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Farmhouse 1820

DIY, Home and Garden, Food

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Old Shutters, New Life – The Reveal

originalshuttersbefore

For all the projects that I originally said took forever, this project has them beat.

By far!

originalpaintedtheshutters

I was certainly living, eating, breathing shutters for a few weeks, but one thing I have to say is that I was completely committed to this project.  A project that not only consumed time, but our back porch as well.

originalshuttersonthebackporch

I did take breaks, a day here, a day there, but bringing these old shutters back to life was my main focus.

As I stood there scraping, then priming, then painting, I calculated how much time each shutter  took me to complete.  And the answer is 2 1/2 hours per shutter.  Times 20.

Equals 50.

50 hours!

But in the end, so worth every minute.  These shutters truly became a labor of love.  As Sean was sitting by me (and drinking a beer) as I worked, we figured that these shutters hadn’t hung on the house in over 70 years.  They had been cooped up in the barn, in a dark corner, kind of forgotten about.

Until we moved in.

originalseanhangingshutters

And now here they are, in all their glory.  Scraped. Primed. Painted.

originalshuttersarehome

As Sean hung the first set of shutters on the kitchen window, I got a lump in my throat.  Sounds a bit corny, but in my heart it was anything but.  I worked so hard on these shutters, and they are back on the house, where they belong.  Without the shutters, our old farmhouse looked a bit naked.  Lonely.

originalshuttersbeforeandafter

Not naked nor lonely any longer.  Although I was chasing time as I worked on these, it is at long last that these shutters are “home.”

originalshuttersarehome

Comments

  10. Jo @ Let's Face the Music says

    The shutters are gorgeous. So much work involved. We also need to put shutters back on the house but cleaning, scraping, and painting are in order which may put this project off until next summer. Good going; your house looks wonderful with the shutters. Jo @ Let’s Face the Music

  11. Aspen Jay says

    Nicely done Brooke and the shutters look absolutely beautiful (well worth the time-but glad you are finished with them)! I love the complete look the shutters give and I’m so glad whoever lived there before kept them in the barn and didn’t throw them away! Your home is just so lovely!
    Thanks for sharing at Talented Tuesday!
    Cheers,
    AJ

  12. coco says

    Brooke the shutters are stunning! So much hard work but wow they’re really beautiful. I’m glad you put them back on the house – the difference is amazing. Hugs, Coco

  13. Karen says

    They make all the difference in the world! I loved reading this and how you felt about those shutters.
    Beautiful job as always!
    Thanks for sharing at Something to Talk About!
    Karen

  14. Mary Lee Grisanti says

    Your article gives me hope! You are so lucky your shutters were in a barn! Ours — similar vintage, working shutters which can be closed — were on the house and have deteriorated terribly. My husband and I would love any insights into restoring the wood. Also what did you use to scrape? We have many, many coats and colors on the shutters. I’m worried that anything chemical would dissolve them — but too much elbow grease will also demolish them.

    Great that you committed and did it. 2 1/2 hours seems incredibly fast to me!

    • Brooke Fedigan says

      Mary Lee, it was a long and tedious project. I did ask a few people about using a paint sprayer but you waste a lot of paint and its hard to get the mix right for the primer in the sprayer. As far as the wood goes, i used a lot of wood filler and some places even some wood glue with sawdust added, let it dry and sanded by hand as well. Ours only had one or two coats of paint so a lot came off with the hose but then just a regular putty knife to scrape, followed by sanding by hand. Took a lot of time but I figured as much going into it. Love to see some photos when your done, be sure to tag me in one.

      Brooke

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