creative ways to repurpose old shutters - social media image

creative ways to repurpose old shutters - social media image

Do you have a collection of old shutters filling up your storage space? Or do you want some ideas using old shutters in case you come across a set? If so, this post is for you! I’ve put together 13 creative ideas on how you can repurpose old shutters and turn them into something  amazing.

Creative Ways to Repurpose Old Shutters:

repurpose old shutters - dresser makeover - savvyapron.com

Give an old dresser a gorgeous makeover using old shutters like Savvy Apron!

 

Repurpose old shutters - doggie door -11 magnolia lane

Keep your pets out of trouble by building a doggie gate from old plantation shutters like 11 Magnolia Lane.

 

shutters display christmas cards

Make a holiday card display with some old, tall shutters this December.

 

Old Shutters as backdrop on mantel

Use old shutters as a backdrop for your mantel to add a gorgeous farmhouse feel.

 

repurpose old shutters - Shutter To Do Board - huntandhost.net

Stay organized with a Shutter To-Do Board like Hunt and Host made.

 

old shutters as photo display

Use an old shutter to display your family photos or postcards!

 

repurpose old shutters - privacy screen - diybungalow.com

Gain some privacy in your backyard by building a fence out of old shutters like DIY Bungalow did!

 

Use old shutters to dress up a plain dormer window on the inside of your home.

 

repurpose old shutters - works of art - shoppeno5.com

Shoppe No. 5 shows us how to make some amazing word art using old shutters.

 

repurpose old shutters - fireplace cover - shabbyfufublog.com

Get some inspiration for using shutters to brighten up a dark fireplace at Shabby FuFu Blog.

 

repurpose old shutters - cleaning up with shutter doors - DesignDreamsbyAnne.blogspot.ca

Use old louvered bi-fold doors like Design Dreams by Anne to hide the clutter and make the space more beautiful.

 

repurpose old shutters - add character to windows in bedroom - Chatfield Court.com

Shutters can go indoors too, adding texture and contrast to a room like Chatfield Court.

 

repurpose old shutters - jewelry organizer - DesignDreamsbyAnne.com

Keep your jewelry in sight and mess-free, with this beautiful old shutter jewelry organizer by Design Dreams by Anne.

 

If you liked this collection of ideas, pin this image to share it with others!

creative ways to repurpose old shutters - pinterest image

If you liked this post, you must see these upcycled ideas:

upcycled holiday decor

12 Great Upcycled Ideas for Holiday Decor

 

interior cedar shutters

Hello Pretty Handy friends, Jaime from That’s My Letter here today to share how to build functional interior cedar shutters using inexpensive AND readily available hardware.

I have been itching to build some cedar shutters for our living room for quite some time now.  I had two requirements: 1) they had to be completely functional to block out the hot summer sun (which also makes them great for privacy) and 2) use no fancy hardware.  I didn’t want to special order any shutter hardware and I like to build using readily available supplies.

interior cedar shutters partial open

You can find the cedar planks and hardware at your local home improvement store.  Ready to learn how to build the shutters and install these beauties?

interior cedar shutters closed 1

You can see just how much light the shutters will block out once closed.  I plan to keep the shutters open except during the extremely hot summer days.

interior cedar shutters front view

Interior cedar shutters make a great alternative window treatment if you’re not into fabric panels.  They truly are a statement piece (and hopefully distract from the fact that my windows don’t match!).  I also built the sliding door console last Spring, a link to all the details on that piece is in this post.

Materials:

  • cedar boards (1×6 and 1×4)
  • saw
  • nail gun
  • 1 1/4″ finish nails
  • 1×2 pine board
  • 2″ wood screws
  • drill & bits
  • pencil
  • measuring tape
  • wood putty
  • sandpaper
  • paint
  • hinges (pictured below) & screws

interior cedar shutters hardware

Hardware: (for one pair of shutters)

  • 2 – 2 1/2″ hinge (spray painted oil rubbed bronze) & 12 screws
  • 2 – 4″ decorative tee hinge & 12 screws

Instructions:

MEASURE YOUR INTERIOR WINDOW SPACE.  MEASURE IT AGAIN.  MEASURE IT AGAIN. The top of the window may vary from the bottom. Read more

PHGafterwindow
Our home has beautiful dormer windows.

dormeroutside

I love the little recessed ledges inside each dormer. But, the window in our hallway always looked so sad.

BeforeWindow

Then one day it hit me! This poor window has been neglected and has no character, jewelry or bling! For whatever reason (maybe because I was sleep deprived?) it took me a year to realize that the window itself had not been painted white like the other windows in our home.

The first thing I did was grab a paint brush and paint the muntin bars (or grille), the bars that separate and hold the panes of glass. Don’t say I never taught you anything on this blog! Want to learn more about the anatomy of a window? Look on Pella’s website.

It looked better, but there was too much white, so I painted the recessed area a sunny yellow.

whitegrille

Wow, that looks better! But, the window still looked a little stark. That lonely plant just wasn’t pulling its own decorative weight.

So, I ran up to the attic where all the original shutters from our home are stored. I pulled two out of the attic and painted them with a pretty aqua blue oops paint.

Next, I took a sand paper and roughed up the edges and distressed them until you could see the dark green peeking through.

I bought four gate hinges at Lowe’s and mounted them on the bottom and middle rails. I knew that there were studs on the edges of the window well, so I drove my screws into those corner studs.

ShuttersUP

The tops of the shutters protruded over the window well, so I couldn’t use a gate hinge there. I painted a faux hinge on the shutters instead.

FauxHinge

I also painted a little sign over the dormer to fill up the visual blank space between the tops of the shutters. The board was just piece of scrap cabinet toe kick. And, yes, those are simple upholstery tacks holding it to the wall.

HereComestheSun

To create this little sign, I found a font I liked, then typed out the phrase on the computer. I was able to tile two sheets together to span the width of the board. I rubbed pencil on the backside of my paper. Then traced the letters on the front of the paper. By pushing hard with the pencil, my type was transferred on the wood. This allowed me to paint over the pencil marked letters: “Here Comes the Sun…” one of my favorite Beatles songs.

birdsinnest
 Sweet little birds waking up in their nest.

I dressed up the shutters by adding little keyhole drawer pulls.

keypull

I accessorized and put a little $5 Goodwill chair in the corner.

chairview
doggystop
flowersincorner

Around Christmas time I hung the star light for decoration, but it puts off the perfect amount of light for those darn night wakers. (Anyone else have those in your home?) So, it now hangs year round.

nightlight
I think this window is very happy now!
PHGafterwindow

What do you think? Does it need anything else? Maybe paint the chair or distress it? Or maybe that chair just needs a colorful cushion.

PHGFancySign