There is always a perfect way to dress the outside of your home, whether it is with the building itself or adding different features to the home. Besides a good paint job, there is something else that can give your house a face-lift. If you have not yet considered raised panel shutters for the windows then you should definitely start thinking about it, and maybe even sit down and discuss it with your partner. Many people use these window treatments for decorations, but in regions where storms are destructive these barriers can protect windows from being broken by debris.
If you are on a budget but would like to consider this, visit online stores or building stores in your area. Have a look around. You are bound to come across a few shutters offering discount prices. All you have to do is give yourself some time to search for the best deals. If you rush it you aren't likely to find that many, but give yourself a decent amount of time and you should find more than one affordable option.
If a poet has any obligation toward society, it is to write well. Being in the minority, he has no other choice. Failing this duty, he sinks into oblivion. Society, on the other hand, has no obligation toward the poet. A majority by definition, society thinks of itself as having other options than reading verses, no matter how well written. Its failure to do so results in its sinking to that level of locution at which society falls easy prey to a demagogue or a tyrant. This is society’s own equivalent of oblivion.
— Joseph Brodsky (b. 1940)
The board and batten is another idea you could use if you can be a little creative. All you have to do is knock together a few battens and you are set. Acquire the measurement of the windows and the rest should be easy. However, if you are not on the creative side, employing a carpenter will save a bit if you take care of some of the materials yourself, for example the wood. Raised panel shutters can complement your home and surely have outsiders stop and admire, and if you are only going to be using these for decorative purposes there should not be anything wrong with that. What you do with your shutters once you have them installed is up to you. If you decide you sell your house, the shutters will surely push the price up a bit.
If you haven't yet looked at louver shutters, you might want to look into that as they offer some really wonderful options. If you like that style but are looking for something different, something that is more out of the way, then you might want to consider roller shutters. These are especially great if you have a small cottage-like house and need all the space you can get. With the rollers, they do not take up any unnecessary space as they are rolled up and stay above the window until they are released into position again. You shouldn't have a problem with space.
Window shades are great to use if you have way too much sun shining in when you least feel like it, and you can get shades for the doors too if you like. Sometimes there is just too much sun coming through a window, maybe when you are trying to watch TV, and it would be nice to have a shade to put up to shield it from reflecting off the screen. Remember that mahogany is one of the best wood types to use when you are looking for shutters.