If you want to add a little flair to your shutters you can make them louvre by adding corrugated cardboard to them.
You first need to to find corrugated cardboard in the right scale. I recommend corrugated paper or cardstock which can be found in some craft stores. The smaller the ridges, the better. I found the right size corrugated cardstock at a local cafe. They were nice enough to let me have a pile. Keep your eye out for corrugated cardstock at fast food places too. They usually use this paper to keep sandwiches warm or when placing food in the microwave.
Finish all of the shutter parts, like you would normally do and then trace the openings of the shutter trim onto the corrugated paper. Make sure the ridges are straight. Do not try to sandwich the corrugated paper between the shutter trim and the shutter. This will flatten the ridges and will also not look correct as the ridges have to be between the shutter trim openings and not underneath them.
After you have the corrugated paper cut out to fit the shutter trim openings, you can assemble the shutters as you normally would. Paint the corrugated cut outs in whatever color you want them to be to match the shutters. Add a little glue and insert them into the openings of the shutter trim. You might have to tweak them a little with the scissors so they fit correctly.
You can touch up paint now.
I had S hooks for these shutters so I added them with glue. Remember, these S hooks all face the same way and they can not be turned around as they are not finished in the back. They are molded plastic and come already painted. You can paint them another color if you like or you can add a coat of flat black paint to them if you do not want them to have a shiny finish.
Now if you want to add even more flair to the louvre shutters, you can add the middle mullion piece to them like they have in real life. For this, you need to find the thinnest trim available at your craft store. The trim should be thinner than a toothpick would be. Paint it to match your shutters and then cut them to fit the openings of the shutter trim. Glue them in place, over the corrugated paper.
Now all you have to do it install your finished shutters to your windows. I recommend you install them so they rest on the window sill and overlap the window trim. This gives them a more realistic look and adds more layers and depth to the dollhouse. You can turn them a little so the edges touch the wall or keep them straight like I did.
Double Window Shutter
A big mystery with the Beacon Hill dollhouse is how to place the double window shutters. I have seen many Beacon Hill dollhouses but I have only seen one with a complete set of shutters that would cover the double window. That installation was done by placing two shutters on the sides of the window and a pair of shutters in the middle of the window. This of course, blocks the middle window design and causes the shutters to protrude from the dollhouse significantly.
After some advice from the ever wonderful Greenleaf Forum and browsing through Victorian shutters online, I finally deciphered the double window mystery. The way the shutters are suppose to be installed is as shown below.
Two shutters are installed on the sides, like all the other windows, and another pair is butted up to them causing a full shutter, that if closed, would cover the double window entirely. Supposedly, in real life these shutters would be hinged to each other, causing an accordion effect. The dollhouse was made with plenty of space between the window and corner trim to accommodate for the full shutter.
If I would have realized this earlier in the assembly, I would have hinged them so they would be moveable. Unfortunately, my first pair of shutters were already installed and I didn't have extra hinges. The good thing is that I positioned by first set of shutters against the window trim and sill but not slanted backwards towards the wall. This allowed me to place the second pair at a backwards slant, causing the illusion that they are hinged.
Because the window shutters take up so much wall space on this dollhouse, I am glad I added plenty of detail to them. Now the extra two shutters that come with the kit, will no longer have to be tossed out as so many do. They are useable.
