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Exteriors Polls Design Dilemma

Exterior door/shutters dilemma!

5 years ago

Hello,
Our front door is being replaced which is my chance to make a nice change to our exterior. I've been back and forth on the color of the door and shutters. I've used photoshop to envision black or white. The dilemma is our siding is cream/on the yellow side and we are not painting it or replacing it (even though I don't love the color). We have a brown roof, red brick, cream siding...to me, black door and shutters would have been nice BUT doesn't go well with the brown roof. Therefore we chose all white - a white door with white sidelites, and white bratton shutters. The idea is to extend the look of the shite window trim, match the garage and brighten. We felt the black was a bit too jarring. That being said, a realtor friend came over and said white is all wrong and now we're worried. Please weigh in! Appreciate your thoughts. Photos show my MOCK-UP of black and white. The other photos show different angles and lights. PS- everything was already ordered but there's a 50/50 chance we can change to black if we needed to. Would love to put my mind at rest.

white door, white shutters

black door, white trim, black shutters

Featured Answer

PRO

Beth H. :

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

no way to shutters. just, no. as stated above, you have the wrong windows for them. will look silly.

paint the siding white or a soft white, and if possible, paint the window trim in black.

Paint the roof trim in the same black

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Comments (9)

chloebud
5 years ago
Ally, has anyone mentioned most of your windows aren't sized right for shutters? Each shutter, whether decorative or functional, should be half the window's width. That creates a problem with your windows since properly sized shutters would look odd. The wide trim you have on the windows works much better.

I like the idea of white for the door. The door is recessed a bit, and white would help "pull" it forward. Nothing wrong with black. It's classic but the door needs more focus to me.
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PRO
R-U-S Doors, Inc.
5 years ago
I would go almost black (probably called an ebony stain) - really need to know what type of wood the doors are - regardless - blacker the better - and then spruce up with Stain Nickel or Polished Chrome (probably) for doors handle (bigger the better ) and also for hinges , door shoes, flushbolts ,etc. . .
Ally Bunin
Original Author
5 years ago
Hi All, thanks for your comments. I knew my windows aren't a great size bc the top are wide, but strange they didn't mention anything when they sold them to me! I'm thinking ... thank you for your honesty. Much appreciated!
PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
5 years ago

NO shutters on this house with all those different size windows. Maybe do this instead. I think this will make a better statement. Not black but a dark charcoal gray and keep the bright white trim and black doors. This all looks great with the red brick.

if you should try to change out windows, then maybe consider this.
chloebud
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
There are LOTS of places selling shutters that never mention proper sizing. The majority of exterior shutters I see are not sized right...and/or are not the right style for the house. Good grief, I've seen them on both bay windows and kitchen garden windows. Makes no sense! Your house is lovely, and shutters would become "shudders" in this case.

This article might help. He states, "That means if they could be closed, they would cover the window." A key point with shutter size.

https://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/residential-architecture-101-shutters/
Ally Bunin
Original Author
5 years ago
How I feel right now
Ally Bunin
Original Author
5 years ago
My emojis aren't showing up! Feeling bummed about the window size issue! Thank you for your insights
chloebud
5 years ago
Ally, I know how you feel...really. I would love exterior shutters on our ranch style home but the windows are too big. I also don't think they'd work with the house style. Don't feel too bummed out...your house is really nice! We can offer advice/suggestions, although I'm NOT a pro like the others here. Bottom line is it's YOUR house.

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