Interior shutters are a quick and easy solution where too much light comes in through a window, or where occasional privacy is desired. They operate easily and look better than their modern plastic counterpart, the cord-operated adjustable blind. Tools required are minimal- a table saw makes cutting them easy, but you can do the necessary cutting with hand tools. Beyond that all you need to do is drill holes and install screws. In the past hardware stores stocked shutters from which you simply picked out what you needed. Few hardware stores stock them any more, though you can order them at some home supply stores. Also you can now order them directly on the internet using one of the suppliers listed here- Blindsgalore or American Blind and Wallpaper. Shutters come in solid wood or extruded vinyl. Use solid wood for a stained wood look, but for a painted look vinyl works best.

Resources for Installing Shutters

Some manufacturers make wood shutters in standard sizes in 1" increments in width. To use these, you get two, four or six shutters to fit in each window with a total width that is wider than needed, then cut them down in width as described below. Or, you can custom order your shutters in either wood or vinyl to the exact width you need. These cost more but are easier to install. You can’t cut down vinyl shutters so you must either order them to the exact width required to fit inside your window frame, or mount them within a special frame that mounts on the face of the interior moldings around the window. These frames are provided by the manufacturer. Such frames are also available for wood shutters if you want to mount those on the interior moldings rather than inside the window frame.

Decide how many shutters you want in each window and how you want them configured. You may decide to use two sets of shutters on each window, one above and one below. Cafe style, as shown here, has shutters in only the lower half. On smaller windows one set of shutters can cover the entire window.

MOUNTING WOOD SHUTTERS INSIDE THE WINDOW FRAME

Shutters look best when the clearances around them are uniform, and the edges are carefully aligned. This can be tricky if your window jamb is no longer square. The solution is to cut the shutters themselves to match the jamb. Place two uncut shutters in the jamb as in photo 1 with shims below them, then tape them parallel to the jamb. If the gap at the bottom is tapered, mark the bottom of each shutter with a line parallel to the window sill. Carefully measure the width of the jamb opening both top and bottom. If these two measures are unequal, this means you must taper the vertical edges of some shutters to align to the jamb. Carefully determine how much you must take off each vertical edge of each shutter so that you take the same amount off each for uniformity. Account for the clearances dictated by your hinges. Err on the side of leaving the shutters a bit too wide, you can trim them later but you can't make them wider once cut.

Photo 1-Place the uncut shutters in the window with tape to check the square of the window jamb. Mark any tapers that are needed.

Rip your shutters to width on the table saw as in photo 2. You can cut these edges with a circular saw or handsaw, or reduce them with a sharp handplane as well. To taper these edges, use a handplane starting the cut in the middle pointing toward the end you want smaller. You can also taper them with 60 grit sandpaper and a sanding block if you don’t need to taper them much.