How To Make Window Shutters

Begin with one (preferably non-shuttered) window…

Procure some 1″ thick pine boards, dressed. (Naked ones are far too sassy.)

Cut boards to desired shutter height, less the height you want your 2 “end caps” to be. More on end caps in a minute.

Glue and clamp boards together for desired shutter width…

Depending on how busy your life is, allow glue to dry for 12 to 1700 hours.  Usually 12-24 hours is just the ticket.

Trim off any uneven ends…

Measure something…

Next… cut the end caps, same thickness and width as the shutters.

If possible, make funny faces when you saw, to improve performance…

The finished shutters in this blog post are 35.5″ high — 31.5 inch boards, with a  2″ end cap at the top, and another 2″ end cap at the bottom.

(Actually, I’m not even sure if “end cap” is the real term, but it hopefully gets my point across.)

Careful with that blade!!

Whee!!!  This is fun.

Gaze lovingly upon your growing pile of end caps — you’re doing a great job!

Stock up on them if you’ve  numerous windows to beautify.

Drill cute little holes in them.

Keep drilling — that whirring sound is so much fun!  Whirrr. Whirrrrr.  I could listen to that all day.  And sometimes do!

(Many of you know we’ve been remodeling and adding onto and more adding onto our house for 17 years now!  And more MORE adding on, but the more MORE will keep — we’ve years of blogging fun ahead — no need to rush into all this at once, right?  Right!)

Wow — nice drilled holes!  They look to be on 3″ centers.  4″  maybe?  (That’s carpenter lingo for — the holes are 3″ to 4″ apart.)

I’ve picked up scads of carpenter lingo over the years — such as “dressed” lumber, plinth blocks, 7-step crown moulding, wainscotting, finials, and coffered ceilings — to name but a few in my now vast woodworker’s vocabulary.)

Next… while your wife / photographer is in the house drinking wine and blogging, screw the end caps to the glued boards.

Trim off any uneven edges.

These don’t really need to be sanded — but sand if you desire.

Measure something again…

I’m not sure what gets measured or why, but measuring seems to be a good thing.

Meanwhile, back at some ranch or another — make a template for moons (if you like moons.) Stars are good if you fear moons look too “out-housey.” Any design of your choosing works, of course.  I notice cut-outs of 3-legged goats and flying cats are making a comeback.

Trace your moon onto what’s beginning to look a lot like a shutter.

Do a little jig with your jigsaw…

But not really.  NEVER dance while using power saws.  Or close your eyes. But you CAN do as many standing buttock tucks as you’d like while sawing — they’re actually encouraged for the best finished product.

Looking good!!

While your wife / photographer is in the house drinking more wine, paint the shutters.

To the bottom of each shutter, attach a hinge and a hook…

To the top of each shutter, attach another hinge — on the same edge as the bottom hinge!

Line up where you’ll screw the hinges on the windowframe… And watch out for mysterious clinging leaves…

Enlisting child labor is ALWAYS a good idea…

Next comes the part where the wine-soaked wife puts down the iPhone camera to hold the shutters while the huband screws them onto the windowframes.

Here’s the kind of wine the wife was drinking for this set of shutters — something cheap, yet upliftingly nonchalant with undertones of blatant anonymity and a whisper of smokey bravado.

Remember that hook 103 photos above?

It goes into an eye.

Use a masonry bit to drill the eye’s hole (if you’re working with masonry.) If you’re not working with masonry, give three “Whoo-hoos!” that you only have to drill into wood.)  (Unless you’re drilling into solid steel.  I know nothing about drilling into solid steel.  Or aged teak.)

Presto, the shutter is held back!

Whoo-hoo!

And that’s (pretty-much) how to make this kind of shutter — which, I must add — are decorative only, as per the way they are attached to the frames, and not meant to be closed to protect the window glass.  If you’re looking for that kind of shutter, I’ll be posting a how-to on them in October, 2016.

Thank you.

Any questions?

With Love,  Jannie

xoxox

P.S.  If  I am posting less than usual this coming week — please don’t worry —  I’ll be out scampering around the blogosphere reading all YOUR awesomeness, answering comments on this post, writing Actual Snail-Mail Letters, cleaning out the fridge (and freezer!) continuing with Kelly’s bedroom make-over, finally stenciling Kirsten’s chairs, and baking cherry pies — but not necessarily in that order.

xoxo again.

EDIT:  For LANCE!! Yes, my shutter guy is also very much a tree-house making guy!!