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It would be hard to imagine France without shutters to the windows. Painted and colourful or with a chic and shabby patina, they are to be found all over the country, from North to South.
They can be fitted to doors as well as to windows.
In France we like our shutters on the outside of the windows. They are there for added security when closing up the house, for temperature control when it gets very hot or very cold. If the shutters open out then the windows have to open into the rooms. This can sound strange and baffling, but when it gets hot, to have the windows open and the shutters pulled shut is a wonderful way to control temperature inside the house.
To my eye French shutters are the most beautiful when their patina blends them into the surrounding walls and colours.
Part of the beauty of the old French shutters is the hardware. Generally a central handle that lifts or raises vertical rods ( cremone) to lock the shutter.
And to keep the shutters open, flat against the wall there are ‘arrets’, on our house we have these sweet little faces holding the shutters back.
In the South of France where the temperatures soar, the shutters, called ‘persiennes’ often have this added element that allows the lower part of the shutter to be opened vertically to let in some light.
Today, we love the colour and texture of shutters so much that they are brought inside and repurposed.
37 comments
That is one of my favourite things about France:
les persiennes!
Funny how you explain that closing them and opening the windows helps when the heat is high…that goes by its own for us,in Italy too but I guess that's not so obvious for Anglosaxons.
Beautiful pics
Fra
Gorgeous homes! I am adoring the last image. Have a delightful day, Kellie xx
This post was just stunning….the pictures and the descriptions. And yes, us 'Anglosaxons' needed the descriptions. Why we don't use shutters (instead of them just being decorative) is beyond me. I want working shutters!!!
Lovely lovely post..! ♥
Made me long for southern France (again…)
I never get tired of the shutters, or volets as the call them.. Gorgeous!
Wishing yoy a beautiful day!
Mia
♥
I couldn't agree with you more. The shutters on French homes are so beautiful and it seems the older, the better.
Lovely post.
Meg
Truly…shutters in France are magnifique!!Lovely post!
Many Anglosaxons use shutters to protect our homes from heat and sunlight as well. Especially in true 'hot' locations it allows air flow, adds privacy and keeps the furniture safe from harmful rays.
These les persiennes are beautiful.
Wonderful images. I love the old doors!
Markus
I love shutters, too! I probably have a thousand photos of windows and shutters from my trips to France in recent years. I also managed to get 4 lovely old shutters off a house that was being remodeled in my neighborhood – they are white wood and have adorable little tulips cut into them. I've been meaning to "do something" with them by hanging them inside…maybe this is the right time!
Let us not throw the word Anglo-Saxon around too lightly here. In some parts of England (the south) where real Anglo-Saxons come from, there are some shuttered houses to be found. And yes, all shutters are beautiful on houses. I will put some on mine, I think! 🙂
Stunning! La France me manque!
MC
So beautiful and I can't wait for tomorrow's post.
They are lovely and serve such a practical purpose. I am drawn to the blue ones in the last picture, so charming.
Wonderful post Sharon. It took me a while to realize that most shutters affixed to windows in the Seattle area were "fake" – as in made of plastic and too narrow anyway to close properly should we want them too. Now i understand why so many American friends of mine have developed an obsession with the French "volets." My favorite part of hardware: the small piece of metal (usually representing a character) that keeps them open during the day. You have included a lovely illustration in your post. Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)
The last one is my favorite..that French Blue is to die for!
Great patina indeed dahhling! beautiful photos.
This may be a ignorant question but is there not air conditioning in the homes? Where I am from in Italy, most of my family do not have air conditioning so they close up the homes to cool down the house. Either way the shutters are gorgeous and add such old world charm that I wish i could do to my home.
Oh my! I love them all! I can't choose a favorite. So many seem to have that wonderful soft shade of blue… I adore it.
Am anxious to see this ladies work…..till tomorrow..then.
xo
Jo
I've never seen that feature found on shutters in the south of France before. What a clever idea. I love the little heads that hold your shutters back and love the blues in that last photo.
I "shutter" to think that I could have missed this amazing post!!! 🙂
Love this…and I adore shutters.
What an informative post..I learned some very interesting things about shutters besides just their natural beauty. Thank you!
I'll be back tomorrow!
Deborah xo
I love shutters – its a wonder Australia does not use them more given the climate!
I love shutters – and have quite a few photos to prove it. I really dislike the fake shutters on houses in North America, they are a design element that is useless. That said, they do fill up the blank walls nicely. I love the blue shutters best.
I remember well the shutter on our French built home, that I grew up in in Viet Nam. We closed them at night (due to the war.) How weird is that memory. Your pictures are stunning.
Fondly,
Glenda
What an interesting and absolutely beautiful post today, Sharon! A house isn't a home without shutters. I love the patina of these old French ones the best! 🙂
xoxo laurie
I would love to have shutters on my house in country Victoria, Australia as we have very long, hot summers. Unfortunately, we also have lots of flies by day and mosquitoes by night which infiltrate the slightest gap to get inside, so it would not be suitable to use them with open windows.
We arrive in Provence every April for about a month and my artist husband paints shutters and doors!He has created a complete collection and soon will have a web site where folks may purchase limited edition signed and numbered prints of his work. Your photos are very inspiring to him. His current web site is http://www.Stoeckley.com. Enjoy your blog very much. Karen in Missouri
Shutters are enchanting to me, and so European. I seem to take photos of them myself. Such wonderful textures and patina. A little mysterious as well! ~ Sarah
I enjoyed the images but appreciated the reasoning and use behind having shutters. I love them and wish we could fit them on our "tract" house.
Karen
Such lovely images …. Love the colours, especially the worn ones! Jules x
This is just stunning….A home without shutter isn't a home….Adoring all the things.
window shutters clayton, ca
“It would be hard to imagine France without shutters to the windows.” – I cannot blame them, though. Window shutters are lovely and handy! Shutters provide a lot of benefits in a home. It adds beauty and aesthetic value to your windows and adds protection to the windows itself. You can paint and design them to your liking!
The shutter "stoppers" is now available in South Africa. We are so thirled.
Happy greetings from South Africa
http://www.deoudehuize.blogspot.com
Those shutters seems old… will those not fall off? I'm afraid that those will fall and cause accident. I think it's best to replace old and broken shutters with new and stable custom home shutters. It would be mush safer.
Shutters give so much character to a French home. I love the blue ones that have faded overtime to a pale grey blue.
Lovely pictures. Actually, the old style wooden shutters are closed usually not by a 'cremone' (which locks by vertical movement as you say), but rather using old-style 'espagnolettes' which rotate around their longitudinal axis and carry pawls at the top and bottom which lock behind an 'arrêt' in the surround and, when there are two shutters, against the second shutter. You can see this in the pictures of the very old panel shutters above. Cremones are usually used on the inside of the windows and can have very fancy knobs/handles. Making volets de bois is very easy and I am gradually making new ones for all the windows in our home in the Gers.
What great memories of the shutters on the houses of my relatives! I love shutters that are on the outside & can be locked from the inside. I didn’t know what the the actual name of the “locks” was b/c I never asked anyone. Such a lovely closing to my day to have this article. Thanks so much.