Why Lincoln
Old Frames Deserve A Panel Built To Them
A Lincoln farmhouse window is rarely square. The sill has dropped on one side, the casing was cut by hand, and the sash may have been replaced twice since. Blinds ordered from a size chart end up with a gap on one side and a bind on the other. A plantation shutter is measured in place and built to that exact opening, so it closes cleanly against a frame no factory ever anticipated.
On houses this old the louver size matters as much as the fit. The 2.5 inch louver was made for small panes and low sills and it keeps the scale of a colonial window. In an addition with a larger opening, the airier 4.5 inch louver suits the space better. Hardwood is lighter and takes stain if you want the panels to match old woodwork. Composite is the right choice for a kitchen or bath. Both paint white. Our shutters page covers the frame styles, from L and Z frames to the trim hugging profiles that sit inside an existing casing.
Now the honest part. Lincoln is famous for its modernist houses, from the Gropius House to the homes around the deCordova, and those houses have long walls of glass with thin frames and no casing to speak of. Shutters do not belong there. They break up the glass, they fight the architecture, and they cost more than the roller or solar shade that actually suits the house. If you live in one of those and call us about shutters, we will suggest shades and mean it.
For the farmhouse and colonial owner, though, the case is strong. A closed panel adds a thermal barrier that an old single-pane window badly needs in January. The shutters stay with the house when it sells and show in the listing. And they look like they were always part of the room, which on a house that old is the whole point.
