If you’re a homeowner I’m sure you are no stranger to home renovation projects. We have had MORE than our fair share (I dream big, okay). I wish I had documented our journey of everything we have renovated, and re-renovated because our basement kept flooding. I even have a running joke that we eventually have to find the briefcase or tin can full of money or treasure that someone left behind. You know, because of the walls and ceilings we’ve torn down, the amount of yard we’ve dug up, and more. Unfortunately we have not come across any treasure….yet. Our latest project that we finished though was our DIY shutters.
The exterior
Perhaps one day I will cover everything we’ve done to our home, but today I just wanted to share a little something that I’m really proud of. We’ve put a lot of work into the exterior of our home. It had weeping mortar that was just….awful, so we chipped it away. It also had less than appealing brick that we painted. I know, I know, painting brick seems to be a controversy! Sometimes I agree that it should be left alone, but I promise this brick was truly ugly. It also had some simple old black shutters that I wanted to replace. After some Pinterest browsing I came across a few wooden shutters with geometric designs and I fell in love.
Our wonderful neighbors
Our neighbors had a stock of beautiful cedar wood that they didn’t want and asked if we would like it. Immediately yes! We knew it would be perfect for our shutters. We settled on a design, well most of one, and used paper as our template to begin. Then Taylor went to work meticulously measuring and cutting all the bits and pieces and the frame. After the pieces were cut we laid them out a few different ways until we picked our favorite one. Then it was time to sand and stain. I hate sanding, but it was a labor of love and paid off.
We did a trio of stains, one for the frame, and then two others for the larger and smaller squares in the design. It really added depth to the shutters. There was one piece that we didn’t make ourselves. Just a small square with some carved designs on it. Once we were finally done building them and got them hung on the house, it just tied it all together. It was a small victory in our home reno journey and I am in love with them! You can see the difference in our before and after pictures below. And as a bonus, we had enough wood leftover for matching window planter boxes!
Behold the befores and afters!
And last but not least, the whole house with the planter boxes
