanks, we might go this direction with natural/stained windows and painted trim. It might look odd where we have transoms, so we will work with the architect to try to be coherent and consistent. The manufacturer for most of the windows is Loewen, we have a few Marvin in-swings.

I wanted to say again how much I appreciate the opinions. We are on the hourly part with the architect so it's really wonderful for us to be able to have a sense of whether or not we're way off base before we go back to the architect for more. It's been a great collaboration thus far, just not inexpensive. So . . . THANK YOU!!!!

rosefolly, thank you for sharing your experience with Douglas fir. That is reassuring and I will let my father know. You don't by any chance recall what stain you used, do you? ;-)

Built 'refined' hunt lodge(3,000) sq ft home last year. Installed 3220 board feet of, sanded 4 sides, Douglas Fir from the PNW. The timber was used for interior and exterior beams, trusses and braces. After speaking with the vendor and extensive research, for the internal timbers, we had the DF finished with a coat of 1/2 boiled linseed oil (with UV protectant) and 1/2 mineral spirits. You will likely find the most info about timber finishes on 'woodworking' sites. The linseed oil/mineral spirit mix appears to be common for DF.

Since our trim, doors and floors are stained medium brown, we desired contrast from the DF. After one year, the timber has, IMO, a beautiful, warm, amber tone.
~bgj

Sorry, we put in the windows about 12 years ago. I'm sure I knew once but did not keep records. It was a light stain, just enough to bring out the grain but not to darken the wood.

R

If your going to use D.Fir for your trim and in my opinion it does make a beautiful trim, albeit with the redish hue naturally. I would be certain to check the costs and availability as if you want the trim to look nice you really need to get Clear Vertical Grain which can be pricey and not everyone has this available in quantity. If you do not get CVG you will end up with a lot of flat and or mixed grains which can look sort of crappy in my opinion.

billygoatjoe -- thank you, I will make a note of that natural finish. That is a LOT of wood you used!

rosefolly -- no worries, and thanks for your help before.

millworkman -- I appreciate the helpful tip. We met with the Marvin dealer yesterday so I asked about this, and I definitely could see the difference between the vertical grain fir ($extra$) and the fir that was . . . not.

Yes both $ and appearance and rather large differences (and in my opinion the flat and mixed grains can look like a**).

Yes both $ and appearance and rather large differences (and in my opinion the flat and mixed grains can look like a**).