Why Milford
Old Frames, Tall Sashes, And Pink Granite
The houses along Main Street and the streets behind it went up while Milford pink granite was being cut out of the ground and shipped across the country. Those years also produced tall, narrow double-hungs, up to six or seven feet of glass in a single opening, set in plaster walls that have been moving ever since. Measure the top, middle, and bottom of one of those windows and you get three different numbers.
That is exactly the window a plantation shutter was made for. The panel is built to the opening you have, not a catalog size, and the frame we choose decides how it meets the original casing. L frames, Z frames, and trim hugging profiles each do that differently. On a Victorian with heavy millwork we go with the trim hugging profile because it does not compete with what is already there.
The three-deckers are a different case. Windows sit close together, the rooms are narrow, and privacy from the next porch matters. Louvers tilted down give you the light without the neighbor. Hardwood keeps a tall panel light enough to swing without effort.
Out toward Route 140 and Louisa Lake, the subdivisions and condos have square frames and standard sizes, and the shutters go in faster. The choice there is mostly louver size: 4.5 inch louvers for the newer picture windows, 2.5 inch for anything with divided panes.
