Do plantation shutters look good in a craftsman style home? In fact, they are an ideal window treatment to match the look of a craftsman style home, and a practical solution for potentially hard-to-fit windows. With a variety of shutter styles, frame types, and slat sizes, you can customize your plantation shutters for your craftsman style windows in a breeze!
Choosing a Shutter Style
A defining characteristic of Craftsman style homes is that they are built of real wood, stone and brick. Natural wooden shutters will be the perfect style accent for the windows.
With built in light fixtures, open floor plans and low-pitched ceilings, you will likely want to choose a modern shutter style with larger slats to keep consistent with the modern look and let in lots of light when the shutter slats are open.
A good option is full height shutters with 3” or 3 ½" slats – also depending upon how deep your windows are recessed and what slat size they can accommodate. Usually, craftsman style windows have a deep recess and a flat sleek trim with a beaded shelf at the top and bottom.
When selecting how many shutter panels you would like in each window opening, keep in mind that fewer (wider) panels will keep the room looking more open and let in more light. Having too many (narrow) panels can clutter the window with solid material and block too much sunlight.
Choosing a Shutter Frame
Due to the projection at the top and bottom of the craftsman style trim, usually an inside mount L-Frame is your easiest framing and mounting option. For an inside mount, measure 3 spots for the width (top, middle and bottom); and 3 spots for the height (left, middle, and right) to check for any variance. Order using the smallest of your 3 measurements for width and height.
Reference our inside mount measuring guide for detailed measuring instructions and printable frame templates.
Example of craftsman style window trim. Source: turtlesandtails.blogspot.com
An example of craftsman style window trim with a crank out window. Source: thenavagepatch.com
For Andersen-style windows that have a crank mechanism at the bottom, however an outside mount may be necessary. An L-Frame would still be your best option due to the existing decorative trim at the top and bottom of the window casing.
Since the trim is usually quite flat on the left and right sides, an outside mount installation is also easy and straightforward to measure for and install. You will measure the finished width from outside edge to outside edge of the left and right trim. You will measure the height from inside of trim to inside of trim.
If you want the shutter frame to sit tight to the window opening rather than in line with the outer edge of the trim, you can measure the window opening then add the width of your chosen shutter frame to your measurements on the left and right sides. Since the height is usually confined by the trim projection at the top and bottom, our shutter experts may advise a 1/8” deduction we can take on our end, so your shutter frame is not too snug.
Reference our outside mount measuring guide for detailed measuring instructions and printable frame templates.
Craftsman style shutters are easy to measure, design and install. Every window is unique, so if you are ever stumped as to the best choice for your specific window, reach out to our shutter experts by phone, email or online chat. We are here to help!