Install Shutters for a Home’s Finishing Touch

As a lady needs jewelry as her finishing touch, so a home needs shutters as a finishing touch to accent its exterior and provide great curb appeal. Wood exterior shutters come in several styles for different uses. These include open and closed louvered shutters, raised panel, board and batten shutters and the Bermuda or Bahama style. Each has certain characteristics.

Closed louvered shutters are the traditional style used on many houses. These are decorative rather than functional, as they do not open or serve any purpose other than ornamentation.

Easy to install and maintain, each requires less wood than other styles and is more resistant to insect and water damage. Open louvers allow light and air to pass through them and are used where the shutter must be able to be closed over the window. Open louvers are also sometimes used for permanent placement over vents and even as closet doors.

Shutters in the Bahama (or Bermuda)style are popular in warm climates and the significant difference between them and all other styles is they are designed to be hung vertically in front of the window, hinged on the top edge, and to swing up and out when opened, then held open with a rod or some kind of prop.

The style is sometimes used as screens or room dividers. Raised panel shutters are the simplest design. These are a great compliment to a wide variety of home styles, from federal manors to country homes. Solid shutters, they are also solely decorative.

Board and batten shutters can be custom made to specific measurements and are used where a rough and ready country or pioneer look is desired. Popular on cottages, barns, Cape Cods and country style homes, they are especially popular in the south and northeast.

Modern shutters are made of several different materials including woods, such as cedar, pine and redwood, a combination of wood and composite material, vinyl and fiberglass. There is also a variety of available hardware for hanging, opening and closing and locking shutters into position that can be a decorative touch as well.