interior design: SHUTTERS ENHANCE YOUR EXTERIOR HOME DESIGN

It's the time of year when we think about our exterior home design, so today my post is about outdoor window shutters.

Part of designing the exterior of your home is deciding whether or not you want to include shutters for the windows. If you decide that using them is the best option, you then have a choice between louvered or panel shutters. The exact type that is best for your home depends more on personal preference and your design aesthetics.

Common in both functional and non-functional formats, louvered shutters provide adequate coverage for your windows while also adding an old-world feel to your home. Louvered shutters feel like window blinds with their horizontal slats. The most basic types of slats are permanently positioned at an angle; however, there are also slats that can be opened and closed.

As their name implies, panel shutters are essentially nothing more than panels of wood used to cover the outside of the windows. The design can be as simple or as intricate as you want, and there are a variety of different wood types available, along with paint, natural wood colors, sealers and stains. Panel shutters are more functional than aesthetic.

Both types of shutters are susceptible to high winds; but if you live in an area that is prone to stormy weather systems, such as hurricanes, your best bet is to go with panel shutters for safety sake. Since panel shutters are made of solid wood, there is less surface area for high winds to get behind the shutter and rip it off the wall, whereas with louvered shutters there are many slats that the air can get in between, providing more leverage for air pressure to lift them off.  

Although louvered shutters are considered more aesthetically pleasing than simple panels of wood, they don’t provide the same protection against heavy rains or hurricanes, that panels do. But they do provide an additional protection of window covering, and most windows are hurricane proof these days.