Shutters...No Shutters

With the front door painted a bright, cheery yellow, it was time to paint the shutters and give the cottage a new look, until we took them off and discovered this:

Yes, my friends, that is rotten wood.  The shutters were original to the house and the only thing holding them together was the paint - MANY layers of paint.  It was time for a new plan.  

We could:

• repair the original shutters - not a viable option.
• make new wood shutters like the originals - a lot of work.
• replace the shutters with a vinyl in a similar style.....

...and then we walked across the street and looked at the house.  My husband said, "You know, I kinda like this 'no shutters' look".  I immediately said, "no way!", but then we started to talk about it.  

We both agreed if there would be no shutters, the frame around the windows needed some color.  The shutters were going to be a dark blue, but we both agreed the window frames needed a lighter color. After looking at several paint chips, we decided on this:

Here are a couple of other views:

This story wouldn't be complete without a look at the cottage from when we first saw it:

Before:

After:

My neighbor described it as a "Country Cottage Look".  That's just what we were after.  

As you can see, we've also done a little work on the landscaping.  My husband recontoured the front lawn for better drainage.  Once that was done, I started planting the flower garden.  All of the perennials are off to a great start and I can't wait to see them next summer!

So there you have it. This project ended up being a complete surprise. Just so you know, we are talking about painting the window frames of the other windows and the frame around the side porch door - in case you were wondering!

Tell me what you think - Shutters? or No Shutters?

Thanks for stopping by - have a great week!

Linking to:

That DIY Party

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Make It Pretty Monday

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