So when we first moved in there were these awful tiny little flower boxes that greatly resembled Hitler mustaches. It’s true!! THEY HAD TO GO. Even see for yourself:    (please ignore the bottom right shutters already up in this “before” picture!)

I read this amazingly easy tutorial on Pinterest for Board and Batten shutters made from fence pieces and decided to give them a go! The whole project for 3 windows cost around $20!! Can’t beat that!

This is what you’ll need:

• 5/8″x5-1/2″x4′ Cedar fence posts ($1.50/each) **you’ll need 4 for each window
• 3.5″x.75″ x 8′ Pine wood (about $4)
• Liquid Nails
• Behr semi-transparent weather proofing stain (I chose a dark brown)
• Jig saw
• 1″ nails
• 3″ screws to secure shutters to house
• Drill
• Clamps

Directions:

1. Measure your window height to determine the length of your cedar posts. A mistake I made was buying the posts before I measure because I just assumed all the posts would be long enough. Spoiler alert: they weren’t, but I went with it anyways! There are longer cedar posts right below the ones I went with at Home Depot, so I suggest going with those if you have taller windows!
2. Cut the cedar posts down with your saw to match your window height.
3. Stain your posts.
4. Measure the width of two cedar posts side by side so you can determine the length of your pine wood that will go across your posts. Cut the pine. Stain the pine.
5. With the cedar posts side by side, measure 8″ from the top and mark it. Apply liquid nails to the back of your pine wood, place it on your mark 8″ down from the top. Do the same to the bottom of the shutter (8″ up from the bottom) with a second piece of pine wood.
6. Place clamps on all 4 sides of the pine pieces while the liquid nails dries.
7. Let it sit overnight and then reinforce the pine to cedar planks with a 1″ nail from the back (two per pine board)
8. Drill 3″ or 4″ screws at an upward angle to attach the shutter to house. These shutters are so light that I only needed 2 screws for each shutter (one on top, one on bottom).Next up is new landscaping!!! Good thing my dad is one of the best in the biz ;)