What’s up with my shutters?

5 years ago

We love our original 1920 shutters. But what’s up with the 2 middle windows on the 2nd floor? The shutters obviously wouldn’t cover the window.

Was this how it was originally or were 2 shutters removed at some point?

Featured Answer

PRO

Virgil Carter Fine Art

5 years ago

Unless the upper center shutters and lower shutters are folded shutters, they were and are strictly decorative and make little sense.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (13)

PRO
GN Builders L.L.C
5 years ago
Looks original, I guess this is how they did it in those days and I don't think they used the shutters to cover the windows, just for show as part of the design..
Related Discussions
What’s up with my schlumbergera?
Q
Comments (10)
You can try something with less nitrogen. I use an African violet fertilizer (with micronutrients) for my blooming plants. These prefer more moist conditions than typical succulents. When the medium (bark) dried, you can soak it for 5-10 minutes so the bark can absorb the moisture otherwise just the surface gets wet and it dries very quickly. I have this problem (drying too quickly) with my orchids in bark if I don't let the bark soak after it's dried out.
...See More
What’s up with my Lions Head JM??
Q
Comments (15)
In the next to the last shot there are what could perfectly well be honey fungus (Armillaria) rhizomorphs visible on top of the mulch, to the right of the oxalis leaf. And in the right position to account for the trunk wound and detaching bark. Although it is often stated that a whitish fungal growth will be seen when the bark comes off an Armillaria infested trunk (click on the link to an oak page that comes up on the photo page below for descriptive information about honey fungus): https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-disease/maple-acer-spp-armillaria-root-rot If the tree did come from the outlet with a pathogen such as honey fungus then this episode serves to illustrate how "sad plants" aren't necessarily a good deal - you may have now introduced a nuisance destructive agent to your planting site.
...See More
“What’s up” with my ice
Q
Comments (10)
That time lapse was interesting! I've seen some weird ice formations, but in the woods after a storm, not in my refrigerator. I made ice in trays in two refrigerators (kitchen, garage) for many years. And finally had my plumber run a line to the ice maker in my last refrigerator a few years ago. Yes, I know, but old habits die hard ;0)
...See More
what’s up with my foliage on Above and Beyond?
Q
Comments (3)
Darned sawfly ! They can sure make a mess of the leaves Look around for little green worms and that is your culprit. I use the find em squish em method and I spray with a heavy stream of water to knock them off.
...See More
Scott Pingeton
Original Author
5 years ago
Interesting! Didn’t know they did that kind of thing 100 years ago.
PRO
Anglophilia
5 years ago
I doubt those are the original shutters. There may well have been NO shutters at all and an owner added them at some time.
acm
5 years ago
Maybe you could paint the space between the upper windows white so they seem to match the windows on the first floor (which also make no sense with shutters)...
PRO
Mark Bischak, Architect
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
They appear to have proper hinges and shutter dogs, which would suggest they are functional. If they are functional, the 2 middle windows and all other windows with shutters to one side, will have two shutter panels, one hinged upon the other, much like a bi-fold door. The house was not designed with shutters in mind.
worthy
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
So at the turn of the 22nd Century, someone will be posting [in Mandarin] how they are in love with these original shutters, so signifying the North American Neo-eclectic style all the rage in that distant era.
Address withheld.
Scott Pingeton
Original Author
5 years ago
The shutters are functional, but definitely not folding. The shutter dogs are definitely OLD, but no idea if the shutters were original or added at some point...we are considering removing them when we repaint the house though
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
5 years ago
IMO the bottom shutters are all wrong and those 2 windows with those silly shutters are just that.I think removing the shutters and widening the trim around the windows would be a much better look and if getting new windows foreget the grids
opaone
5 years ago
All of those shutters, individually and together, look silly to me. I'd remove them and trim the windows out appropriately.

I'd be surprised if any of those shutters were there in the 1920's. At least on those windows. Are the main level windows original 1920's? They don't seem like it. Similarly, the center windows over the portico would typically have been much smaller. Historically a house would have been designed so that all or most major windows had functioning shutters. It'd not be unusual to not have shutters on some smaller or odd-shaped windows but the major windows would have had them (depending on geography and orientation).

If those windows and ill fitting shutters are 1920's originals then they seem well ahead of their time.
PRO
HALLETT & Co.
5 years ago
This was very common in my area in the turn of the century neighborhoods. All houses had shutters (I’m in the south where many houses got closed up in the summer while the owners escaped north). The second shutter was folded behind the visible one. This doubles the weight on the hinges and stresses the shutter so with time often they were thrown away.
opaone
5 years ago
@Hallett, are those main level windows original to 1920's? I didn't think doubles like that, other than bays, started appearing until late 1930's?
A Fox
5 years ago
Looks all original to me. Decorative shutters and paired up windows on colonial revivals are as old as the style itself (1900s and early 1910s). I have several in my neighborhood like this as well. The style of the shutters is right for the time period too. If you are interested in authenticity I would not remove them. Shutters stopped being functional on any house except for coastal areas after the turn of the century. The revival styles are more about recreating looks than function. I know the shutter purists hate to hear this but nonfunctional shutters have been around longer than any of us have been alive.