Thanks for posting this, Bob. We are doing shutters, also, so I'll look forward to the responses.

The only shutter wisdom that I can pass on is that for goood design the shutters should be of the correct size to cover the windows if you actually closed them. If you have a window that couldn't be covered (e.g. a triple), then you don't put shutters on it. Others may disagree with this, but since I learned this, I figured out why so many houses with shutters look "off."

I agree with buckheadhillbilly that shutter width should be half of window opening width. But I'd go one step further and say that adding shutters that you won't ever use to protect your window is (in my worthless opinion) an architectural error and one that is best avoided. I think houses look great without shutters and I generally shudder when I see faux shutters.

I couldn't put my finger on why modern shutters look awful...they are flat, wrong size, wrong color, and wrong style. So I observed and researched, this is the best article that I ran across. Although we are going with vinyl shutters (maintenance and budget) I made the GC add larger trim around the windows to get a 3d appearance, ordered larger shutters that would cover the windows when shut, the second floor shutters will be louvered with louvers upward and the first floor shutters will be lighter colored panel shutters. Hopefully this will do the trick...CG thinks I'm a little off center...lol. You will never see shutters the same after reading this article.

Here is a link that might be useful: All About Shutters

Excellent article BJ and Tom. I knew I hated the shutters on my builders spec house and thought I knew most of why they were wrong but this article did a great job of explaining it and how you could fix it. Tempted to go outside and pry my shutters off and remount them :)

Very helpful while planning our new house!

Buncha architectural snobs, y'all.

Take a gander at these beauties in my neighbourhood.

All, thanks so much for the comments. I appreciate your input!

Bob

worthy, too funny, all those other details...then those awful shutters!
BJ

Those are horrid, Worthy.

Bob, forgot to say I am just south of Bham, so we have the same weather. Good luck with your build.

Great article! This is so true. I have 2 books that I have really enjoyed related to these "do's" and "don'ts."
The first one is called, "Traditional Construction Patterns." The second one is, "Get Your House Right: Architectural Elements to Use and Avoid." Both are excellent.

My question is about materials. Have been wrestling with this for weeks. I just don't like vinyl, worry about the durability of wood, and marvel at the price of composite.
Once you add the hardware, and look at doing lots of windows, it really eats at you.
Right now, I'm leaning toward wood. They're more than I want to pay, but feel the house needs the shutters.

cs6000, I feel the same about the vinyl, wood, and composite. We are looking mostly at composite because they have a nicer look than the vinyl and last longer than wood. Money is tight and we don't want to break the bank on shutters. Does anyone know if there is a way to mount vinyl shutters with real hardware, rather than just screwing them into the side of the house? If we could use vinyl with real hardware, that might give us a better look than just going with vinyl screwed into the side of the house, but at the same time save a ton of money. I am pretty sure we will go with a composite shutter, but it would be nice to have a second option if money becomes more of an issue.

We are in the south and our HOA requires us to have 'operable shutters'. We chose cedar as it's more resistant to bugs etc than pine (cannot afford more Cypress, did that for front door)

We painted the cedar shutters BM Coventry Blue (another HOA requirement - Historical colors).
Turned out well!

Any suggestions on Cider Shutters on line without going broke?