My dad did just the plywood. It probably wasn't as cute as theirs but from the curb you can't really tell the difference. It really does add charm.

I went to a habitat for humanity re store and got 5 pair of shutters for my windows that matched each other for 30 bucks.

Good idea using plywood... I think some new landscaping would spruce up the place more than those though.

Brilliant idea!

I would paint he door something fun too

Awesome. It's just the perfect touch.

I hate to say this, but the shutters are the wrong width. when sizing shutters, they should be 1/2 the width of the window. This way, when they close (or don't), they cover the entire window as they would have way-back-when.

@katalyist - Technically yes, but as the article mentions, shutters today are simply decorative. Shutters that couldn't actually cover the window are pretty common.

Not a fan of fake shutters (these don't even try to look plausible). Maybe try painting the house a fun color instead?

In every house I've had with shutters, I have always taken them down. I think these look OK but the same effect could have been achieved by painting the window frames dark. Cute house, though!

"Shutters that couldn't actually cover the window are pretty common.".....yes, and that's why they tend to look "wrong"

What an ingenious project! The house was cute, allbeit a bit sparse, before but these definitely elevate its overall charm and curb appeal. Like any ornamental element, they are as practical as is necessary for a modern home. Their size and shape suit the front facade very well in fact, and with some flowers/foliage this place would be picture perfect.

I'm with katalyst. Get rid of the gumball bushes and spend time and $ on landscaping.

Skinny shutters are out of proportion - a great idea if your house has the space for shutters and very clever....but not quite what this house needs.

I think they look great. When I saw the before and after, I said to myself, "Wow! What a difference!"

I agree with Katalyst. Even if they're decorative they should be the right width. Surely the idea is to look authentic?

I don't mind fake shutters as decoration at all, but it always annoys me when they are clearly too small to cover the entire window. Or worse... I've seen shutters that were too large and would have overlapped if closed. They just look like a cheap knock off.

I honestly didn't notice the width thing. What I did notice is that the sconces on either side of the door used to be centered between the door/window space and now they are squashed up against the shutters.

I'd have gone for bright paint and landscaping, but what counts is that the homeowners please themselves. They accomplished their goals with an inexpensive DIY, so good for them.

Wrong size fake shutters = bane of American suburbia. Looked so much better before, the house could have just used a more interesting color and some landscaping.

I don't get it the appeal of fake shutters at all. Especially if they aren't the right size!

Seconding the comment by Miami's Elaine.

honestly, they don't even look like shutters to me because they are so severely undersized, more of a lovely dark frame to the window.

normally i would agree with the "too small shutter" sentiment, but i have to admit the house looks way better afterward. it just...works somehow.

If you are going to bother why not go the whole hog and make shutters that 'shut'? Good for security and keeping the house warm or shady.

I Love shutters they add a classic polished look to any house

http://statementpiece.blogspot.com/

Sorry, but fake shutters are #2 on my list of Things I Would Outlaw If I Ruled The World (vinyl siding being #1).

Why shutters that aren't the right size don't work: http://www.oldhouseguy.com/shutters.php

Couldn't they be those folding ones, so only (about) one-quarter the width of the window, when folded? Maybe they're not the wrong size.

If you look at their blog (link provided above) you'll see that the shutters are not folded, and also that this is a house the owners are trying to sell. So they really are all about the surface appearance, period. Too bad.

I agree with those people who mentioned the obviously ill-fitting decorative shutters being a detractor.

I think some landscaping would have been the way to go for more curb appeal. I didn't even notice the shutters in the thumbnail because I was so busy staring at the lopsided/sparse shrubbery.

"Shutters that couldn't actually cover the window are pretty common."

Yes, they are -- in North America. And I'm not a fan.

Even from a curb appeal perspective, they would have looked much, much, MUCH better had they been at least the correct width. (that's the dead give-away with fake shutters -- they are invariably the wrong width).

Jeez, I just hate these sort of cheap fixes to improve saleability.

Yeah, I hate, hate, HATE seeing shutters bolted to the siding on houses that obviously would not fit the window opening when closed. Too skinny, too wide, too short, too long...

I can accept fake shutters--even on the really fancy older homes that have actual working shutters they're almost always in actual fact just for decoration--but they should at least be plausible.

This is particularly unforgivable because these folks made their own shutters. All they had to do was measure the width of their sashes and divide by two... By what arbitrary means did they decide to make these shutters too ridiculously skinny?

And yes, before they did anything else they should have just killed those ratty, oversized yews and just started fresh with some new foundation plantings.