Choosing New Shutters
Spring is coming, even if it seems like winter will never end. The change of season often finds homeowners itching to make a change in their home’s physical appearance. Whether you are interested in preparing your home for the spring real estate market or just looking to freshen up your home’s look, installing new shutters is an easy way to boost your home’s curb appeal without breaking the bank.
Why Install Shutters?
Exterior shutters serve, mostly, as embellishments to your home. But without them, homes often look sparse. They’ve been around for so long that we’re just accustomed to their presence; they make homes look warmer and more inviting and add a touch of sophistication to the architecture. Old and weathered shutters can be an eyesore, and removing them before you’re ready to replace them can make matters much worse.
If you’re preparing your home for the real estate market, having new shutters installed is a particularly cost-effective way to beautify your property. Anything that adds to the first impression a potential buyer will have of your home is important.
Choosing the Right Shutters for Your Home
While new shutters are a quick way to brighten your home’s look, new shutter installation should be done by a professional. It’s easy to end up going way wrong with shutter selection; guidance is crucial.
Sizing is one of the biggest hurdles when choosing new shutters. Shutters that may seem like a good fit to the naked eye can easily end up being too tall, short, skinny, or wide for your windows and your home’s dimensions. The folks over at Zillow offer a helpful guide to choosing the right shutter size, so you can begin envisioning what will work for your home: “The size of a window or group of windows determines the width and height of a shutter. Ideally, the width of shutters used in pairs on windows should be half the width of the window, and both should be the same height of the window.”
Shutter placement is crucial, too–professionals know exactly how to choose and install shutters that maintain the integrity of your siding and don’t overlap with one another or interfere with your home’s exterior corners. And not every window will necessarily need a pair of shutters–it depends on where the window is, and how close it is to the others.
Beyond sizing and placement, choosing the best shutter style for your home can be tricky. Consider your home’s architectural style and your own style. If you need or desire to preserve your home’s historic character, that should play into your decision as well. Here are some samples of the shutter profiles we offer:
Types of Shutters Available
You’ll find a wide range of shutters available on the market today. Wood shutters are, of course, the most genuine-looking option available. But just like wood doors, their maintenance factor is much higher than other options. Homeowners who choose wood shutters should be prepared to repaint the shutters often and expect some deterioration over time.
Vinyl shutters are a great stand-in for traditional wood shutters. Lowes Home Improvement describes many of the advantages of going this route: “Vinyl is the most popular choice. It resists fading, rots, cracking and peeling. The woodgrain finish with routed edges provides a real wood appearance.” Vinyl shutters are also offered in a wide array of colors, which makes choosing a shade that matches your home’s exterior paint a little easier.
Composite shutters are also available. Sometimes called “MDF,” or medium-density fiber, shutters, they are composed of sawdust/engineered wood and glue and wrapped in vinyl or PVC. While this option is often more affordable than wood and vinyl shutters, it does come with some drawbacks. These shutters are certainly more moisture-resistant than all-wood shutters, but they do wear out over time. When they wear out, they cannot be refinished like solid wood shutters.
If you’re curious about whether new shutters could be the right upgrade for your house this spring, we’re here to talk over your options.