DIY - Simple Shutters

When we were building our house, the Husband was very particular about what the exterior should look like. He is in the stone business, so we HAD to have a rock house. We some how convinced the builder to let us use his rock and as a result we have a custom blend that looks nothing like any of the other houses in the neighborhood. I loved the rock but felt like something was missing. So, I came up with the idea to add some cedar shutters to the outside. He was skeptical, but I told him we could build them and if he didn't like them, we didn't have to put them up. I wish I had a "before" picture but this was a pre-blog project so here are the results:


They were really easy to make. We ended up using just a rough cut plank about 5 inches wide and 1 inch thick. We cut them into pieces the same length as the window and used a smaller piece to go across all 3 long pieces. I then stained them - twice. The first color came out BURNT ORANGE - which as Aggie fans we could not have. So I went over it with a slightly darker color. We then used mason screws to drill them into the rock. The Husband was worried about them covering too much of his precious rock but I actually think they make the colors in the rock pop out more.


So, if you want to add some interest to the outside of your house, don't be afraid to make your own shutters. It is a really simple and inexpensive project that can totally change the look of your home.