Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Alexandria
Homes in Alexandria
Apartments outnumber houses in Alexandria: 65% of its 80,844 homes are in buildings of two or more units. Detached houses make up 14% and townhouses and other attached houses 21%.
The biggest building period was 1950 to 1979, which accounts for 41% of homes standing today; 22% are from 2000 or later. The median home dates from 1974. Most homes are rented: owners live in only 42%.
Of the 16 Virginia cities we have census figures for, Alexandria has the second-highest share of apartments. Its housing is much like Arlington's, 4 miles away. Nationally, Alexandria's homes are older 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.
Apartments and condos
65% 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.
Townhouses
21% of homes share a wall with the next one. Their front windows face the street side by side with the neighbours', so many owners pick a louver size and a white or off-white finish that sit well beside the houses on either side. Bay windows on townhouses usually need a separate panel set for each face.
Out-of-square openings
With 60% 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.
Replacement windows
41% 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.
A whole house in Alexandria
The most common home in Alexandria has two bedrooms: 33% of homes. 10% have four bedrooms or more, and 37% have one or none. The median home has 4.1 rooms.
Apartments are the most common kind of home here. Across the US, the middle home among apartments in buildings of five or more units has 3 to 5 windows (EIA, 2020). Shuttering that many windows at a typical bedroom-window size comes to roughly $900 to $2,000. For scale, that's about 0.2% of the median home value here, $735,100 (owners’ estimates, 2020–2024).
Homes here are smaller than in 94% 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 home3–5 windows
All of them shuttered$900 to $2,000
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
29% of workers here worked from home in the 2020–2024 survey years, more than in 93% 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.
Older homes, high values
Owners here value their homes higher than in 86% of the 881 US cities we have figures for, and 60% of homes were built before 1980. If an older house still has good wood shutters, repair them before you replace them; if not, poplar painted to match the trim suits original casings.
Young children at home
6.5% of people in Alexandria are under five, more than in 77% of the 881 US cities we have figures for. Shutters have no cords or chains at all: the louvers tilt with a rod or by hand, so there's nothing to hang within a child's reach. US rules for cords on custom blinds and shades are still being rewritten; ours never had any.
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.
Alexandria weather and your shutters
At Washington Reagan AP, VA (3 mi away), July averages a high of 89.6°F and January a low of 30.1°F. Average highs reach 85°F from June to August and average lows sit at or below freezing from January to February.
About 40 days a year reach 90°F, 60 nights fall to freezing and 41.8 inches of precipitation falls, spread fairly evenly through the year.
Among the Virginia cities we have climate normals for, Alexandria has the least precipitation.
That's more freezing nights than in 53% of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.
Daylight runs from 14 h 53 min on the longest day to 9 h 27 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 75° above the horizon in June and 28° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Washington Reagan AP, VA (temperature) and Washington Reagan AP, VA (precipitation, 3 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44.8°F | 30.1°F | 2.9 in |
| Feb | 48.3°F | 31.8°F | 2.6 in |
| Mar | 56.5°F | 38.6°F | 3.5 in |
| Apr | 68°F | 48.4°F | 3.2 in |
| May | 76.5°F | 58°F | 3.9 in |
| Jun | 85.1°F | 67.5°F | 4.2 in |
| Jul | 89.6°F | 72.4°F | 4.3 in |
| Aug | 87.8°F | 71°F | 3.3 in |
| Sep | 80.7°F | 64.1°F | 3.9 in |
| Oct | 69.4°F | 52.2°F | 3.7 in |
| Nov | 58.2°F | 41.6°F | 2.9 in |
| Dec | 48.8°F | 34.5°F | 3.4 in |
Humid summers
Hot days and 41.8 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.
Fitting them in Alexandria
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 Alexandria
- Arlington 4 mi
- Washington 7 mi
- Bethesda 12 mi
- Silver Spring 13 mi
- Wheaton 16 mi
- Waldorf 17 mi
More about shutters in Alexandria
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Alexandria’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Alexandria
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Alexandria 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.