#1
Now, if you’ve ever seen a house, you might have noticed these things on windows called shutters. You know, those wood (and wood-like) side-flaps for windows that serve a lot of purposes, including security, protection, and aesthetics?
Well, sometimes form takes precedence over substance and people end up with some interesting results that also end up on the Craftsman Blog. Scott Sidler is a historic preservation contractor and the man behind the Instagram page, and aims to teach people through example. Very failed example. Bored Panda got in contact with him for an interview.
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As a preservation contractor, Sidler is often called in to fix mismatched windows and poor replacement shutters. At one point, he started snapping pictures to be used as educational material on what to do or not to do, all the while having some fun along the way.
You see, most people misunderstand shutters as an aesthetic accessory to the house, like a flower box. And though it can be that, it still needs to follow certain laws of pragmatics.
"In general, I feel like people have completely lost site of what a shutter is? Today, they are treated like an exterior window dressing so they are never installed with the proper sizing in mind. Very few people realize that a shutter shuts. It’s in the name after all," explained Sidler.
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Rule #3 Shutters should be the same shape as the window they cover. If you’ve got rectangular windows then there is no need to add arched shutters.
Sad because other than the arch they seem to be the right width and height for the windows.
#6
Fake Shutters = $$
Hand-drawn Shutters = Priceless
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A+ for not doing anymore than is absolutely necessary.
"I think most shutter fails stem from wanting something to dress up the outside of the house. Maybe it looks too plain and so people reach out to the simplest and cheapest way to add a pop of color that usually end up being a stock vinyl shutter at the local home store" elaborated Sidler.
"They often get the right height shutter (or at least close to it) and completely forget to measure the width. Honestly, most of the vinyl shutters on the shelves are a standard 18” so they don’t have much choice in the matter even if they did know what to look for without having custom shutters built."
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1) Don’t put shutters on a corner window...ever.
2) Shutters vs. Downspouts: As the song says, “You gotta keep ‘em separated. Ohhhh-ohhh!”
3) Shutters on a bay window need careful planning. This was not careful.
4) Shutters and windows should ALWAYS be the same height...Always!
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As a side note this house is available for sale for $179,000 if you should feel up for a project and want to fix those shutters to keep my head from exploding.
One thing I want to point out is that the electrician really worked his magic to get that power meter right next to the windows and avoid the shutter.
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Since the page has over 1,500 posts, with many of them being examples of window shutter don'ts, we've asked Sidler to describe a text-book example of a shutter fail that ends up on his Instagram more often than it should. And he had this to say:
"The simplest shutter fails are usually too narrow for the window. Most people don’t even notice it like I do. The next level ones are the fails that have rounded shutters on square windows or vice versa. The really crazy ones seem to be purposefully finding different shapes or sizes for their shutters. Seriously, how does a rectangular shutter work on an octagonal window?"
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Rule #3 Shutters should be the same shape as the window they cover. If you’ve got rectangular windows then there is no need to add arched shutters.
Sad because other than the arch they seem to be the right width and height for the windows.
#14
“How about adding shutters?”
“For those massive windows? That’s gonna be too expensive.”
“Hold my beer...”
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Maybe a mid-century split level tract home doesn’t need shutters.
Maybe that bay window...oh who am I kidding? There are no maybes here, just more mistakes in one picture than I made my whole college career (and that’s saying something!)
So, if you don't want to end up featured on the Craftsman Blog, here's what Sidler says you have to do... or if you want to end up, do the opposite!
"It’s so easy to avoid showing up on my Instagram page. Pretend your shutters would open and close (even if you plan on making them fixed). When they are closed they should fit to cover the window opening perfectly. If they don’t fit, you’ve got the wrong size or shape. And for the love of God don’t ever, ever put them on your garage doors!"
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The crazy part is that I drove by it yesterday and noticed that they took it a step further and painted their shutters.
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