What this window shutters site is all about

This web site is designed to help navigate you through the process of selecting, sizing and purchasing interior or exterior shutters. Find out the history of window shutters and the various styles and major manufacturers, by browsing around this site.

Selecting Exterior Window Shutters

You can quickly enhance the attractiveness of your historical or modern home by installing exterior window shutters. Available in many shapes and sizes, they add color and style to a home and give it a great finishing touch.

As in making any home improvement, you should evaluate the quality and durability of any product before purchasing it. Synthetic window shutters of vinyl or plastic are inexpensive and easy to find at home improvement stores, but they look and feel like plastic, are not operable, and cannot be stained or painted. Exterior wood shutters, on the other hand, are more attractive and useful.

The best wood for exterior window shutters is cedar. It offers superior durability and resists decay from moisture. It contains natural oils that not only prevent moisture from penetrating its surface, but that also repel insects. Cedar requires little maintenance and is used in a wide variety of outdoor applications, such as trellises, fences, patio furniture, window sashes, sheathing under stucco or brick veneer construction, mud sills, and siding. It is stable dimensionally and can be painted.

Before installation, all surfaces of exterior window shutters should be completely finished, leaving no part unprotected. All parts should be fully covered with stain and a protective coat or several coats of paint. While paint can be applied using a brush, it is best if it is sprayed on with an airless spray system of the type used by house painters.

Featured articles from the shutter handbook:

Using Window Coverings to Give a Room Character
The first thing many of us do is imagine new furnishings: a couch here, the television there, perhaps an end table over here. But smart home decorators look first to the windows, and imagine how different treatments will affect the space.

Upgrading to Plantation Shutters
When potential buyers are looking at a home, many upgrades get their attention. Floor tile, fireplace, and tile backsplash are some popular additions to a home. One upgrade, however, really makes homebuyers take notice. That upgrade is plantation shutters.

Updating Your Window Shutters
The traditional window shutter is usually made of wood, needs a lot of maintenance and looks like it is right out of an episode of the Brady Bunch.

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