8 Different Types of Shutters

Shutters can be either interior or exterior. Their main purpose is to protect the house from weather conditions, such as rain, snow, wind, or intense sunlight. However, shutters also serve a decorative purpose, giving the home a quaint look.

You sometimes see decorations that look like shutters alongside windows, but these are usually not functional and are sometimes permanently affixed to the wall. Even from a distance, you can usually tell the shutters or mock shutters that are merely decorative because they do not appear wide enough to completely cover the window. Nevertheless, there are still real shutters in use in houses. Here are some of the most common and popular types.

1. Plantation

Plantation shutters get their name because they resemble the shutters that were common on large homes in the antebellum South. In that subtropical climate, the wide louvers, i.e., wooden slats, were ideal for letting in the breeze when open and shutting out storms when closed. Despite the strong association with the South, this type of shutters can be installed anywhere and give the home a relaxed, laid-back look.

2. Board and Batten

The board and batten shutter incorporates a simple, rustic design. The batten is a cross panel that goes either horizontally or at an angle across several vertical boards to hold them together. Even if you do not recognize the name, you have probably seen board and batten shutters before, if not on a house then in storybook illustrations. They give a home a certain Old World character and therefore work well on French Country and Mediterranean-style homes.

3. Cut-Outs

Popularized in the 1920s, cut-out shutters are intended to be both functional and decorative. Most of the shutter is solid, but there is a shape or design cut out of it to improve the overall aesthetic. The design you choose is up to you, but certain cut-out shapes may be more popular in certain areas. For example, in a maritime community, you are likely to see cut-outs of ships, anchors, or other nautical themes.

4. Café Style

So far, all the shutter styles discussed have been exterior styles, but interior shutters are common too. Café style shutters represent an interior style that originated in France. The louvered shutters cover only the bottom half of the window, allowing café patrons to close them for privacy while passersby could still look inside. They may be useful for blocking out light from the sun when it is low on the horizon.

5. Raised Panel

Raised panel shutters get their name from their design. They have plain panels that cover a large portion of the shutter that are raised from the surface to give the shutter some texture and visual appeal. This is a more formal look that provides a dramatic contrast to surrounding features if painted in complementary colors, e.g., light shutters against a dark frame or vice versa.

6. Louvered

While there are actually many styles of shutters that are louvered, a louvered shutter style actually means something very specific. The difference between a louvered shutter and other styles, such as plantation or café-style shutters is that in a louvered shutter, the slats are set in the frame slightly overlapping one another. These louvers cannot move, unlike those in other slatted designs that can be opened and closed.

7. Shaker Style

Traditional Shaker style puts an emphasis on functional simplicity, and these shutters are no exception. Installed inside the home, they are equally adept at blocking out bright light and bad weather, as desired, with their solid flat panels.

8. Bahama

As suggested by the name, Bahama shutters are common in the area of the Caribbean Sea. To provide greater protection from severe tropical or subtropical storms, they are fixed not at the sides of the window frame but at the top, extending outward from the sides of the house when open.

Shutters can fall along a spectrum from the functional to the purely decorative. In any case, they add character and personality to a home.