What happens when a new homeowner with an aversion to window coverings moves into a period flat in London adorned with shutters?
Original window shutters in a remodeled 1890s Brooklyn brownstone.
Photograph by Carl Bellavia, courtesy of ICRAVE and featured in Two Young Architects Tackle Their Own Brooklyn Townhouse.
How did shutters come to be?
Shutters were originally used on the inside of windows before glass was affordable to keep out light noise pests and the elements Louvered...
...shutters which provide both ventilation and privacy arrived in the mid 18th century and adjustable louvers were developed in the mid 19th century
Solid-panel shutters in the warm gray bedroom of a London remodel.
Photograph courtesy of design firm Berdoulat, featured in Out with the New: Reinventing the Past in a London Remodel.
Photograph courtesy of Light Locations.
Shutters are an effective window treatment when wall space is tight. This London living room has solid-panel cafe shutters that fold up to let light in during the day, and close to offer privacy at night.
What are the benefits of interior shutters?
Shutters differ in how they’re mounted and how they’re made.
What are the different types of shutters?
The ultimate privacy screen, solid-panel shutters are also good insulators against cold and are effective at dampening noise from outdoors.
Solid Panel
Photograph courtesy of Berdoulat.
Like drapes, solid-panel shutters are best in rooms where you want either full daylight or darkness, and are not worried about the in-between.
Adaptable to different light, privacy, and air-circulation needs, louvered shutters are the most flexible option.
Louvered
The brightness of your room when the louvers are fully open depends on the slat width, so consider the size that will be right for you.
Photograph by Francesco Lagnese, courtesy of Vendome Press, featured in Island Life: At Home with Tom Scheerer.
Tier-on-tier shutters have stacked upper and lower panels that function separately. You can open the top level to let in light while keeping the bottom panels closed for privacy.
Tier on Tier
Photograph by Rachel Whiting, courtesy of Beautifully Small.
London stylist Sara Emslie fitted all of the windows in her tiny Victorian in Richmond outside London with wooden shutters...
...in a classic understated Shaker style that marries form and function Tier on tier shutters were the choice for the bedroom
Cafe
Cafe shutters cover only the lower portion of the window, providing privacy as well as loads of light.
Photograph courtesy of the New England Shutter Company.
Cafe shutters are a good solution for rooms that don t require full darkness and for street level windows I...
...can attest to their effectiveness they cover the lower half of my street facing living room windows in San Francisco
Full Height
Photograph courtesy of Light Locations.
Full-height, solid-panel shutters in a Ladbroke Grove, London, house.
They work anywhere that there’s a window, whether living room, kitchen, bedroom, or bath. For example, if your window has two panes, it will look more balanced with a two-paneled shutter.
Where can shutters be used?
Shutters offer a great alternative to shades (especially in markedly damp settings) and frosted glass.
Photograph courtesy of the White House Hotel.
Photograph courtesy of The Modern House and featured in The Brick Barn: A Modern English Farmhouse.
Full-height slatted windows open the living room to the outdoors in this converted 17th-century barn.
As far as we’re concerned, the only shutters worth considering are the ones that are operable—forget about the faux variety—and installation is easy.
How are interior shutters mounted?
Instead shutters are generally attached to the outside of the window casing, so they can swing a full 180 degrees when open (the hinge fold needs to sit just outside the casing for full range of motion).
So-called pocket shutters disappear when open.
Photograph courtesy of The Modern House and featured in A Compact Apartment in London by a Craft-Oriented Architect.
High-quality shutter hinges are a must to prevent shutter sag and the resulting poor window fit.
Photograph courtesy of Back Bay Shutter Co.
How much do shutters cost and where can I get them?
Shutters come in a wide range of sizes and prices, from ready-made versions you install yourself to custom designs.
There are a lot of shutter businesses out there ranging from large national chains such as the Shutter...
...Store that offer a variety of stock sizing and materials options to Colonial Shutterworks which handcrafts all orders
Photograph by Tom Gildon, courtesy of Liddicoat & Goldhill.
Architects Liddicoat & Goldhill, members of the Remodelista Architect/Designer Directory, remodeled a 19th-century terraced house in London for a collector.
