Shutters sized to cover the entire window & door openings
In southern homes with warm climates, louvered type shutters are typical to allow for air flow. Likewise in colder climates, solid panel shutters are most common.
A combination of solid panel and louvered shutters as seen on a home in Charleston, SC
Arched windows with correctly sized and shaped arched shutters
Shutters on a project we recently finished.
Notice the top shutters can’t open all the way to lay flat against the siding – that’s perfectly okay!
Notice the division in the panel shutters lines up with the division in the windows
These operable shutters even have a tilt rod to adjust louvers
Then…
and now (after renovation). Are these the original shutters or new – can’t tell! (Which is the point.)
That bottom panel of the shutters doesn’t quite line up with the break in the window but otherwise very nice!
Bi-fold shutters for this span of three windows
All of the examples above, whether real or faux, look authentic and it’s mainly because of these details:
RULES OF AUTHENTICITY
Shutter size and shape should cover the entire window when/if closed.
Shutter is attached to window casing or trim rather than the siding.
It’s okay if the shutter can’t open all of the way beyond 90 degrees because of an obstruction; don’t omit it because of this reason.
Louvered shutters should drain down and away from the window, when closed.
Use operable hardware (even on faux shutters that you may never intend to close).
Not all windows on the home have to have shutters. Sometimes it makes sense to only install them on some of your windows.
For large window spans, consider bi-fold shutters.
If possible, line up the breaks in the shutter panels with breaks in your windows.
Now knowing these rules, can you see why the examples below just don’t quite sit right?
Shutters don’t fit the window size or shape. Right most shutter appears to be cut off.
No shutters at all would be best here
Arched windows need arched shutters. Also notice the gap (visible brick) between each shutter’s window.
Louvers going wrong direction
Bi-fold would look nice here for these large spans of windows
When deciding to add shutters to your Forever Home, whether real or faux, let’s remember the definition of shutters and their original purpose. To make your Forever Home look its best, we can implement the shutter rules of authenticity.
