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There ain’t no denying that window shutters are an amazing accessory to your house, both on the practical and aesthetic side of things.

But, as is often the case, you’ve got to know how to pull it off. Otherwise, your masterpiece of a window might end up on the Craftsman Blog.

Yep, ladies and gents, we’re revisiting this lovely page once more with part 2 and diving deep into what’s new in window shutter fail town.

So, scroll down to see the best (worst?) window shutter fails to date in the curated list below. And while you’re at it, upvote and comment on the fails you enjoyed the most.

More Info: The Craftsman Blog | Instagram | Facebook | Patreon | Part 1

#1

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Another happy shutter customer who took advantage of our half off sale. Naturally, you send us the measurements and we give you half the shutter you need, but then again did you really need shutters on the garage?

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Now, if you’ve ever seen a house, you might have noticed these things on windows called shutters. You know, those wood (and wood-like) side-flaps for windows that serve a lot of purposes, including security, protection, and aesthetics?

Well, sometimes form takes precedence over substance and people end up with some interesting results that also end up on the Craftsman Blog. Scott Sidler is a historic preservation contractor and the man behind the Instagram page, and aims to teach people through example. Very failed example. Bored Panda got in contact with him for an interview.

#2

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I’m rarely without words and yet...today... *sigh*

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blbrightonoswin_1 avatar
Brian Bennett
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can't imagine why people put shutters on windows that don't fit the window - looks stupid!

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#3

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When you’re on the fence about what size shutters to use I suggest using the “straddle method”. It’s the best way to let us know you’re aware of the problem but still too lazy to do something about it.

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#4

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Sticking with our theme of garage door shutters today I found this one extremely troubling. It’s as if the faux strap hinges and one pair of shutters didn’t quite cut it and as they stood back someone actually believed that the solution was yet another pair of shutters. Hmmmmmm...

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As a preservation contractor, Sidler is often called in to fix mismatched windows and poor replacement shutters. At one point, he started snapping pictures to be used as educational material on what to do or not to do, all the while having some fun along the way.

You see, most people misunderstand shutters as an aesthetic accessory to the house, like a flower box. And though it can be that, it still needs to follow certain laws of pragmatics.

"In general, I feel like people have completely lost site of what a shutter is? Today, they are treated like an exterior window dressing so they are never installed with the proper sizing in mind. Very few people realize that a shutter shuts. It’s in the name after all," explained Sidler.

#5

Carpenter Mocks Ridiculous Window Shutter Solutions On His Instagram, So Here Are 90 Of The Funniest New Pics

I hope you guys are ready for some hardcore shutter education today!
Rule #3 Shutters should be the same shape as the window they cover. If you’ve got rectangular windows then there is no need to add arched shutters.
Sad because other than the arch they seem to be the right width and height for the windows.

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#6

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Real Shutters = $$$$
Fake Shutters = $$
Hand-drawn Shutters = Priceless

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#7

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Remember all those things you said you’d do when pigs fly? Surprisingly that time has come. Better get busy!

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#8

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Budgets are tight these days. Just because you can afford to remove a window and brick it in doesn’t mean you have the money to pull the old shutters down too!
A+ for not doing anymore than is absolutely necessary.

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"I think most shutter fails stem from wanting something to dress up the outside of the house. Maybe it looks too plain and so people reach out to the simplest and cheapest way to add a pop of color that usually end up being a stock vinyl shutter at the local home store" elaborated Sidler.

"They often get the right height shutter (or at least close to it) and completely forget to measure the width. Honestly, most of the vinyl shutters on the shelves are a standard 18” so they don’t have much choice in the matter even if they did know what to look for without having custom shutters built."

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#9

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It’s a Texas size Shudder Sunday this week! Go big or go home, right?

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#10

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So much going on here it’s difficult to know where to start. Let’s make a list.
1) Don’t put shutters on a corner window...ever.
2) Shutters vs. Downspouts: As the song says, “You gotta keep ‘em separated. Ohhhh-ohhh!”
3) Shutters on a bay window need careful planning. This was not careful.
4) Shutters and windows should ALWAYS be the same height...Always!

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rozaustraliafrogs avatar
Yup
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think the chimney needed some pretty blue shutters to balance it all.

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#11

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Soooooo many issues I decided not to circle anything because I would have to circle everything.
As a side note this house is available for sale for $179,000 if you should feel up for a project and want to fix those shutters to keep my head from exploding.
One thing I want to point out is that the electrician really worked his magic to get that power meter right next to the windows and avoid the shutter.

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#12

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When things get tight you can either sell a kidney or sell a couple unnecessary shutters in your yard sale.

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JennaMae
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Aww but if they put signs in the windows its prime advsrtising!!!!

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Since the page has over 1,500 posts, with many of them being examples of window shutter don'ts, we've asked Sidler to describe a text-book example of a shutter fail that ends up on his Instagram more often than it should. And he had this to say:

"The simplest shutter fails are usually too narrow for the window. Most people don’t even notice it like I do. The next level ones are the fails that have rounded shutters on square windows or vice versa. The really crazy ones seem to be purposefully finding different shapes or sizes for their shutters. Seriously, how does a rectangular shutter work on an octagonal window?"

#13

Window-Shutters-Fails-The-Craftsman-Blog

I hope you guys are ready for some hardcore shutter education today!
Rule #3 Shutters should be the same shape as the window they cover. If you’ve got rectangular windows then there is no need to add arched shutters.
Sad because other than the arch they seem to be the right width and height for the windows.

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RNA
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Am i the only one that finds this caption confusing? EDIT: Ok, so the photo is the same as in #10 so it's probably author's mistake

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#14

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Ahhh corporate shutters. Even the apartment complexes can get in on shutters sunday I can hear it now. “Hey Bob, how do we dress up the building to get higher rents?”
“How about adding shutters?”
“For those massive windows? That’s gonna be too expensive.”
“Hold my beer...”

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#15

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Because shutters can come in lots of fun shapes and sizes!

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#16

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Maybe pink and purple don’t mix well with brick.
Maybe a mid-century split level tract home doesn’t need shutters.
Maybe that bay window...oh who am I kidding? There are no maybes here, just more mistakes in one picture than I made my whole college career (and that’s saying something!)

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#17

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Unless you have 2-story windows you don’t need 2-story shutters.

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Viola Fö
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's funny tho if they actually worked. Your downstairs neighbors go to bed, so do you., 🤣 🤣 🤣

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So, if you don't want to end up featured on the Craftsman Blog, here's what Sidler says you have to do... or if you want to end up, do the opposite!

"It’s so easy to avoid showing up on my Instagram page. Pretend your shutters would open and close (even if you plan on making them fixed). When they are closed they should fit to cover the window opening perfectly. If they don’t fit, you’ve got the wrong size or shape. And for the love of God don’t ever, ever put them on your garage doors!"

#18

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When you can’t decide if you should should add a paved driveway or shutters to your garage I would always recommend the driveway first and the shutters NEVER.

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#19

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If you scroll alllllllll the way back a few years ago in my feed you’ll see a picture of the garage on this house which was the very first house that made me crazy enough to post shutter fails. So, yes, this is the first Shudder Sunday house.
The crazy part is that I drove by it yesterday and noticed that they took it a step further and painted their shutters.

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blbrightonoswin_1 avatar
Brian Bennett
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For the life of me why do the shutter a garage what a waste of money!

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#20

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This picture makes me feel like these 2 windows are hiding in the corner at a dance because they are embarrassed at how their homemade prom outfits don’t fit. Someone should bring them some punch and cookies and tell them they will grow out of this phase.

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#21

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Remember, there is a fine line between shutters and parentheses, architecturally speaking.

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Glynna Bowood
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Windows upstairs are too close together for shutters so they just should have left them without.

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"Bad design knows no bound in our world today and if I can make a few people laugh and learn something new at the same time then that is a huge win in my book," concluded Sidler.

The page has grown exponentially, currently boasting over 55,100 followers and over 1,500 posts. And it’s no longer the case that Sidler has to collect all of his content on his own, as there are loads of dedicated users who send pictures of shutters they happened to stumble upon that fit the page’s idea.

#22

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Bay window, bay window your shutters are awful. Bay window, bay window this ought not be lawful.

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Susan Widomski
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think no one seems to know the purpose of shutters, much less the fake purpose of them.

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#23

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In case of inclement weather you want to make sure you have shutters to protect your precious window AC.
.
In fairness, rarely are the shutters the least of my concern. This house has a lot of things working against it. Someone must really hate sunlight!

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#24

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Always the poor middle child that gets forgotten!

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#25

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There are a lot of things that you could do to fix up this house, adding these shutters is not something that would have made my list.

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If you haven’t had your fill of ugly shutters, why not check out part 1 right here. And you can also take a look at The Craftsman Blog, his Instagram, Facebook, or Patreon.

Or you can check out house design fails here. Regardless, do let us know what you thought of all of these in the comment section below, or share your window shutter (or any piece of a house) fail stories!

#26

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Since I began this Shudder Sunday journey I have been on the hunt for the “over-shudder” and this week it has finally revealed itself like an unexpected plumber’s crack at Sunday brunch. Enjoy your mimosas!

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#27

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The Under-shudder making a strong appearance today. Good to see it still going strong in the suburbs!

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#28

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This is a “shockingly” bad shutter installation.

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#29

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Let’s start the year of right with a double header Shudder Sunday today!
I call these “Danny Devito Shutters”. Very short and very entertaining!

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#30

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I understand that sometimes garage doors need some dressing up, but landing strips are never the answer. Save the shutters for the windows.

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Adrian Scarlett
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The major fail in this is that someone felt the need to circle every one...

Note: this post originally had 90 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.