Need Advice: victorian bay window exterior

7 years ago

I don't even know if my new old house is considered a victorian but I am having it painted and shutters repaired/replaced. I don't know what to do with the area around the bay windows. I have seen some people do shutters and just open them back to back but I don't like that idea. If I remove them, should I trim the windows? There is cedar shingles around the bay windows now although hard to tell. What you also cannot tell is that the shutters are in sad shape, some beyond repair. I am thinking about doing the house color light gray with black shutters and white trim...don;t what the heck do I do with the bay area. Shutters will literally not fit (they are currently missing some now). Ugh!

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PRO

Patricia Colwell Consulting

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

Bay windows do not have shutters for the exact reason you have right now.Not sure how much of a change you want but removing the shutters and widening the trim around the windows might be a nice change To me something like this would de nice.

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Comments (7)

PRO
redesign
7 years ago
Have you considered simply removing all of the shutters and highlighting your decorative trims with paint?
Magnolia Dragan thanked redesign
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smil101
7 years ago
Following
RedRyder
7 years ago
The window you refer to is more of a bump out than a full bay. It’s fine without a shutter. Widening the trim would be a nice look for most Victorian type houses. It’s more modern.
queenvictorian
7 years ago
Are the shutters real and original? I think I see some hinges... If so, restore and keep. For color, I'd go black or deep green (would go with the roof). Shutters on bay windows were definitely a thing, but they were functional, not for decor, so they looked kinda awkward and cluttered. Don't feel bad taking those down, but definitely keep them around as parts/replacements for the shutters you do want to keep.

If you want to take all the shutters down, you could look into embellishing the window trim a bit, but I'd tread very carefully. Doing something to make your Victorian "more modern" is often the first step down the slippery slope of making your Victorian look muddled and diminished. Do some research into vernacular Victorians and try to find examples without shutters to see what the window trim looked like, and then do that. Even so, the trim and detailing on the third story looks original, so cherish that. In general, Victorians didn't usually have wide, pronounced window trim. That was more of a Craftsman look. In my Victorian-filled neighborhood, I see relatively slender trim on wood-sided houses, and understated inset trim on the brick and stone ones.

As for color, gray is lovely for exteriors, but I think it will clash with the green roof. Country Victorians were very commonly white with black details (like shutters, window sashes, and screens), and I think it works great as is. Or if you want SOME color, I'd consider a subtle creamy color with white trim/details and the black shutters. I think that would jive with the green roof.
doods
7 years ago
following
RedRyder
7 years ago
Agree with queenvictorian on much of what she said. Your third floor shingles are fabulous, so consider enhancing them next time you paint the body of the house. Until then, dark (almost black) green for the shutters is really a classic and CLASSY look for your home. It’s totally charming and you want to play up its style.