Revisions log for question
Is it really worth giving up oak wood for windows, as the carpenter advises?

We are almost finished with the exterior trim, and now our wood windows need to be fabricated and painted by a carpenter. Due to our method of construction (no roof overhangs, flat roof, large floor-to-ceiling (11 m) window glazing on the west side. The carpenter advised us to avoid oak wood with a thick layer of stain and recommended a slightly cheaper meranti wood with an opaque finish.

We would like the wood windows to still have the look of wood – so we are looking for a shade that is closest to the color of the wood. Does anyone have any ideas on this, or have experienced a similar issue themselves? 

• window trim
• interior trim
• oak windows