Thank you so much for all the suggestions in yesterday’s post regarding what type/brand of windows I may have here in the Ohio house, aka, the Dollhouse. I will keep you posted on what I’m able to do with those three foggy windows in the future. In the meantime, yesterday was a busy day around here! My third order of plantation shutters was installed, this time in three upstairs bedrooms and two baths.
You may recall that my first order of shutters included the 6 windows in my office and two windows in the kitchen. The second order I placed took care of the rest of the windows on the main floor of the Dollhouse, including 4 windows in the living room, two windows in the dining room, 1 window in the Butler’s pantry, and 1 window in the powder/half bath. So, what windows received shutters yesterday?
These were the old, poorly-functioning pleated shades that were here in the master bedroom when I moved in. I removed all the shades the night before so the windows were ready when the installers arrived.
I’m always a little anxious on shutter installation day. I try to mentally prepare myself in case there are any disappointments, and there was one. I had requested that the shutter panels for the windows below be designed as bifold shutters. Unfortunately, the panels were made incorrectly. The two shutter panels in the window on the right were supposed to open by bi-folding to the right, while the two panels in the window on the left were supposed to open by bi-folding to the left. (Note: They would look exactly the same as they do now (except for fewer visible hinges) but would function so that I could fully open back the panels in each window against the walls on either side.) The master bedroom is the least sunny room in the Dollhouse, so I thought that would be a great design feature for this room, especially since there’s a smallish maple tree just outside the window that unfortunately, creates a lot of shade in this room. I’m not a fan of planting trees right up against a home, but I don’t want to cut it down since it’s a pretty tree. Anyway, the panels were made so that they open the standard way from the center, which means if I open the panels back for additional light, they will stick straight out into the room. I told the installers I would live with them for a little bit to see if I missed the ability to fold them back.
Let’s check out the window located on the other side of the room in the reading nook. Love how the shutters look above this cute window seat that is also a hidden cedar chest. (Read more about that here: A Special, Secret Storage Space.)
I removed these broken panels from the master bath a couple of days before install day. I couldn’t wait to get rid of them!
Here’s how that window looks now. This was the only upstairs window where I requested that the panels have split tilt rods so I could control the bottom louvers separately from the top louvers. The Dollhouse sits slightly uphill from the homes that are visible during winter on the other side of the alley that runs behind all the houses. That means I will only need to close the lower louvers for added privacy. The top half of the window can remain open pretty much full-time.
Here’s how the shutters look in the hall bath window that faces the front of the house. I really love these large, 3.5-inch louvers. The windowsills in the Dollhouse are deep, so they can easily take the larger louvers.
The two windows in this bedroom, which is located on the front of the house, have shutters now, too.
This cute bedroom, located at the back/end of the house, received shutters, as well.
I’m seriously thinking of adding shutters to the sunroom next. During the winter, it would give more privacy to this space from the house next door. I think it would also make this room feel a lot cooler in the summertime. I may wait a bit on this room since I have some landscaping planned for the backyard…more on that in a future post.
I had hoped to share a photo of how the house looks from the front with shutters installed in all the windows, but now isn’t a great time to do that. Why, you might ask?
Because this is how the front yard looks right now. Crazy, right?!
The large Sycamore tree that’s on the left side of the front yard and the one located in the grassy median are going through a prolific bark-shedding moment. From what I’ve read, Sycamore trees do this every few years. I’ve never had a Sycamore tree in my yard in Georgia, so the first day I saw this, I spent at least half an hour picking up all the bark. The next day, the yard was fully littered again with bark, so I picked it up for a second time. Ditto for the third day. Then a big storm came through, and this is how the yard looked afterward. At that point, I gave up. I’m hoping the guys who cut my yard can blow all this to the street and bag it up. I think the tree may finally be done shedding.
Once the front yard looks normal again, I’ll share a photo of how the shutters look from the road. Have you ever had a Sycamore tree in your yard? I read online that they are valued for their unique-looking bark, but what a mess they do make! I have some additional side and backyard landscaping changes to share. I hope to do that soon! Never a dull moment around here! I could use a dull day or two! Ha!
Always busy ! Looks great. Is the blue bathroom with the ruffle shower curtain the one getting wallpaper ? Are the old shutters good enough to donate to the ReStore ?
I am always amazed at how big the Dollhouse is. What I could do with a basement. Do you have one air handler or two with the HVAC system ?
No, the one that will get wallpaper is the half bath downstairs on the main floor. The blue one with the ruffled shower curtain is the master bath. You can see it in this here: https://betweennapsontheporch.net/luxury-bathing-a-1938-cinderella-bathtub-plus-knob-upgrades-for-2-laundry-chutes/
No, they are broken and missing their tilt rod on the end. There are two systems.
The shutters look great. Honestly, I would leave the shutters in that seating nook as is…..I think split sides would make it look busier and really not make that much of a difference. Opening the shutters would leave them just open to the wall on either side which would give you the same amount of light and not look as busy when closed. Plus if you split each side then you will have additional wood running down the center of each side to allow for the fold and that would take away light when they are closed it would seem. Just my opinion. But of course, that is up to you!
Thanks! Nothing would change with the shutters in the window seat/nook. Those open from the center.
It’s the two windows on the front of the home in that second photo in the post that were supposed to open by bi-folding back and not in the center. When shutters are designed to bifold, they look the same as when they open in the center, they just open in a different way. If you were standing in the room looking at them, you wouldn’t even know that they opened to the left and right. Nothing changes in the look, all that would change it how they open.
Toni, look at the shutters in the windows that are on either side of my bay window in this post: https://betweennapsontheporch.net/plantation-shutters/
When they are closed, they look like any other shutters that open from the center, but they actually bifold back as seen in that post. I bifold back the ones in that breakfast room all the time especially in the summer when I’m watching the birds.
Oops my mistake, I was looking at the wrong photo! I understand now. I’m sure you’ll make the right decision.
Susan, I just thought of a way you could find out who installed the windows in your Ohio home. Almost all cities require permits to be pulled from the city for major work items. If the previous owner’s had a company install the windows, there should have been a permit pulled. If you could check with the engineering section of your city, they should be able to look up your property and pull up all the permits for work for your address. Maybe you could get a printout of that list for future reference or questions you might have about your home down the road. Good Luck!
Love the shutters!!!! franki
Thanks for that suggestion, but I doubt a permit was pulled. These were installed probably 15-20 years ago. The previous owner said they were installed by Aristocrat products, but they went of business 6 months ago. I drove to their shop and the guy working in their parking lot who has worked for them for 31 years said the windows were by Joyce, but I called Joyce and they said that they sell directly to consumers and not to companies, so they couldn’t be Joyce windows if they were sold to the previous homeowner by Aristocrat. I notice the screens that I removed had the word Aristocrat on them. Since so many BNOTP readers identified them as various brands, I’m hoping I can call around and find someone who has replacement parts that look the same. I have so much going on right now with other projects, that may have to wait.
I love all of your shutters. Looks really great. I think I would want those bedroom shutters to fold to each side instead of being split in the center. I like consistency.
I may never open them, but I do love having that option. Thanks, Linda!
shutters look great…I love them except when I need to clean them!
Thanks! I noticed in my office when I cleaned those recently, the larger 3.5 inch louver is really easy to clean, even easier than the 2.5 inches louvers in the Georgia house. I just close them and wiped them down with a slightly damp cloth, then tilt them the other way to wipe the edges off that were hidden the first time through. I find them a lot easier to clean than wood blinds.
The shutters look great, Susan! What a difference they make. I wish I would have known about your expertise in that area when I bought mine. I’m not complaining, though. I love my plantation shutters, and for all the reasons you mentioned. Plus, they just look so pretty to me.
I’m sorry about the mishap, though. So frustrating.
Thanks, Pam! They are my favorite window treatment. They really transform rooms, reminds me of how I felt when I had hardwood flooring installed in the bedrooms of the Georgia house. It was like getting a whole new house.
All your shutters are beautiful!! Hope they correct the one’s that weren’t made to bifold the way you requested. I love all your updates.
Thanks so much, Mary!
Love the shutters, Susan. I am surrounded by two very old sycamores to the west and to the south of me. Even though they are on properties not that close to me, omg, they shed (seems like every year) all the way into my yard. And the leaves seem to always be trapped beneath my boxwoods. Sycamores grow along the river too, and become very large, very quickly.
They do that with the shrubs in my yard. I keep pulling the bark off and out from under the hydrangeas. It’s like having your yard toilet-papered by a tree! lol I’m starting to take it personally! 😉
Everything is coming along so nicely! You work so hard. Seeing the photo of your sun room…what would you think of a large rug in there? Maybe a natural fiber? It would really make that room inviting. What would you think of woven shades? It would be different but very sun room-y. I see them often on decor blogs and are pretty as well as reasonable. I think sun rooms can have their own vibe. Maybe an artificial tree and or plants? These can be priced very well on Amazon etc.
Thanks for the suggestions, Jillian. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of any type of shade because they are an all-or-nothing proposition. Shades are either up and you can see out, or they are down and blocking the view. Even when they are only down part way, they are like a wall in the window, and when standing, you have to lean over to see out from under them. When I first moved into this house, there were woven shades in the living and dining room and I could not wait to get rid of them. They made the rooms so dark and when up, they offered no sun protection or privacy.
With shutters, there are so many way to use them, either with the louvers wide open, which still keeps the sun off the furniture, or with the louvers slightly tilted for privacy, or with the bottom louvers shut and the top louvers open, or vice versa. Of you can completely open the panels back if you want full view and sun with nothing in the way.
In the sunroom, I could go with split tilt rods and have the bottom louvers shut or tilted and the top wide open, and I would have total privacy from the outside while sitting in that room. That’s how I designed the ones in my living room and dining room.
I love the idea of adding a rug, although I’d love to get rid of the tile in that room and maybe go with a brick floor, but a rug would be great.
I would need to add shutters first though, to protect the rug from fading.
Making the dollhouse your own style is coming together beautifully. The shutters look great. I am wondering if the shutters that should bi-fold to either side were installed reversed. If they were flipped would it be possible to fold to the sides correctly? Just a thought. We had a couple windows that collected condensation and looked foggy. The company would not repair, so we took them to a glass repair shop and they fixed the seal with great results and was very reasonable. Congratulations on the progress.
No, unfortunately, they were just made wrong…to open in the center. If I find myself regularly opening those shutters, I’ll get the company to remake them. I think I’m going to do that. Sherry, you can see how shutters look when designed to bifold back in this older post: https://betweennapsontheporch.net/plantation-shutters/
I’m going to try that. I called a glass company that was recommended to me but they are retiring at the end of this month, so aren’t taking any jobs. I need to call another one. Thanks for reminding me of that. I’m not sure how I would get the top windows out, I think they have to be taken out from the outside. Unfortunately, all three of the foggy ones are in the top half of each window.
The shutters look great, Susan.
Darn it, when you go through the trouble of reminding them how you want something custom made and then it comes “standard” and it’s irritating. You really need to ask yourself if you’ll ever open those shutters as they will stick out towards the middle of the room. In a bedroom I’d say probably not but a kitchen or living room, in my opinion, yes I’d open them. I don’t spend much time in my bedroom. Otherwise they look beautiful.
The shutters look great. But I would have the wrong ones remade….
Thanks, Nancy! I’m definitely leaning that way. I think it will always bug me that I lost that feature if I don’t have them remade.
My daughter received a sycamore tree for Arbor Day in third grade. It has grown so tall in the past 10 years. This is the first time I’ve seen ours shed the bark. I was worried the tree was sick. Thanks for sharing! It normally isn’t so messy, just big leaves which are great to share with my preschool class. Love, love, love your shutters! And everything else!
Susan, Love your shutters, actually you were the reason I finally pulled the trigger on getting them after seeing how pretty they looked in your Georgia house. I have them in our master bedroom and bath and on the office windows that face the front. I also opted for the separate upper and lower closures. Love them! I would like them on our bay window but would run into them opening against and blocking the side windows………still pondering. Stay cool! So inpressed with all you’ve done so far. And that basement!!
Sycamore trees: I have one in my very small front yard, and yes, it’s also shedding. What a mess! We have a hoa that maintains our yard and shrubs and I’ve had to call them to clean up the mess.
I live in an over 55 community and all homes were landscaped when we moved in. That’s why we have a huge tree in our small yard as I never would have chosen a sycamore. Did you know sycamores are called ‘dirty trees’ because of the mess they make: shedding bark, year round leaf shedding, and other cyclical droppings. They’re a big nuisance. We literally have piles of leaves on our front porch year round!
And my house also came with multiple crepe myrtles which is another ‘dirty tree’. It also sheds its bark and flowers for long periods.
I think the community association is going to evict me if I call them one more time to clean my yard!
Be prepared to use your rake a lot!