Functional purpose
Shutters for a country house have ceased to perform a protective function, turning into a full-fledged decorative element. When choosing a design for decorating window frames, they decide in advance the designated tasks that it will have to perform, so as not to stand out from the overall design of the site.
Traditional modern house designs
Types of shutters
The operating principle of shutter varieties depends on the shape of each model.
The following types are currently popular:
- With one leaf. Similar designs are recommended for installation on small windows. The opening/closing of the element is carried out in the same way as a classic entrance door.
- With two doors. Such specimens can be found on old wooden log houses and modern houses made of timber of various modifications. In order to prevent unauthorized impacts on walls located in the space near the window, it is necessary to install additional retaining fittings. Most often, it consists of beautiful hooks and eyelets.
- With folding element. A feature of such structures is their ability to cover the window by 1/2 or 1/3. In view of this, it is recommended that the product be installed if the owner wishes not to completely close the window, thereby blocking the flow of sunlight, but to slightly dim the lighting.
- Louvre type. This design allows adjustment not only by changing the angle of the slats, but also by setting the level of placement of the canvas itself.
- Internal sashes. These models, together with a reinforced frame, make it possible, on the one hand, to protect the house from burglars, and on the other, to please the residents with a pleasant aesthetic appearance. An additional advantage of the products is their ability to open without the simultaneous penetration of cold into the house.
The following is most often chosen as the basis for creating sashes:
- metal;
- plastic;
- wood.
The advantages of the first material include durability and practicality.
However, most owners of country real estate, if they want to install shutters, most often choose wood. The choice in favor of such raw materials is due to their naturalness, availability and ease of processing.
The negative side of wood, due to the placement of shutters in outdoor conditions, is the need for periodic repairs and regular treatment.
When directly exposed to sunlight and precipitation, the surface exposed by paints and varnishes swells.
In view of this, the risk of chips and cracks, through which moisture will come into contact with the material, increases.
We invite you to watch a video about wooden shutters for windows and making them yourself:
Material selection
Manufacturers produce structures made of wood, metal or plastic. Owners of country houses choose swing or internal models based on finances, amount of decor and inserts, and versatility.
Basically, wooden ones are increasingly preferred
Wooden structures
To produce wooden models, they use lining, tongue and groove boards or slats. The recommended types of wood are linden or pine, less often - oak, which is a hard wood. Larch is considered an expensive option. Other breeds are not suitable for processing due to instability to temperature fluctuations, snow and rain.
The prevalence of models is explained by a number of advantages:
- Abundance of offers from design firms. Wood can be processed; triangular, square and arched models are sold on the market. They are applied with paints and varnishes, painted and carved, and combined with metal elements.
- Control of room lighting. The shutters are installed for a dosed amount of light, and it is recommended to open them halfway or completely for a comfortable rest.
- Environmentally friendly material. Wood helps to improve the microclimate of the room, balances temperature and humidity. The structures become an obstacle to street dust, noise, and drafts.
- Shutters with a minimum of decor look expensive in the interior and complete any style of a country house.
They look expensive and beautiful on the facade
Wooden structures require annual maintenance, which includes painting, varnishing and antifungal agents. It is recommended to inspect the shutters in early spring for the appearance of mold, pests or fungus to eliminate the problem and replace rotten parts.
Needs to be painted annually
Examples of interesting proposals from designers:
- A chalet-style country house is decorated with carved wooden shutters. Select a paint or stain color in the same tone as the foundation; it is recommended to use chocolate tones.
- Determined summer residents who want to realize the dream of glass floor-to-ceiling windows use massive wooden structures on the entire surface of the walls. The shutters fold down to create terraces around the house. When lifted up, they completely close the room, preventing thieves from gaining access.
- European traditions are embodied in the combination of pergolas with wooden doors. Climbing plants are allowed to grow along the pergola to protect the house from noise, sunlight and dust.
- Displaying a rustic style when installing a structure with fir trees, deer, and birds carved on wood. Laser cutting specialists display complex patterns in the form of folk embroidery characteristic of the area.
Multi-leaf shutters for decoration
If you want to hide the doors from prying eyes, paint them to match the walls; if you want to show them in all their beauty, paint them in contrasting colors. Interior designs with a bright palette immediately attract attention without the need for decoration.
Metal shutters
Metal structures protect the house from burglary, although they look heavy. When mounting, steel sheets, galvanized iron sheets, aluminum and similar materials that resist corrosion are used.
Heavy, but provide more reliability
The windows of a country house are covered with monolithic shutters made of iron sheets to provide protection from intrusion. An expensive option is blinds on a metal frame with a set of fixed or fixed slats between the posts. Locking mechanisms are built into them from the inside or from the outside; a mechanism with a safe lock will help reduce the chance of slamming.
The window openings are reliably covered with forged elements on an openwork metal grille, which performs decorative and protective functions.
Stainless steel looks no worse
Aluminum structures, often imitating wooden shutters, have decorative qualities. They perform decorative functions, protect from dust and sun, but are not comparable in reliability to iron shutters.
Owners of country houses are deterred by the bulkiness of the model and the price category, but with proper protection against corrosion and rust, they receive strong and durable protection against theft.
Beautiful wood imitation
Variations made of plastic
To attach lightweight plastic models, you do not need a concrete or brick wall; they are installed on the window frame. They offer a wide range of designs with imitation of metal and wood structure, colors and decorative inserts.
Plastic shutters are not useful for protecting a home; they are used exclusively for decorative purposes. The minimum maintenance consists of wiping dust from the surface; there is no need to varnish or paint every season.
Exclusively performs decorative functions
The models are free from the disadvantages characteristic of metal and wood. The summer resident independently installs the structure without help from neighbors. Before purchasing, it is recommended to accurately measure the parameters of the window frames in order not to make a mistake with the size of the shutters.
VIDEO: Modern options for window shutters
Window shutters
Ideas for home decorators
Stages of self-manufacturing of the structure
To make shutters with your own hands, the first thing you need is to decide on the type, since it is possible to make paneled or simple ones with ties and studs. Both options do not require experience or skill.
Paneled
To make a paneled structure, thin boards are used, which are installed in a frame frame; it can be made by hand or purchased ready-made.
The paneled structure is based on thin boards installed in the frame
- To tighten the panels (boards), strapping bars are used. It is necessary to take into account that their thickness should be 5 mm greater than the thickness of the boards;
- Before installing the boards in the frame, they must be treated with glue. After which they are laid out on a flat surface, fixed and remain in this position until they are completely dry;
- It is necessary to make mounting sockets for the hinges at the ends of the shutters and trim; to do this, you need to use a chisel,
- Next, locking elements and shutters are attached to the slopes; in this case, it is necessary to use a level; if the structure is docked, it can be secured with screws;
- All wooden elements should be treated with drying oil, and after complete drying they can be coated with paint or varnish.
Simple
The stacked shield can be strengthened in several ways
- Preparation of material. Before work, the wood must be thoroughly dried. In the process you will need tools for working with wood, hinges and screws.
- Measurements. In order to cut out the panels, you need to measure the window openings along the trims and slopes; for convenience and maximum accuracy, you need to draw a sketch. When choosing a connection for high technical characteristics of the web, it is better to use a tongue-and-groove connection. You can use factory boards that already have tongues and grooves. To strengthen the web of boards, it is necessary to apply jibs across the surface, which will significantly increase the protective functions.
- After the wood has been treated with an antiseptic and water-repellent solution (you can use drying oil for this) and dried, the panels can be cut out; the end sides are also treated with the solution.
- Wooden or steel bars are used to connect the panels. You need to pre-drill holes to install them. To prevent the fasteners from being noticeable, you can use wooden plugs or paint them.
- It is necessary to process all wooden components with sandpaper, and then cover them with paint or varnish. Metal elements are also processed. When all the components have been processed, you can begin assembling the blanks into the shutters.
- First you need to lay out all the components on a flat surface, make sure that everything is aligned evenly to each other. Secure the hinges with hooks with screws, and also install awnings on the sashes, but be sure to maintain symmetry.
- When closed, place the sashes against the window and secure the structure level.
Making your own shutters
One of the easiest ways to decorate shutters is to paint them to match the color of the windows. The chosen color will highlight the interior of your home or cottage. One of the most beautiful methods of decorating your windows is to install fresh flowers. You can also use forged elements as decoration. If you don’t want to spend a lot of money, you can buy forged parts in hardware stores and carefully weld them yourself. Or you can order professional forging from specialists. Either way, it will give a beautiful appearance to your windows. If your shutters are made from wood, then a good option would be to paint the structure with varnish, thanks to which it will look natural and fit into almost any interior of the house.
Roller shutters
Such products are assembled mainly from metal (aluminum or steel), although there are also plastic specimens.
Area of application: offices, factories, industrial facilities, shops, warehouse buildings.
Aluminum models provide excellent protection from winds and thieves. The lowering and raising of the sashes occurs using electric or manual devices.
The positive aspects of these window designs:
- good thermal protection;
- good reliability;
- affordability;
- easy care and maintenance;
- variety of colors.
Disadvantage: low attractiveness.
Use of metal
Anti-burglary protection in this design will be at a high level; you will need instructions for installing window shutters, which all professionals in this field have.
Durability will be ensured by the use of galvanized and stainless steel for manufacturing. Locks are provided on the external or internal side using safe locks.
Note!
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The advantages of such shutters will be appreciated by owners for whom protection from theft and a modern appearance are the main criteria for selection.
Application options
Shutters perform their protective functions mainly on the lower floors of buildings. On higher floors, windows with shutters serve as decoration or blinds, protecting against excessive solar radiation.
Solid shutters for summer cottage windows, which completely block access to the premises, are also installed in residential buildings located in rural areas. The shutters are closed at night or during the absence of residents.
In banks, trade and industrial enterprises, special shutters are installed, the protective qualities of which are regulated by special by-laws.
Blinds do not interfere with the natural ventilation of the room and protect mainly not from thieves, but from excessive solar radiation.
If it is difficult to choose the right type and obtain more complete information, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with photos of window shutters of different designs and made from various materials posted on the Internet.
Useful tips
When you decide to install shutters, it is better to entrust this task to professionals. They will do everything very efficiently and reliably.
You should also not engage in the manufacture of sashes yourself. It's simple.
Metal models require special equipment and tools.
As for wood products, it is very difficult to make them decorative with your own hands - only experienced carvers can make not just shutters, but an exquisite accessory.
Therefore, it is worth remembering that there is only one way to save money - to place an order for the sashes in a specialized workshop, and install them yourself.
More about the tree
You need to choose the material carefully; which window shutters are best can be decided by comparing the characteristics of the wood and the influence of certain factors on it.
Expensive breeds perform better when it comes to temperature changes and high humidity outside.
the base of the structure is not suitable for installation on buildings with increased fire protection. This design will protect against a stone being thrown towards the window, but it will not protect against an attack by robbers.
Shutters, how to make it yourself
Shutters are decorative slats designed for internal placement in the window space. Due to the ease of installation, such models have become an integral attribute of modern room design.
Internal shutters, similar to external ones, reliably protect and decorate any room in the home, from the basement to the attic. There are also frequent cases of installing similar structures instead of doors and partitions on attic floors and in arched openings.
The shutters are based on a simple but extremely durable design.
In most cases, the frame is made in the form of a plastic or wooden frame with horizontally arranged slats.
Changing the angle of inclination is carried out manually or automatically.
Such devices are installed by analogy with sliding wardrobes, the doors of which move in a horizontal plane along the height of the window opening. If necessary, the movable canvas is easy to open, close and completely remove.
When placed on panoramic windows, it is more advisable to choose massive shutters with reinforced fastening fittings corresponding to the weight of the product.
Among the varieties of shutters found are:
- roller blinds;
- models sliding into horizontal planes;
- folding types.
Features of choice
For interior decoration, wooden or plastic products are most often chosen. The choice in favor of the first devices should be made when arranging a rich interior.
Meanwhile, a spectacular appearance will cost the owner a pretty penny. In addition, unlike wood, plastic is not susceptible to the harmful effects of moisture, the excess of which can cause the formation of fungus and mold on the surface of the shutters.
DIY making
Features of making shutters yourself include the need to take accurate measurements and draw up a drawing.
If you have the desire and due patience, you can make such a design based on the diagrams available on the Internet.
Having mastered the general principle of creation and adjusted the dimensions, you can easily draw up a regulatory document, on the basis of which you can build shutters for each window.
Windows and doors
Let's look a little into history
Initially, shutters were invented in order to protect rooms in houses from the summer heat and scorching sun, as well as from winter winds and snow. As time passed, the purpose of shutters changed, along with how people's societies changed. Shutters began to serve, among other things, a decorative function. For aesthetics, they began to be decorated with carvings, patterns, and painted in various colors.
In the past, the appearance of shutters denoted a person's social status in society.
With all this, over the years, shutters have not lost their functional purpose. These structures are manufactured today using modern technologies, which only helps to improve their characteristics. They serve as an excellent sun filter, blocker for heat and cold, and have a long service life.
In addition, shutters are now used as an alternative to blinds, grilles and curtains. In this way, you can protect yourself from the views of people passing by the house and annoying neighbors. As a rule, shutters are made from natural materials, so they are environmentally friendly.
Types and varieties
The use of the design has a wide range of purposes; depending on preferences and needs, they are divided into types:
- Swing, folding, hanging.
- Rotary.
- Sliding shutters.
- Lifting.
- Canopies and awnings.
- Removable.
- Internal.
Some options are convenient because they are used with double-sided sashes. Structures that can be quickly dismantled will be indispensable for use in architectural design.
