One Carpenter’s Hilarious Instagram Shows You How Not To Install Shutters

If you installed your window shutters yourself, you might want to check if you put them up correctly. Or else, you just might get featured on #ShudderSunday.

Scott Sidler is a carpenter and the owner of Austin Historical, an Orlando-based company that helps preserve heritage buildings. Because part of his job is to restore windows and doors, he’s noticed that quite a lot of properties have mismatched shutters. So, he decided to document them all. As you can see, the results range from hilarious to ridiculous.

“Shutters seem to be the most misunderstood and I see such awful applications that I thought a weekly series of fails would help people understand them better and get a good laugh at the same time,” Sidler told Bored Panda. 

He also thinks that these odd shutters exist because homeowners are confused about a shutter’s purpose. 

“Most people today think of them as a way to dress up a window like a flower box, and while they do accomplish that, there are very specific sizing and installation positions that people largely have no idea about today,” he explained. “There are also some architectural styles that work with shutters and some that don’t and knowing when and where they belong makes quite a difference.”

Sidler has been receiving submissions from his followers, as well—proof that shutter fails are everywhere. He hopes that his project will not only entertain and educate, but also make people appreciate heritage and conservation.

“In architecture, form follows function and if I can teach people about that in a fun way that gets a few laughs and helps people see the value in historical buildings then that’s a win for all of us,” he concluded.

You can check out Sidler’s account to see more shutter fails, as well as some useful DIY tips.