The style of shutter hinges has changed drastically over the years.



These days shutters are looked at basically as a visual feature to your home. They're even used as decorations of the interior of your home. However in years past, the way people thought about shutters was quite different. They were used almost solely for keeping your home safe from poor weather and storms.

Shutters were open and closed by pulling a knob from inside the home, and locking the latch. This kept the valuable glass from being shattered from heavy winds. These are still used, though the construction of them has changed. Some parts of the world suffer from hurricane threats for months. These areas are where shutters are needed most to protect the owners greatest investment.

Now, the hinges of the shutters have even changed. Being made from cast iron, the hinges of the past could take a serious beating quite easily. You can still get reproductions of these older types of hinges to keep your home looking authentic, all the way down to the tiniest of details.

There were two types of shutter hinge that were used most often, those being a Mortise hinge, which was a very fancy shutter that resembled the shape of an “N” where it connected with the wall of the house; and also the strap style hinge, which was hinge that had a unique look, almost that of a narrow tapering bar.

These hinges are great for giving your home that authentic vintage look, however if you're looking for a more modern look for your newer home, then you'll have a nice variety of hinges to decorate with.

Some of the hinges can be unseen and others such as a hinge with a nickel or brass finish might show but not stand out quite that much. This acts almost like jewelry to your windows dressing, complementing it with the use of accessories.

Many people prefer shutters to window blinds. The materials used range from metal, to wooden and PVC. All can give the home a different feel because of their unique looks. You'll want to consider which is going to be the hardest to maintain, such as wood needing to be painted; as well as considering how the hinges will fit with your current décor.

Either way, your home improvement project can be easily enhanced just from the window hardware that you choose.