Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Melbourne
Homes in Melbourne
Melbourne's 41,217 homes are a mix: 57% detached houses, 33% apartments or units in buildings of two or more homes and 6% townhouses and other attached houses.
The 1980s and 1990s built 38% of today's homes, more than any other period we count. 39% are older than that and 23% newer. The median home dates from 1985. 60% of homes are lived in by their owners.
In nearby Palm Bay, 11 miles away, 13% of homes were built before 1980, so Melbourne's windows are on the whole older. Nationally, Melbourne's homes are newer than those in 65% of the 881 US cities we have census figures for.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024. Estimates carry margins of error.
Replacement windows
37% of homes went up between 1950 and 1979, and most of them have had their original windows replaced since. A replacement window often sits further into or out of the wall than the old one, so the depth you have for an inside mount may differ from window to window in the same house. Measure every opening rather than copying one.
Rounded drywall corners
61% of homes here were built from 1980 on, and many houses of that era have rounded ("bullnose") drywall corners around the windows instead of square returns. A shutter can't sit flat against a curve: choose an outside mount with a frame that clears the corner, or an inside mount if the flat part of the opening is deep enough for your louvers.
A whole house in Melbourne
The most common home in Melbourne has three bedrooms: 42% of homes. 15% have four bedrooms or more, and 14% have one or none. The median home has 5.2 rooms.
Detached houses are the most common kind of home here. Across the US, the middle home among detached houses has 10 to 15 windows (EIA, 2020). Shuttering that many windows at a typical bedroom-window size comes to roughly $3,200 to $6,000. For scale, that's about 1.5% of the median home value here, $306,400 (owners’ estimates, 2020–2024).
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 (bedrooms B25041, rooms B25018, value B25077); U.S. Energy Information Administration, Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2020, Table HC2.1 (windows). EIA RECS 2020, Table HC2.1
A typical home10–15 windows
All of them shuttered$3,200 to $6,000
Every window priced as a 36 × 48 in opening in our basic build (flat moulding, paint stage 1, 3½ in louvers), before tax and shipping. Your windows will differ; the designer prices each one.
Price your own windowsOne room at a time
Homes here cost less than in 67% of the 881 US cities we have figures for, and many owners do a house in stages. Start with the rooms where light and privacy matter most, usually bedrooms and the street-facing front, and keep the same louver size and colour so later rooms match. Your saved design keeps every size.
Ages (B01001), working from home (B08301) and value (B25077): U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates, 2020–2024. Rankings compare the US cities we have figures for.
Melbourne weather and your shutters
At Melbourne Wfo, FL (1 mi away), July averages a high of 90.9°F and January a low of 50.5°F. Average highs reach 85°F from May to September.
About 76 days a year reach 90°F, 2 nights fall to freezing and 55.3 inches of precipitation falls, most of it around September and least in February.
That's more 90°F days than in 70% of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.
Daylight runs from 13 h 56 min on the longest day to 10 h 21 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 85° above the horizon in June and 38° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Melbourne Wfo, FL (temperature) and Melbourne Wfo, FL (precipitation, 1 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 72.2°F | 50.5°F | 2.8 in |
| Feb | 74.6°F | 52.8°F | 2.3 in |
| Mar | 77.8°F | 56.2°F | 2.9 in |
| Apr | 81.8°F | 61.4°F | 2.5 in |
| May | 85.9°F | 67.4°F | 3.8 in |
| Jun | 89.1°F | 71.7°F | 7.5 in |
| Jul | 90.9°F | 72.9°F | 6.8 in |
| Aug | 90.7°F | 73.4°F | 7.5 in |
| Sep | 88.6°F | 72.9°F | 8.6 in |
| Oct | 84.3°F | 68°F | 5.3 in |
| Nov | 78.5°F | 59.9°F | 2.6 in |
| Dec | 74°F | 54.1°F | 2.7 in |
Humid summers
Hot days and 55.3 inches of precipitation make for heavy summer air. Wood swells when it's humid, so give kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms some air: run the fan after a shower and tilt the louvers open so steam doesn't sit behind them.
Summer sun
On the 76 days a year above 90°F, closed louvers keep direct sun off the glass and out of the room. In a window that takes afternoon sun, white and light paint finishes stay cooler to the touch than dark stains.
Fitting them in Melbourne
Shutter Boys shutters are made for you to fit yourself: an inside or outside mount takes a drill, a level and our step-by-step guide. If you'd rather hire someone, a finish carpenter or blinds installer can fit them; ask on your quote and we'll tell you if we know one near you. You arrange and pay the installer directly.
More about shutters in Melbourne
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Melbourne’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Melbourne
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Melbourne can sell or refer Shutter Boys shutters: dealers buy at trade pricing with a protected area; referral partners earn a fee on each client they send. No fee to join.
Price your windows
Pick your look once, add every window, and see each one drawn and priced. Send it to us and we reply with your quote.