Home > Blogs > Donna Harris > Hill Country Austin TX Real Estate and Mediation

Austin Texas Homes - Exterior Window Shutters

By Donna Harris

Real Estate Agent with Donna Homes, powered by JPAR - TexasRealEstateMediationServices.com 0480809

October 06, 2009 06:12 AM

Austin Texas Homes have many different styles. One common exterior feature that many of the styles share is window shutters. Are shutters common in your neighborhood?

I'm not talking about functioning shutters, as that is a very rare find. I'm talking about shutters that are put on the exterior of homes just for decoration. But, even though these shutters are just decoration, shouldn't they simulate the real thing? Isn't that the point of having that kind of look on your home?

Look at these pictures below...

austin texas homes shutters

What's wrong with them? If you were to pretend to close the shutters, you wouldn't cover the windows. Even on the arched window, the shutters were given an arch, but still wouldn't cover the window. Why give it the look of the arch to match the window if it still doesn't look right?

And why have shutters on a three-piece window when the shutters only cover the sides?

austin texas homes shutters

Below are some shutters that are actually correct...

austin tx homes for sale austin texas homes for sale window shutters

Do you see the difference? Even though the shutters aren't going to be closed, they give the impression that they match the house and can be closed if the home owner wanted them to.

Make sure that if you want to use a detail like shutters on your home's windows, that they actually look like they belong!

**Are You Packed Yet?**

Donna Harris, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
www.DonnaHomes.com
Donna@DonnaHomes.com

Austin TX Real Estate and the
surrounding areas of Lakeway, Bee Cave, West Lake Hills, Cedar Park, Round Rock, Spicewood, Circle-C, Steiner Ranch, and everywhere in between... Hill Country Austin TX Real Estate and beyond. Whether you're buying or selling an Austin home, I'll be with you every step of the way.

For real time Austin MLS listings, click here.

** #1 Agent in my Office for all of 2008 **

All my blog posts were first published on donnahomesblog.com.
Copyright© 2009 By Donna Harris, All Rights Reserved. You may re-blog with links back to this post.
* Austin Texas Homes - Exterior Window Shutters *

Re-Blog

Comments(15)

Comment

Show All Comments

Sort:

John Slocum

Premiere Property Group, LLC - Vancouver Washington - Vancouver, WA

Broker, SFR - Vancouver WA Real Estate

Hello Donna, your photos do a great job of showing how much more appealing a correctly sized "shutter" becomes for the home. In our area we see some homes with them, and they are usually too small like your examples. Thanks! John

Oct 06, 2009 06:16 AM

Dorie Dillard Austin TX

Coldwell Banker Realty ~ 512.750.6899 - Austin, TX

NW Austin ~ Canyon Creek and Spicewood/Balcones

Hi Donna,

Great job of illustrating the difference the right shutter makes. The pictures tell the story.

Oct 06, 2009 06:24 AM

Patricia Kennedy

RLAH@properties - Washington, DC

Home in the Capital

Donna, I agree with you. I think they should be wide enough to look like they could cover the windows if they weren't pretty firmly attached to the exterior. And with all the hurricanes, it might not be a terrible idea to have shutters that you could close! That beats putiing up protective plywood.

Oct 06, 2009 06:37 AM

KARIN SMITH

SMITH REALTY GROUP - Slidell, LA

BROKER/REALTOR

Donna.. wow, what a difference. Although I wouldn't have noticed this as looking awkward before ( I think because it is so common) I certainly do now.

-Karin :)

Oct 06, 2009 06:50 AM

Ben de Anda

RE/MAX Cross Country - Corinth, TX

I never really looked at it that way, I guess because we rarely see actual functioning shutters. Thanks for pointing it out.

Oct 06, 2009 07:11 AM

Joseph D. Federico

MVP Realty - Naples, FL

Southwest Florida Homes with Joe Federico

Great way of making us undertstand how much better it does look with real functioning shutters.

Oct 06, 2009 08:22 AM

Lou Ludwig

Ludwig & Associates - Boca Raton, FL

Designations Earned CRB, CRS, CIPS, GRI, SRES, TRC

Donna

Shutters can make the front of the home stand out, outstanding post.

Good luck and success.

Lou Ludwig

Oct 06, 2009 09:24 AM

Lou Ludwig

Ludwig & Associates - Boca Raton, FL

Designations Earned CRB, CRS, CIPS, GRI, SRES, TRC

Donna

Shutters can make the front of the home stand out, outstanding post.

Good luck and success.

Lou Ludwig

Oct 06, 2009 09:24 AM

Paul S. Henderson, REALTOR®, CRS

Fathom Realty Washington LLC - Tacoma, WA

South Puget Sound Washington Agent/Broker!

Donna, My clients seem to run hot and cold on shutters. Right now more are removing the shutters only to find the paint hasn't faded at the same rate as uncovered area...
Life is best, when experienced, first hand,
Paul

Oct 06, 2009 12:39 PM

Steve Shatsky

Dallas, TX

Hi Donna... I am not a big fan of decorative shuuters. If they don't actually close, I say get rid of them. I personally prefer a "cleaner" look anyway.

Oct 06, 2009 02:21 PM

Donna Harris

Donna Homes, powered by JPAR - TexasRealEstateMediationServices.com - Austin, TX

Realtor,Mediator,Ombudsman,Property Tax Arbitrator

John, Interesting that it's in other markets as well.

Dorie, Thanks!

Pat, No hurricanes in Austin, but I can see that being handy elsewhere.

Karin, I've noticed it for years and it's always been a pet peeve of mine.

Ben, Just opening your eyes!

Joseph, Thanks!

Lou, Thanks!

Paul, Yikes!

Steve, When done correctly, shutters can add personality to smaller windows. Some houses look really silly with them.

Oct 06, 2009 02:45 PM

John Cannata

214-728-0449 http://TexasLoanGuy.com - Frisco, TX

Texas Home Mortgage - Purchase or Refinance

Donna - You have provided some excellent examples. Many people have shutters here and I don't think I realized there were quite so many differences.

Oct 07, 2009 01:09 AM

Laurie Hellmer, Dowtown Chicago Lofts and Chicago Neighborhood Realty

Real People Realty - Chicago, IL

LOL! The first time I noticed the shutter size oddity was when I was in grade school. My family visited a relatives' new home, and I immediately noticed that the shutters would not cover the windows. They explained that they were decorative and not functional. I've always thought this was strange.

I agree that it looks much better when the shutters are sized to match the size of the windows.

Oct 07, 2009 01:41 AM

Brian Griffis

Realty Choice - Springfield, MO

And wouldn't it be nice if the shutters actually worked? But, I guess no one opens their windows anyway in America. What really looks bad is the cheap plastic shutters that don't match height or width. Those should just stay at Lowe's.

Oct 07, 2009 01:55 AM

Donna Harris

Donna Homes, powered by JPAR - TexasRealEstateMediationServices.com - Austin, TX

Realtor,Mediator,Ombudsman,Property Tax Arbitrator

John, Now, you're going to constantly look as you drive home everyday!

Laurie, Decorative is fine, but they should still look 'good', right?

Brian, I'm not sure about other parts of the country, but here in Texas, we have screens on all the windows, so you wouldn't be able to work the shutters without the hassel of always removing the screens.

Oct 07, 2009 04:49 AM