Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Santa Fe
Homes in Santa Fe
Santa Fe's 46,608 homes are a mix: 56% detached houses, 25% apartments or units in buildings of two or more homes and 10% townhouses and other attached houses.
The 1980s and 1990s built 33% of today's homes, more than any other period we count. 40% are older than that and 27% newer. The median home dates from 1986. 64% of homes are lived in by their owners.
Of the 4 New Mexico cities we have census figures for, Santa Fe has the second-highest share of older homes and the third-highest share of apartments. In nearby Rio Rancho, 48 miles away, 13% of homes were built before 1980, so Santa Fe's windows are on the whole older. Nationally, Santa Fe's homes are newer than those in 63% 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.
Manufactured homes
9% of homes are mobile or manufactured homes, whose windows usually sit in thin walls with little depth inside the opening. An outside mount on a frame is the reliable choice there, fixed into the framing around the window rather than the thin wall panel.
Rounded drywall corners
60% 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 Santa Fe
The most common home in Santa Fe has three bedrooms: 40% of homes. 12% have four bedrooms or more, and 17% have one or none. 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% of the median home value here, $444,900 (owners’ estimates, 2020–2024).
Homes here are smaller than in 89% 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
17% of workers here worked from home in the 2020–2024 survey years, more than in 65% 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.
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.
Santa Fe weather and your shutters
At Santa FE 2, NM (3 mi away), July averages a high of 85.8°F and December a low of 17.6°F. Average highs reach 85°F in July and average lows sit at or below freezing from November to March.
About 24 days a year reach 90°F, 169 nights fall to freezing and 14.2 inches of precipitation falls, most of it around July and least in March.
Among the New Mexico cities we have climate normals for, Santa Fe has the most freezing days and the most precipitation.
That's more freezing nights than in 98% of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.
Daylight runs from 14 h 34 min on the longest day to 9 h 44 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 78° above the horizon in June and 31° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Santa FE 2, NM (temperature) and Santa FE 1.6 Wsw, NM (precipitation, 1 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43°F | 17.9°F | 0.7 in |
| Feb | 48°F | 21.3°F | 0.7 in |
| Mar | 56.6°F | 26.4°F | 0.6 in |
| Apr | 64.3°F | 32.4°F | 0.7 in |
| May | 73.7°F | 40.8°F | 1 in |
| Jun | 84.1°F | 50.1°F | 1 in |
| Jul | 85.8°F | 55.1°F | 2.3 in |
| Aug | 83.4°F | 53.7°F | 2.1 in |
| Sep | 77.5°F | 46.8°F | 1.9 in |
| Oct | 66.3°F | 35.4°F | 1.5 in |
| Nov | 53°F | 24.4°F | 0.9 in |
| Dec | 42.6°F | 17.6°F | 0.8 in |
Cold winters
With 169 freezing nights a year, warm room air meets cold glass for months. Shutters closed tight overnight hold that air against the window, so condensation can collect on the sill: tilt the louvers open in the morning, and wipe the sill on windows that often run wet.
Dry air
Only 14.2 inches of precipitation a year, and days and nights about 30°F apart. Dry air pulls moisture out of wood, so poplar louvers can shrink very slightly through their first dry season; that's normal for real wood.
Fitting them in Santa Fe
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 Santa Fe
- Rio Rancho 48 mi
- Albuquerque 53 mi
More about shutters in Santa Fe
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Santa Fe’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Santa Fe
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Santa Fe 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.