French Shutters

I love our French Shutters that we added to our home a few years ago.  

When I originally began redecorating our main floor I made drapes for all the windows. The fabric I chose was a sand-colored faux silk. I spent a lot of time sewing yards and yards of drapes, lining every one, sewing a valance for the bay window and when I got all done I didn't like them.
At all.

When I made the change to shutters, I finally had the look I wanted.  I can't ever imagine going back to drapes and the wonderful thing about them is if I should ever change my color scheme, I can just paint my shutters.

These shutters sat on the floor for a few weeks before we got them hung.

Most of the shutters are nothing but bi-fold doors made for closets.  They come in three or four different sizes and I've used the widest ones in these rooms. I originally wanted my husband to help me build all the shutters but he looked so tired when I brought it up that I immediately dropped it. (It can be hard work for a husband to have a decorating/blogging wife!)

He did make the shutters that are in our bay window.  I couldn't find any other solution that had the exact dimensions to fit the window and I have never been surprised that I actually like them the best!

I recently added a handle to each side of these shutters.  I got these gate handles at Lowe's.

The only ones that are functional are the ones in the bay window and the windows flanking the fireplace.  The rest are decorative and we are still hoping to figure out a way to make them open and close easily.  The windows are so wide and the shutters are so heavy that the only way we think would work is to attach the original hardware for the bi-fold doors to the window frame.  We'll see. I'm happy with them the way they are right now.

The bay window is on the front of our house so we need privacy there at night.  The windows on either side of fireplace face the house next door and we also like to close them at night.

The shutters that are just decorative are all on the back of our house.  There's nothing behind us but rolling hills so I never worry about privacy. I have moved them by hand during the winter when it was really cold. The wonderful thing about all the shutters is that they keep the heat and the cold out so well.

The doors were already primed white. I started by painting them SW Interesting Aqua and the next lighter color on the paint swatch, Racing the Rain.  I would paint whole sections in each color always leaving some of the white showing through in places.  I wanted a very uneven look. When the two shades of blue had dried, I dipped a damp rag into SW Chateau Brown and rubbed it into the corners and edges, getting an antique, old look.

We added gates hinges to the outside shutters on each window.  They are also just decorative and don't function. We couldn't figure out how to get these to function because of the width of the shutters.

I was disappointed that we could not add the hinges to the shutters that function.  The shutters would not open and close all the way with them on. We were fortunate that these doors fit the width of these windows perfectly but I would love to see these hinges on them when they're open.

The decorative shutters are sitting on the floor but I have the right amount of shutters to actually close off each window.

Our shutters have dramatically changed the look of our house.  It's much brighter without any drapes or valances and I love rustic feel it gives to our house, balancing out the feminine colors and furniture.

Our son's bedroom is upstairs and has a very large window facing South and he's asked dad to put a shutter on it to keep out the summer sun.

love and blessings~

"I will sing of the lovingkindness of the Lord forever; to all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth."  Psalm 89:1

Bi-fold doors - Menard's (they are significantly cheaper at Menard's than at Lowe's)
Hinges and handles- Lowe's (Menard's did not have them)
Paint Color - SW Interesting Aqua, SW Racing the Rain, and SW Chateau Brown

I'm joining these linky parties:
Savvy Southern Style
DIY by Design
Common Ground
From My Front Porch to Yours
Stone Gable
Home Remedies RX
French Country Cottage
Dwellings