DIY Sidelight Wood Shutters

{This is a sponsored post for CeCe Caldwell’s Paints and don’t miss the *giveaway at the bottom of this post.}

Shut the front door.

I can’t believe it, but we now have front door DIY Sidelight Wood Shutters (all for under $75)!

For years I’ve been wanting to add a sliding barn door somewhere in our home, but all of our closets are wired with an automatic light that turns on & off when we open and close the door.  So, that doesn’t leave me with many doors left.  Until I thought of this idea.  At first, I thought swinging shutters would be cute, but then I realized they would bump into my console.  So boom.  “DIY Sidelight ‘Sliding’ Wood Shutters” were born.

Here’s the one to the left closed so Phil the UPS guy can’t see me…

and to the right it’s open…

I love how it flirts with the “Thrift Store Silver Platter Wall” & “Stereo Console”…

back to the left…hello world.

Pow!  Both open and they look FABULOUS.

Just look at how they add that rusticity & charm that we all love.  They also make our foyer look twice as large.  Had no idea that would happen.

{rug information can be found here}

For 7 years we had a coating on our sidelight windows that I thought was fun at first.  Then the years passed and I was tired of not being able to see my garden out front.  You see, we don’t have many windows out front.  Most of them are on the back side of our home.  I have my hydrangeas out there right now and I love being able to see them.

Here it was before (after we took the coating off the windows):

Here’s it is now after I slide the shutters open…

here it is now when I slide the shutters shut at dusk…

From a scale from 1-10 on difficulty, 10 being the hardest to 1 being super easy.  I give this a 7.  This took us a couple days to complete and you can find the full tutorial my husband wrote at the bottom of this post.  I could not have done this without him.  He is the muscle, and the measurer.

We used pine boards from Home Depot and we also found all of the hardware there, too.  They even custom cut the pipe for us right then and there.

While in the middle of planning our shutters, lucky for us, CeCe Caldwell’s Paints contacted us and wanted to know if we were interested in reviewing their paints and/or stains.  I jumped on that rustic wood band wagon quickly after I researched the gorgeous colors of stain they offer.

Then I found out that their gorgeous stain has no smell.  Trust me, after all of the staining we have done in our home, that was music to our noses.  To be able to stain with no smell is a dream.  All of CeCe Caldwell’s products are Earth & people friendy.

We used Cece Caldwell’s Kukui stain, and we only had to use 1 coat.  Isn’t that amazing?  It’s absolutely gorgeous stain!  I used a brush to apply it to the boards after we beat them up, and sanded them a little.  Then I wiped off the excess after a few minutes of letting it soak in.  This stain looked beautiful without a top coat, however we opted to add a top coat of high gloss spar varnish so the sheen matched up with our other stained wood.

{Don’t miss the *giveaway at the bottom of this post!}

*Giveaway at bottom of post!

So, tell me your thoughts.  What do you think?  Would you do this to your sidelights?

DIY Sidelight Wood Shutters Tutorial

Supplies:

(4) 2X8 pine boards 8 feet long

(2) 1×4 pine boards 8 feet long

(2) back iron floor plates ½ inch pipe diameter

(4) black Iron connecting nipples ½ inch pipe diameter (You will need to measure area to ensure molding clearance-see below.)

(2) black iron pipe connection elbows ½ inch pipe diameter

(1) Black iron pipe ½ inch pipe diameter, cut to length (You will need to measure area to ensure proper frame length-see below.)

(4) 3/8  inch eyelet screws (Ensure eyelet opening is larger than the ½ pipe to allow the eyelet to glide over pipe freely.  We sprayed our black.)

(4) non swivel-caster wheels

Measure area including sidelights and doorway to determine width and length of the shutters and length of pipe that needs to be used to construct pipe frame.  (Note our sidelights were approximately 14 inches wide.  Your sidelights may be wider or narrower.  If wider, use wider base boards for your shutters like 2×10 boards.  If narrower, use 2×6 boards if appropriate.)

When measuring the sidelights to determine shutter size, be sure to account for the length of your casters and eyelet screws as well as size of the frame hardware, i.e. floor plates, connecting nipples, to make ensure you construct the shutters to the proper width and length.

Allow for the correct connecting nipple length when measuring to ensure for proper distance of the pipe frame from the wall, so that your shutter freely glides past any moldings around your sidelights as well as open completely by sliding freely past the sidelights.

Cut 2 of your 2×8 pine boards to the proper length to form the base of your shutter.  Then cut your 1×4 boards into 4 pieces so that they are the same width as your  shutter.

You will use the 1×4 boards to bind the shutter boards together.  Measure from the top and bottom of your shutter equal distances where you would like to fasten your 1×4 boards and attach the same to shutter using decking screws.  We used #8 screws 1 5/8 inch long.

Attach 2 casters to the bottom of your shutter.  Then attach two eyelet screws to the top.  Your shutter is now complete.  Repeat for second shutter.  Then construct the hardware ends by assembling the floor plates to the connection elbow using the connection nipples.

Once the shutters and hardware ends are complete, you will need at least two people to install the shutters to the frame.

Place the each shutters in front of the sidelights and have each person hold one of the shutters in place. While standing on a step stool or small ladder insert your black iron pipe frame through the eyelets at the top of your shutter.  Repeat for the second shutter.

Then install the hardware ends onto each end of the pipe frame.  Attach the assembled frame to the wall.  If you are able to, attach each floor plate into a wall stud using screws.  If no stud is available, use toggle bolts to install the floor plates to the drywall.  Each toggle screw should be rated to hold 150 pounds and can be found at any hardware store.

Your shutters are now installed.

*Cece Caldwell’s Giveaway ends July 22, 2016:  One lucky reader will be chosen to receive one half liter of paint, one half liter of stain, and a half liter of finish all in the colors of their choice!  This giveaway is for US residents only.  To enter please follow these steps and you will be automatically entered.  Winner will be notified by e-mail:

1. Visit CeCe Caldwell’s Facebook Page.
2. Visit CeCe Caldwell’s Website to pick your favorite colors.
3. Leave 1 comment on my post telling us your favorite color(s).

 Good luck!