Creative Uses for Old Plantation Shutters

Reclaimed wood still make good material for a piece of furniture or a decorative wall design. Among the many uses for old plantation shutters, just a few were restored and reused as interior blinds. Rather, serious DIY-ers have turned these aged shutters into beds, chairs, sofa tables, coffee tables, and long benches. Ordinary people saw the potential in these wooden shutters and promptly converted into a display for knick-knacks, a small bookshelf, and a wall-mounted display for your mementos and family photos.

Little Things Need a Special Place, Too

Everything has its place, even those tacky souvenir items and little tokens given to guests at weddings and special occasions. Sometimes, plantation shutters are built like accordion-type window blinds.

Choose two of these full-height shutters that consist of hinged and slatted panels. Like a book, the panels open slightly at an angle where they find their balance and they’re able to stand on their own.

Find the length of each side and the distance between these panels. Cut out the shelves from wooden planks based on these measurements.

Then, nail or glue these planks to the shutters like a tier of shelves. Voila! You now have a place to display your treasured knick-knacks.

Keep Your Favorite Books in One Place

Tiered plantation shutters are perfect for this simple DIY project. You’ll need a couple of shutters, a coil of hanging wire, a hammer, and some nails.

Start by cleaning up the shutters, taking out the hinges and latches, sanding their wooden surfaces, and repainting them.

Next, cut four lengths of hanging wire and attach one wire to every outer corner of the shutters. The outer corner is the one that faces outward when a shutter is laid crosswise against the wall.

Nail the inner edge of a shutter to the wall and do the same to its twin. Arrange the shutters in a vertical tier. You’ll have to hammer a series of nails on the underside of each shutter to keep them steady and secure against the wall.

Lastly, take each piece of hanging wire and stretch it upwards to a point where you can hammer a nail to wrap the wire ends and knot them tightly. There you have it! A couple of shutters turned into small shelves where you can keep your favourite books together.

A Place to Keep Your Happy Memories Alive

Cafe style plantation shutters best serve your creative purpose for this wall decor project. In particular, choose a very old shutter that’s made of soft timber. Select a panel with a solid top and a tier of louvred slats at the bottom. Tilt the vents at a preferred angle before squirting industrial-strength glue into the ends of each slat and around the frame to make the slats immobile.

Next, measure and cut out a sheet of cork board to use as backboard for your wall display. Place the board over the back of the shutter. Make sure it’s the right size before you nail down the backboard into the shutter’s frame. Varnish the wood and decorate the solid wood on top with a hand-painted sign and some curlicues around it.

The Internet is actually brimming with creative ideas on the many uses of old plantation shutters. In fact, many sidewalk painters and pop artists made use of these discarded shutters as display stands for their artworks.

Discover more creative uses for old plantation shutters when you contact us at My Shutters Online. Our team of shutter designers and mounters can help you turn your aged shutters into something novel but useful.

Article by Heidi Cridland

Read our other blogs about Plantation Shutters:  Plantation Shutters Blogs

• Wooden Plantation Shutters: Real or Fake Wood?
• Why Should You Decorate With Plantation Shutters?
• Benefits of Plantation Shutters
• Plantation Shutters with Curtains
• Benefits of Installing DIY Plantation Shutters