Decorative Shutters

Not all shutters are designed to work. Some are just designed to look good. Decorative shutters are like the jewelry you wear. They add to the overall design.

Most of these type are found on the exterior of the house. They call attention to the architectural elements of the window, or perhaps give non-descript windows an architectural flare.

Of course, at one time, exterior shutters were used to keep out storms and protect the windows from being blown out or the dust and rain from coming in. Today, they are often nailed to the sides, never intended for any other use than to look, well…decorative.

Decorative shutters can be find on many styles of homes. Chalets have solid ones with cut outs and often painted designs. Tudor style homes have solid styles with a visible, often accented in a darker color diagonal bar. Colonial and Federal styled homes have traditional slatted or louvered shutters. Antebellum influenced homes of the South have Plantation shutters with thicker slats. Drive around any older neighborhood and you will see all sorts of examples of decorative shutters.

Today, in modern construction, the traditional or Colonial shutters are most often seen on the outside of a home. These are often painted in an accent color along with any other wooden surfaces such as posts, doors or the roof trim. It adds a homey, yet classy feel to the house that says "Welcome Home".

There are other styles you can buy if you don't want the traditional slatted variety. Many are solid and have a carved design in them. Others have a relief, or raised design like a scrolling, or geometric pattern. Common patterns include the Oak Leaf, the Elegant Scroll, Triple Diamonds, or Squares. Many are sold unfinished so you can paint them the color you want.

Decorative shutters used to be made of solid wood. But solid wood can warp and crack when exposed to extremes in humidity and temperature. Today, there are composite materials that are specifically made to withstand weather, reduce rot and ward off termites. Composite materials may have some wood in them, but also have vinyl or other plastics to strengthen and weatherproof the shutters.

If you have different sized windows on your house, decorative shutters can give them the illusion of being more uniform. In that case, most likely you would want to order them custom made. But there are a variety of sizes you can get ready-made. When measuring for decorative shutters, make sure that they are the exact length of the window trim that they will be nailed next to. If there is some sort of sill, you want to make them about 1/4 inch shorter than the top of the sill. Most ready-made ones come in various widths and lengths. You want to have all of your shutters the same width if possible so that they give a streamline look. The general rule of thumb is to get ones about 1/3 the width of your outside window. If your windows are wider than 50 inches, consider a double paneled look.

Decorative shutters are not that expensive and are designed to be installed fairly easily with what are called shutter locks. You can get them at any home improvement or hardware store. You will be pleasantly surprised how much shutters enhance the look of your house. Just like that necklace or bracelet brings out the "wow" factor in your outfit, decorative shutters can do the same for your home.