Shutters can have a significant impact on the appearance of a historic home. These easy-to-add features are popular on buildings all over the United States, and they are a good way to make a dramatic improvement without having to make a large investment. However, shutters can also have a negative impact on the appearance of your historic property if you get the wrong ones.
Shutters used to have an important practical purpose. They were used to provide security, privacy and insulation among other things. These days, they are used more often than not for their aesthetic qualities. However, even if they are not being used for a practical purpose, they should still look as if they can be used, otherwise the appearance of the whole building will look odd.
Here are some of the areas where you should pay particular attention when installing shutters on your historic home to make sure they have the desired effect.
Table of Contents
Shutter Shape
The shape of your shutters should be the same as the shape of the windows. Too many historic homes have lovely arched windows with rectangular shutters, which simply looks odd. Historic buildings that need a historic window replacement should always ensure that the shutters match the windows, otherwise the effect will be ruined.
Shutter Size
The height and width of your shutters is very important, and it corresponds to the size of your windows. Many people get this wrong, and the effect is very noticeable.
Essentially, the width of your shutters should be half that of the window casing. This means that when the shutters are closed, they should fill the casing completely–even if you never actually close them. Many people have shutters that are clearly too narrow, and this looks very strange.
Louver Problems
Louver shutters are the traditional style of shutters. These can either be fixed or operable. If you have operable shutters, make sure you include a tilt rod. Many people forget about this, but a tilt rod will make a big difference to the appearance of the shutters and will add character to your building.
Mounting Problems
Make sure that you install your shutters properly, otherwise you could harm the appearance of a beautiful historic building. You should make sure that your shutters appear to be mounted on top of the casing rather than flat against the wall. Your shutters should look as if they are attached to a hinge so that they look functional, even if you don’t need them to be.
Choose the Right Shutters for Your Home
The above are all common problems that you should try to avoid when you are choosing shutters for your historic home. As well as taking all of these into account, you could also look at other buildings in your area when choosing shutters to find out which type of shutter is most common. Even better, try to find some old photographs of your building to see what the shutters used to look like.
Shutters will make a large impact on the exterior of your property. Just make sure that you make a positive rather than negative impact by choosing your shutters with care.