Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in New Orleans
Homes in New Orleans
New Orleans's 195,552 homes are a mix: 46% detached houses, 44% apartments or units in buildings of two or more homes and 10% townhouses and other attached houses.
More homes here were built before 1950 than in any later period we count: 39%. Only 15% date from 2000 or later. The median home dates from 1960. 51% of homes are lived in by their owners.
Of the 8 Louisiana cities we have census figures for, New Orleans has the highest share of older homes and the highest share of apartments. In Metairie, 15 miles away, 34% of homes are apartments, fewer than here. Nationally, New Orleans's homes are older than those in 82% 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.
Plaster walls and deep casings
39% of homes date from before 1950, when walls were plaster on lath and windows sat in deep wood casings. Plaster cracks if you drive screws carelessly: drill a pilot hole, use fixings made for plaster, and fix into the casing or the framing behind it. A deep casing is good news for an inside mount; measure its depth before you choose a louver size.
Out-of-square openings
With 74% of homes built before 1980, many openings have had decades to settle. Measure each one's width at the top, middle and bottom, and both diagonals. If the diagonals differ by more than about ¼ inch, add a mounting frame in the designer, or choose an outside mount so the shutter covers the uneven edges.
Apartments and condos
44% of homes are in buildings of two or more units. Balcony and patio doors suit bypass or bifold panels rather than hinged ones, which need floor space to swing. Check what your HOA or building allows to show from outside before you order: most rules are about the colour seen through the glass.
A whole house in New Orleans
The most common home in New Orleans has two bedrooms: 32% of homes. Three-bedroom homes make up another 32%. The median home has 5 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, $315,700 (owners’ estimates, 2020–2024).
Homes here are smaller than in 82% of the 881 US cities we have figures for: many orders are a few rooms, not a whole house.
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 windowsWorking from home
15% of workers here worked from home in the 2020–2024 survey years, more than in 56% of the 881 US cities we have figures for. Glare on a screen comes from direct sun and bright sky behind or beside it. Louvers tilted up throw daylight at the ceiling instead, so the room stays bright and the screen stays readable; wider louvers give the clearest view when you open them.
One room at a time
Homes here cost less than in 65% 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.
New Orleans weather and your shutters
At New Orleans Lakefront AP, LA (6 mi away), August averages a high of 90.8°F and January a low of 46.9°F. Average highs reach 85°F from June to September.
About 86 days a year reach 90°F, 2 nights fall to freezing and 60 inches of precipitation falls, spread fairly evenly through the year.
That's more 90°F days than in 74% of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.
Daylight runs from 14 h 5 min on the longest day to 10 h 12 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 83° above the horizon in June and 37° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, New Orleans Lakefront AP, LA (temperature) and New Orleans Lakefront AP, LA (precipitation, 6 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 61°F | 46.9°F | 5.3 in |
| Feb | 65.3°F | 50.8°F | 4.1 in |
| Mar | 71.4°F | 56.8°F | 4.6 in |
| Apr | 77.7°F | 63.4°F | 5.9 in |
| May | 84.6°F | 70.9°F | 4.9 in |
| Jun | 89.3°F | 76.4°F | 6 in |
| Jul | 90.6°F | 78.2°F | 6.3 in |
| Aug | 90.8°F | 78.6°F | 6.5 in |
| Sep | 87.2°F | 75.6°F | 4.6 in |
| Oct | 79.2°F | 66.6°F | 3.6 in |
| Nov | 69.8°F | 56.3°F | 3.6 in |
| Dec | 63.4°F | 49.5°F | 4.6 in |
Humid summers
Hot days and 60 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 86 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 New Orleans
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.
Near New Orleans
- Metairie 15 mi
- Kenner 19 mi
- Gulfport 58 mi
- Baton Rouge 76 mi
More about shutters in New Orleans
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using New Orleans’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in New Orleans
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in New Orleans 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.