I got outside mount because that was my only option with my window style. I wasn't happy about that because I had planned on shutters from the beginning of the build and hadn't realized my window choice was going to be a problem for inside mount. That being said and done, I was pleasantly surprised by the look of my outside mount. They don't look "stuck on" as I had feared. The frame has some detail routing that matches the trim and it all looks like one piece that was done together. I do have the ability to tilt my windows in for cleaning. I probably would have given that up for the inside mount on the front end though, but now that I'm happy with the outside mount it's a nice bonus.

I chose a brushed silver hardware. The nickel cost more so I went with some other metal, but silver in color. My home has stainless, brushed nickel, and black iron or orb light fixtures. I stressed way too much over the hardware. Anything other than a shiny brass would have been fine. I don't even see it once the shutters are up, it's honestly not a big thing.

I chose to have a divider rail and I do enjoy the ability to close the bottom for privacy and open the top for light. Or sometimes I just need to block the sun in a certain area. Not sure about the stile. It has a routed edge too that matches the window frame and rest of the shutter. They are 3 1/2 inch, custom made locally.

Good luck, you'll love them!

I have white shutters with white hardware because I wanted it to blend in. I have outside mounts because prior owner already had a few shutters installed and I wanted them to match. Never thought about cleaning the windows but now I will just have to be more careful. I will have issue with french doors. I had handles extended because I personally do not like that half circle design they usually use around the handle. This prevents the shutter panels from opening to clean the glass. I have to remove the handles to open the shutters out. But they do not get that dirty so it will only have to be done a few times a year, no biggy.

Mimi,
The sales rep showed me pictures of outside mount shutters in brochures and I honestly couldn't tell the difference between the inside and outside mount. They both look stunning. The "stuck on" look never entered my mind. I guess my fear was that the outside mounted shutters might protrude out too much but I don't think that will be the case.

If I can retain the ability to remove my windows, I will choose the outside mount. Still, I'm not sure whether my windows can be removed either way because I need the full 4 inches of clearance to remove my windows from the frame in the future if I have to. My house is one story so I all I really need is a step ladder to clean the windows instead of removing them entirely. I personally would never give up the ability to tilt out the windows for the inside mount. IÂm glad to hear that it worked out for you in the end.

The options for Norman shutter hinges are either white, pearl, bisque, antique brass, bright brass or stainless. I was torn between the white or stainless. Still undecided.

I'm so glad you reminded me of the divider rails. Another decision I have to make as to which window will have the rails.

shannon,
I forgot all about the cutout. Many people seem to like the half circle cutout. Because I like the lever handle on my single french door as it is, I would have to get the cutout. Like you, I really don't care for the cutout one way or another. The circular cutout offered by Norman looks okay to me. I donÂt remember whether there is an option for a rectangular cutout for the Norman shutters.

Thanks to you both. IÂm still gathering my thoughts and making a list of questions for the sales rep(s). Your replies have certainly helped me zero in on some of the details I probably would have overlooked.

Melanie,

You may want to check out www.horizonshutters.com for ideas and to get questions answered. Their site is insanely informative and you can see answers to so many questions that you may have without even picking up the phone.

Also, that site has a lot of pictures to view different types of mounting methods since some people have more than 1 mounting option.

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: All About Window Shutters

The doors and trim in my house are painted in Sherwin Williams Pure White. To get white shutters with the closet color match, I would have to get the Normandy Real Wood in Pure White (the same color name is coincidental). For the Norman Woodlore Composite, the closest color is a softer white called Silk White. The Woodlore shutters will be $700 cheaper.

Would it look strange to have soft white shutters in the room with trim and doors that are painted stark pure white? I'm concerned that the shutters would look "faded" next to the baseboards and a single french door.

I would hate to repaint the trim and doors just to match the shutters because I happen to like that stark Pure White color. If I get the Woodlore Composite, will I be making a mistake getting shutters that will be slightly mismatched with the trim and doors? Should I spend $700 more for the Normandy Real Wood just to get the color I want? Or should I hire a painter to repaint all the trim and doors to match the shutters? I have no idea what a painter will cost. I don't want to do the painting myself because I'm inexperienced.

Here's a link to the color for the Normandy Real Wood. I'm planning on buying from a local dealer instead of online. This was the best link I could find. The site also provides colors for the Woodlore.

Here is a link that might be useful: Normandy Real Wood shutter colors

My advice would be to get them to match as well as you can, if not color-matched. And go with whichever color you like best in the room. It might cost a little more that way but shutters are there for a long time and are a big investment, you want to do it right. Take your time to decide. Good luck to you!

I recently posted many pictures of my shutters. I choose white hinges, just because I wanted them to blend. I have never seen them in another color hinge so I went with what I was familiar with. Our windows had no molding around them, we live in Florida, these windows remind me of casement style. I know I have "z" frames. I have 4 inch and 3 inch plantation shutters in my home. Wish they were all 4 inch. I did half the house when we moved in and the rest of the house a year later. I wasnt sure what I wanted in some of the room, so I waited. It was not a new home so there was something on the windows to hold me over.
I ordered mine from International Wood Shutters in Tampa, they make them there. The color was picked from a set of samples.

Melanie,

I have outside-mount shutters as that was the only option with my windows. They don't protrude much. I chose white hinges to blend in also.

My trim is also SW Pure White, and I do think it would look odd with softer white shutters. I wonder if you could find another company who could do the pure white composite shutters? I got ours from Budget Blinds- do you have one in your area? I think I also saw some that looked nice at Lowe's or Home Depot.

Good luck!

mhanna,
Thanks for the link.

mimi, kelly,

Your input helped me focus on what is most important to me. I have several house projects going on right now and itÂs been a little stressful. I think the mismatch in color will bother me in the future so I will go with the white that matches best instead of "settling" for a color that will end up being merely ok to me.

As for the outside vs. inside mount, the sales rep told me that if in the event a window needs to be removed and shutters are inside mounted, the frame and shutters CAN be removed. And shudders are more easily removed with real wood as opposed to the composite. My opinion has evolved from when I first started researching shutters. As this stage to me, there are no aesthetic differences between the inside and outside mounted shutters. The sales rep did mention that with an outside mount, you get more of your "window showing" as a benefit. I think they both look equally great.

I prefer the outside mount for convenience but it costs more as does real wood. As a compromise to my DH who wants the composite to keep costs down, I will go for the Z frame inside mount (grrr) and DH will give me the go ahead for real wood AND I will get the color I want. Thank you for aiding me in the decision making process. You both emboldened me to insist on real wood when I discussed it with DH. :)

gk5040,

Your shutters and house are gorgeous. Why do you wish all of the shutters were 4 inches? I happen to like both the 3 and 4 inch shutters. 3 inch shutters look dressy while the 4 inch ones has a casual elegance to them. I donÂt think one is better than the other. In my neighborhood, IÂve seen both sizes and they look equally nice both from inside and outside the home. LetÂs put it this way, with both sizes, you have the best of both worlds. I only hope my home will look as good as yours when IÂm done. You did a great job. I think I remember your pictures from previous posts in another thread After looking at all the pictures of peopleÂs beautiful shudders, including yours, during my research, I decided to get shudders instead of alternate window treatments. I looked up that website for International Shutter but unfortunately, the company doesn't service my area. Still, the info on the website was helpful. Thank you for taking the time out to post pics. So helpful. :)

Fwiw - we have inside-mount shutters from Sunburst Shutters and actually did have to have a window replaced shortly after the shutters were installed - a panel had developed moisture between the panes. They were able to get the panel out without removing the shutters - they only had to remove the closure magnets. I was relieved!

snookums,

I'm so glad to hear that your window panel was removed without having to remove the shutters and frame as well. I don't think that will be case for me. I would have to have everything removed. What type of window do you have? I was just curious.

Sunburst Shutters was on the top of my list but I had to choose another brand because I was getting a 100" x 100" sliding door done too and that would have cost me $2,000 alone, significantly outside my budget. It was so hard to choose among the various brands but price/budget eventually won out so I went with Norman. Sunburst poly shutters are high quality and very attractive. There is a very nice bright white color available in the white color selection too.

Correction: I typed in "shudders" instead of "shutters" several times in my other post. What was I thinking? Oops!

I am pleasantly surprised at the pretty pictures of outside mount shutters I'm seeing here. The PO installed outside mount shutters in two bedrooms in our house, and they look terrible. They stick out about 3-4 inches from the window and do not look at all like the casement style frames of the other posters' windows. Maybe it's their age, or the cheap shutters? I don't know. All I know, is that I am surprised at how pretty everyone's outside mount shutters are.

Our windows were just plain drywall with no frames or casings around them. Basically about as cheap as the builder could get. Seems the same with the window panels, too. At least they are still covered under our 10 year warranty. We've had about 5 windows replaced. One year left on our warranty. I hope that whichever ones are next to go go within the next year! (And, btw, kudos to KBHome for standing by their warranty)

When we got the shutters we also go the decorative frame, so our windows are all pretty now. :) They have 3 1/2" louvers. They didn't have a 4 inch option but I probably would have gotten that if I could have.

OMG, sorry it's so big!

You know, mine are a slightlyIdifferent white than the other trim. When you posted this, i had to go and look-- and sure enough the shutters are white-white and the trim is creamy white--- but it looks great anyway! Keep in mind that the colors will change slightly with age and will probably not be a perfect match in 5-10 years since they are different paints to start out with-- 700 bucks is a LOT of money! I'd go with the cheaper ones!

sarschlos,
If you google Normandy shutters brochure, some PDF links will show pictures of some outside mounted shutters in case you want to replace your shutters. The outside mounted shutters look really nice from the PDF pics. I canÂt post PDF links on these forum boards. Not sure if it's possible.

snookums,
I love your room! DonÂt you love how shutters complement furnishings so beautifully? IÂm getting 3-1/2 inch louvers too. Sunburst does have a 4-1/2 inch louver option, just not 4 inch. IÂve found that many shutter brands donÂt offer sizes in whole numbers, only half sizes.

KB Homes is a reputable builder. ItÂs good to hear the builder came through for you regarding its warranty. My house didnÂt come with frames or casings either. It worked out well for you anyway since you now have a gorgeous decorative frame surrounding your windows. The frame looked like it came with the house. I like it. What does Sunburst call that frame style? I canÂt remember from when the Sunburst rep last visited my house. I wish Sunburst was more competitively priced, otherwise I would have went with Sunburst.

If you donÂt mind me asking, what type and brand of window was installed? I donÂt know how you got your window panel replaced with just removing the shutter closure magnets. How was that possible?

skatiero,
If your shutters fade just slightly from the sun and normal aging, at least they will match closer to your trim. The difference between the composite shutter sample color and my french door was pretty obvious to me. Did you notice any fading in your shutters? What type and brand of shutter do you have? How old are they? Just curious. I was also wondering if fading does occur, would the entire shutter fade? Or would there be any obvious lines of demarcation with one part of the shutter more faded than the other part if only one part gets more sun? If IÂm going overboard, let me know. I tend to pepper people with questions. :)

A sales rep at JCPenney told me her shutters get the strong western sun. She said her real wood Avalon shutters are 4 years old and they're doing fine with no fading and warping. She chose Avalon because she needed an outside mount for her 2 inch sill and Avalon Shutters have a thinner profile. SheÂs very happy with them. I didn't choose Avalon because I wanted to put an end to my research and get the process started.

melanie - I don't remember exactly what the frame was called, but if I remember correctly, Sunburst has all of them on their website. We were able to get the Sunburst guy to throw in the frame option for free. (And it seemed that for every minute I sat there pondering the price, he'd take another $100 off)

The window panels were made by Mission Viejo Glass - we just replaced the glass panels so they were custom made by them. This is the company that KB Home sent us to for repairs. Just so happens one of the owners live on my street and we've use them for many other things, so they know me. Every time I call, they say "another window bit the dust, huh?"

Since they just replaced the glass, it was just tilted out and removed, and then replaced. The glass co just made a new dual-pane panel the same size as the old one - fit right in perfectly. I did ask if there was a way to replace the whole window dealie without removing the shutters. He said yes, esp. since we didn't need interior window casings, that there were several brands that install soley from the exterior of the house and slide right into the opening. The shutter guy also said that if need be, Sunburst will remove and then reinstall the shutters for us (at a cost, I'm sure). We'll deal with that when the time comes, but for now, since KB is footing the bill, we'll keep replacing one panel at a time.

Sunburst Shutters frame styles - looks like we have the "Z frame," inside mount.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sunburst Shutters frame styles

snookums,
Thank you for the info. I'm going to have the daal with it also when the time comes for me to get panes replaced. With my luck, they will fail right after any warranty expires. :)

sarschlos,
I just spoke to a non-sales employee of a Norman shutter dealer. Although his windows can accomodate inside mounted, he preferred and got the outside mounted Norman ones because he desired a "picture frame effect". He also felt that the outside mounted frame he chose made the shutters look like fine furniture. He's thrilled with them. Norman does have very nice frames, and according to its brochure pictures, the outside mounted shutters look just as nice as the inside mounted ones.

Melanie, sorry I missed your post I havent been online the last few days. The reason I like the 4 inch is that when they are open, there is less obstruction and you end up with more of a view. The three inch arent bad and they do stick out less. The 2 rooms with 4 inch also have sliders. Wow, do the slider casings stick out far....4+ inches. I love the 4 inch on the windows, they are ok on the sliders. I guess I wish the first set of rooms I did, had the 4 inch...that would be in the dining room, office, master bath, pool bath and the kids bedrooms. I wish the 2 rooms I did recently, did not have sliders, just windows...because I love the 4 inch on the regular window. Good luck with your selection.

I am making a decision between sunburst and normandy shutters. Can anyone tell me which is the better or are they about the same? I realize tht sunburst is more expensive but that maybe that the commission is higher. If you had to choose between blinds and shutters which would it be? From the street would you notice a difference? Any infor would be greatly appreciated.