While most residents of Baltimore consider it to be a "Northern" city, its position on the border between northern states and the American South make it prime territory for a heated discussion about which shutters are the right ones for your home. If you're thinking about installing shutters, you'll want to look into both New England style shutters and plantation designs before you make your final choice.
Reasons For Installing Window Shutters in Baltimore
The main reasons to install window shutters in the greater Baltimore?D.C. metropolitan area can be summed up in one word: looks. While shutters used to serve a valuable purpose when it came to protecting your home from the weather, today's shutters are mostly window dressing inside and out. That being the case, choosing the right shutter design is mostly a matter of deciding which style of shutter is going to be the best fit for you and your home.
New England Window Shutters in Baltimore
New England-style shutters are shutters made with small slats, usually set in place instead of louvered. It makes sense, since this shutter style was developed largely to keep out inclement weather, something that the New England region is renowned for. Baltimore window shutters can be installed in interior spaces utilizing the New England design, as long as they're installed on hinges that allow them to swing open and shut to regulate light and privacy. Nevertheless, most New England shutters today are installed on the exterior of a home, and for purely decorative purposes.
Baltimore Window Shutters and the Plantation Style
The other shutter design that is popular in Baltimore is the plantation-style shutter. Historically, these shutters are more about keeping out the light than they are about keeping out the weather. That means wide slats and a louvered design, so that homeowners can easily adjust the amount of light being let into a room. These shutters are installed in interior spaces, and their usefulness extends beyond being used in windows. Plantation-style shutter doors are also an attractive addition if you're looking to provide a privacy barrier between living spaces. Design features that might influence your choice of plantation shutters include: the type of wood they're made of, whether you choose painted designs or prefer to leave the wood exposed, and choosing from shutters slats of different widths, which can influence how much light or privacy they provide. Though for most homeowners this decision is made based on looks as well.
Baltimore Window Shutter are Available in Many Materials
Choosing the right materials when you add window shutters in Baltimore to your home is almost as important as the style you settle on, and is largely determined by whether you're looking for interior or exterior shutters.
For interior shutters, wood window shutters in Baltimore are the cream of the crop, and the wood you choose depends on whether your shutters are going to enhance your interior design, or are being installed to upgrade the look of your home's exterior. For interior shutters, the main concern is choosing a wood that suits your purposes. If your Crabtown home has oak hardwood flooring and oak trim, then you'll want to purchase window shutters to match. If you've gone a more contemporary route and your trim is painted, then less expensive woods will do fine, since you're going to cover them with a coat of paint anyway. Shutters made from composite materials are also available, and while they're heavier and not quite as attractive, they will usually shave a few bucks off your bottom line.
For exterior shutters, think cedar or vinyl. Cedar shutters are increasingly rare, for practical reasons, but if you plan to install exterior shutters that you can open and close, there really isn't any other alternative. If you don't plan on leaning out and pulling the shutters closed when a thunderstorm approaches, then you'll save yourself money by choosing vinyl. They won't work as functional shutters, since vinyl can warp in on hot days, but for decorative purposes, they'll do just fine.
Installing Window Shutters in Baltimore
Deciding whether you want to install your shutters yourself or not is up to you. You'll need to custom order them so that they perfectly fit your window openings, and most retailers provide installation along with the service, or for a small service charge. You might save a few bucks if you know what you're doing, but by and large, you'll cost yourself a lot more in headaches than you'll save in money if you choose to do it on your own. 
Matt Goering, formerly a carpenter and house painter, is a freelance writer for the home improvement industry who has published over 600 articles.
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