Brownstone Shutters

Americana DeVenco Fabricates High Quality, Hand Crafted Shutters

The Brownstone shutters you buy today will be enjoyed for years to come. Whether you have a home of period significance, a new home designed to replicate period architecture, or you are renovating and desire a timeless window dressing, our shutters are tailored to your requirements.

• Solid wood components. There are no finger-jointed or “glued-up parts.” All components are solid wood and custom-milled to exacting specifications in our shop. There are no ready-made parts, imported parts, or stock fabricated parts…and never faux wood.
• Mortise and dowel construction. Americana DeVenco shutters are not screwed together, stapled, or pinned together. We use old-fashioned cabinetmaker joinery. This assures the shutter will never fall out of square at the joints under its weight.
• Nylon rotation pins. Louver operation is smooth and effortless, even if it is refinished numerous times.
• Hanging hinge mortise. Mortising for hanging hinges is standard, allowing a custom fit within the window jamb.
• Rabbeted stiles. One additional custom feature that provides total privacy and blocks additional light and heat.
• Proportional design.

Victorian Louvered Leaf

• • Victorian 1″ by 1-5/8″ beaded stiles assure aesthetically pleasing design as well as structural integrity.
  • 1-7/8″ louvers spaced at 1-1/2″ inches on center provide excellent closure and actual room darkening in daylight.
  • Lockrails are customary at no extra charge based on the height of the shutter and provide structural support and absolute stability within a panel while allowing upper louvers to function separately from lower louvers.

Raised Panel Leaf

• • Raised Panel 1″ by 1-5/8″ stiles assure aesthetically pleasing design as well as structural integrity.
  • 1-1/2” panel raise on front of the shutter and flat panel on back to create a 9/16” thick panel.
  • Custom lockrails can create either standard styles (see Raised Panel Styles) or bespoke configurations and may incur additional charges.

Americana DeVenco Brownstone Shutters Are Constructed of the Finest Material

All wood is milled by us in our shop. There are no prefab or stock-sized parts. All work is done in our shop by skilled craftsmen to the highest standards in the industry today.

Following our state-of-the-art CAD drawings that are reviewed and approved by the customer for accuracy, the components for each shutter are cut by hand, piece by piece, the old-fashioned way. The shutters are then assembled by hand using old-world cabinetmaker construction techniques.

After assembly, each shutter is sanded and buffed by hand and prepared for finishing. All shutters are ready to receive a finish with either being provided raw or primed. Hardware is carefully set on each shutter, and holes are drilled for installation. Your shutters are then packed like Waterford crystal for shipping.

We Know Brownstone

Early versions, before shutters were mass-produced, utilized louvered shutters across the top tier and raised panels on the bottom tier. This configuration would protect the windows seen from the street. As building construction changed, designers created interesting ways to divide the shutters, both physically and with sectioning of the leafs.

Particularly popular in Italianate-style Brownstone architecture of the northeast, this combination of Raised Panel and Louvered shutters took its name from Townhouses and Row Houses from 1800s New England. Almost every row house built in New York once had interior shutters in the front rooms that faced the street. The design most often consisted of two louvered panels flanked by raised panels. Brownstone shutters are very often built as double-hung, which means that there are two tiers of shutters across the window. Brownstones were designed to allow cooling cross breezes to flow through the house and Brownstone shutters allow the air to pass through the house and keep it both cool and fresh while keeping out the hot rays of the sun. From a New York publication focused on Brownstone homes, you can read more about shutters here: About those Brownstone Windows (Part 1)

This style delivers the elegance of the raised panel with the light availability of the louvers. If the Brownstone shutters are in a double-hung configuration, there is additional accessibility to control the light and privacy that these shutters offer. These shutters were commonly installed double-hung, or in two tiers. If you are at street level and want to block the view into your home from foot traffic, you can keep the lower shutters closed and open the top tier. They are often made to fold into the walls bordering the windows, called Pocket Shutters. (They are often referred to as Embrasured Shutters as well.)

While maintaining a historical background, this style of shutter is still relevant today. The mix of panels and louvered sections allows you to create a unique design. Brownstone shutters can be painted to stand out in a bold color, or stained to match existing woodwork. They also provide the privacy of a paneled shutter with the ease of visibility from louvered panels. The louvers also facilitate air movement to keep your residence temperate.