What to do with Old and Unwanted Shutters

Repurposing, upcycling and restoring items is a great way to: better your dexterity, improve hand-eye coordination, boost self-esteem, promote innovation and save the planet. With these benefits in mind, let’s explore what you can do with your old shutters.

Get creative with old shutters

Old shutters can be used to make garden furniture, plant pot holders, coat hangers, cardholders, chairs, sliding wardrobe doors, wall art, rustic photo frame displays, organisers, tables, dressers, toilet roll holders, headboards and much more!   

• Remove your old shutters from their fixtures

• Dust them and clean them with a damp cloth 

• Sand down each wooden slat and the frame, this will make the wood smooth again and remove old flaky paint (you can also use a wire brush to remove any stubborn bits)

• Vacuum your old shutters

• Now, it’s up to you, you can either paint them or leave them looking natural

• If you’re painting your old shutters, place newspaper on the floor and paint the front and leave to dry 

• Now paint the back and leave to dry 

• You may wish to do a second coat

Now your old shutters are ready to be tailored into your preferred item. If you’re turning it into plant pot holders, you may need to purchase sturdy wire rings which you can drill into the shutter to hold plant pots in place. Maybe you’re turning it into a toilet roll holder, you will need a bar to hold the toilet rolls and maybe a basket above, to hold the excess.

Recycle unwanted shutters

If you wish to recycle all shutter materials, take it apart and separate the wooden slats from the screws and take it to your local recycling centre. 

Donate old shutters

Before donating, it’s important to clean the items. Find a charity shop who you’d like to help and pop by to drop your shutters off – you never know – someone might just be looking for new window fittings. Alternatively pop them on a site like Freecycle, Gumtree, eBay or Amazon – and put your extra cash towards your new shutters or blinds.   

Sprucing up your home is a great way to motivate you into getting everything looking spick and span around the house. If you’re ready to change up your old shutters for something fresh and new, speak to your local, family-run company – Boyd’s Blinds. With over 40 years of experience supplying and installing quality fittings, you can be sure to receive nothing but an excellent service. Get peace of mind and call us for a free quotation today. We operate throughout Nottingham, Newark and the surrounding areas.