Different Types of Window Mounts for Shutters

Our measure guides for shutters are very simple to follow. However you first need to establish if your windows are best suited to have shutters as an inside or outside mount.

As you can see, there are 2 ways of installing inside mount shutters – either tight up to the window, inside the recess or inside the recess but flush with the internal wall.

From a design perspective, your main consideration again, should be how often you will open back the panels. If mounting flush with your internal wall, the panels will have the ability to fold 180° flat back on the walls either side of the window. If mounting tight into the window, the panels will most often open and be restricted to a 90° angle. This may be OK if you have a deep recess or narrow panels, but if you have wider panels and you want to open then up, they’ll stick out into the room.

Again, keep thinking back to how often you’ll actually open the shutter panels. If they’re rarely opened, mounting inside, tight to the window works well as you can then use the sill and will have increased the feeling of space by having the sill within the room, as opposed to being hidden behind the shutter.

Outside mount applies to windows with no window recess or to windows which are inward opening.

To check if an outside mount installation is best suited to your shutters, read this measuring guide.

The most typical type of window requiring an outside mount shutter installation is a sash window. These are the windows that you often find in Victorian, Edwardian or Georgian homes. The photo here shows a sash window with an outside mount installation. You can see the shutter panel is hinged within the shutter frame which is effectively surface mounted onto the window. Outside mount is required when there is no recess or when the windows open inwards and would hit the shutter frame.

Design wise, the same sort of factors need to be considered as with inside mount. Are you going to open the panels? If so, is there space for them to fold back?

Go with narrower panels if opening the shutters on a regular basis and wider panels if leaving the panels in situ most of the time. Once you've chosen you could take a look at our secure shutter store for interactive design ideas for your shutters.