shutter revamp tutorial.

a few days ago i promised to share my progress on updating free shutters that i got at a garage sale. and then i forgot about that promise. muh bad. it turns out the project isn't completely done, but the cleaning up of the shutters is done, so i'll share that part with you.

step 1

find some shutters. it doesn't matter how cruddy they are.

step 2

remove all of the hardware from your shutters. this includes screws, hinges, knobs, etc. if it's made of metal, it has to go. removing the hinges will give you three individual shutters and will make them much easier to work with.

if your shutters have a wooden dowel-like rod attached to the front, yank that bad boy off (you shouldn't need any tools, just a little elbow grease) and remove the metal pins that connect the dowel to the shutter.


step 3


after wiping down the shutters with a damp cloth (if yours are as dirty as mine, this is a crucial step), fill in any holes, scratches, scuffs or dings with spackle. wood filler would probably work best, but i didn't have any on hand and didn't want to spend any money on this project.


step 4

slap a coat of primer on your shutters. don't worry about the back, but make sure to get the front and sides really well.

step 5

apply 2-3 coats of your desired paint color. i used a sample pot of restoration hardware's silver sage that i got when i was in high school (yes, 8 years ago), so it was a bit runny and needed 3 coats. also, i forgot to take a picture of this step, but just imagine me in my jim-jams rocking out in the basement to some NPR and painting away.

step 6

after the paint has dried, you'll need to attach new hardware to hang your shutters to the wall. there are many mounting options, but i went with the sawtooth variety. you can buy them at your local hardware store.


step 7

wrestle project scraps away from your dog.

step 8

mount your shutters on the wall, step back, and take the world's crappiest photo.

like i said, this project is not done. i still need to find something to hang over the shutters. in a perfect world, i'd find something like this:

but i'd prefer an 's' or 'r.'

or perhaps a collage of some sort.

i'm just not sure. sometimes decisions are hard for me.

there are so many cute shutter projects out there. have you used them in your home? give me some ideas!

and on a braggy note, today marks the first day of summer vacation. woohoo!