I think the shutters is a regional thing. I live in CA, most houses are newer ranch style. The majority have shutters on them and they are ALL decorative! I never knew what functional shutters looked like until I joined this forum. I think for people on the East Coast with the older homes and real shutters they will never look quite right, but for here, in my area, they are typical of the majority of homes you will see. Sort of like crown molding or other trim, purely for decorative purposes only. FWIW, when we remodeled our home we removed the wood siding and shutters and stuccoed the home and used decorative foam stucco trim.

The first house I lived in was on the Salt River Indian Reservation in AZ, just a wooden cottage raised up on concrete footings. Some years later - my Mom and Dad bought a brand new rancher in Phoenix- this was late 50's when the 6 story Westward Ho Hotel was the tallest building in Phoenix. Our house, as most were in the area, was a pink cinderblock built on a polished concrete slab. No two story homes or basements. The older areas had a few 2 story homes but that wasnt the norm,that was old Phoenix money or the Wrigleys! We had vinyl tile, popcorn ceilings and wool avocado wall to wall in the living room.Later shag rugs in the bedrooms!( pink and red for me!) When I was a teen we had a decorator that chose traditional furniture with a mediterranean Spanish flair and used pecan wood tables.All of the windows had WTs that would keep the sun out. Some people used to foil over their windows.I never heard of a roller shade until we moved back east to MD. Also never encountered stairs, except in the old Montgomery Ward store which was a story and a half balcony! I think we leaned traditional with a Spanish flair because my Mom grew up in a huge Victorian with land in the Maryland countryside and my Dad grew up in a big house in Mass,in a clapboard center hall colonial. I still live in MD in a small colonial revival house built in 1923. My taste has changed from Colonial Williamsburg to "cottage whatever". I think it is more comfy for us. and vintage thrift stuff mixes well with family pieces -the real colonial antiques and the victorian antiques. My neighborhood is mostly colonial revivals, quite a few Queen Anne Victorians as well as some gothic victorians. There are also quite a few 4 squares. Most all of the houses were built in the 20s with a few in the 1880s. Traditional decor seems to be the norm and seems to be age related- Potterybarn-esque for the younger crowd to Wiiliamsburg traditional and a couple -make- you -gulp Victorians( and not in a good way) Unfortunately the trend here in the last 10 years has been huge great room add ons- so you have many houses built in late 1880s early 20's with monstrous things sticking out the back. Definitely not in keeping with the vintage of the house. Inside, these rooms are beautiful but lack the charm that is found in the rest of the house.Crossing into the great room is like entering another country, one that has little to do with the rest of the house.Looks like they all use the same floorplan. Predictible. Talk about stereotypes, Aunt Jane and Lynne no offense, but when I was growing up, to us Arizonians ya'll were Easterners to us! Bit of snobs we were. Still am as far as Mexican food! LOL I equate the Kokopelli Southwestern style of decor with the big hair of the 80s! Never saw any of it growing up in AZ, just in the East and thought who are they fooling with that fake stuff?

You could drill out the foam trim to accept rigid bushings that would allow the screws or bolts holding the hinges to apply their force directly to the structure, taking the foam out of the equation. If not, the foam will crush and the hinges will loosen. The bushings can be made of plastic pipe, or metal. To avoid admitting any water, the whole business would need to be slathered with sealant. Casey

Around here they do a stucco/cement type of surround with sills on the bottom built in. Some have keys at the top. It adds a 3D effect. There are some Romanian men here who are artists in what they do and they are amazing. It just looks so classy and adds so much depth and interest to the house. If you add shutters back on I'd do the hinges that look authentic and put the shutters away from the brick to give a realistic look. I'd do the double paned type in a black semigloss. I would change the trim to an off white, not yellow but a soft white that would add warmth to the color and yet still pop. Beautiful home.