Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Seattle
Homes in Seattle
Apartments outnumber houses in Seattle: 57% of its 393,918 homes are in buildings of two or more units. Detached houses make up 37% and townhouses and other attached houses 6%.
Much of Seattle is new: 33% of homes were built 2000 or later, and only 53% before 1980. The median home dates from 1976. Most homes are rented: owners live in only 44%.
Of the 26 Washington cities we have census figures for, Seattle has the highest share of apartments. In Kirkland, 9 miles away, 41% of homes are apartments, fewer than here. Nationally, Seattle's homes are older than those in 56% 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
57% 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.
Plaster walls and deep casings
30% 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 53% 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.
Shallow openings
33% of homes were built in 2000 or later. Newer windows are often set close to the room side of the wall, and handles, cranks and alarm sensors stick out into the space a louver swings through. Measure the depth to the glass and to anything that sticks out; the designer checks it against the louver size you pick.
A whole house in Seattle
The most common home in Seattle has one bedroom: 26% of homes. Small homes are a big part of the mix: 40% have one bedroom or none. The median home has 4 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, $938,600 (owners’ estimates, 2020–2024).
Homes here are smaller than in 75% 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
35% of workers here worked from home in the 2020–2024 survey years, more than in 98% 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 93% of the 881 US cities we have figures for, and 53% 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.
A few windows and a door
40% of homes here have one bedroom or none, so many orders are a bedroom window, a living room window and a balcony door. Sliding doors take bypass or bifold panels; check your building's rules on what shows from outside first.
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.
Seattle weather and your shutters
At Seattle Sand PT Wsfo, WA (6 mi away), August averages a high of 77°F and February a low of 37°F. No month averages a high above 85°F or a low below freezing.
About 2 days a year reach 90°F, 25 nights fall to freezing and 38.7 inches of precipitation falls, most of it around November and least in July.
Daylight runs from 15 h 59 min on the longest day to 8 h 25 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 66° above the horizon in June and 19° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Seattle Sand PT Wsfo, WA (temperature) and Mercer Island 1.5 NW, WA (precipitation, 5 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47.4°F | 37.2°F | 5.6 in |
| Feb | 49.8°F | 37°F | 3.7 in |
| Mar | 53.9°F | 39.2°F | 3.8 in |
| Apr | 58.8°F | 42.8°F | 3 in |
| May | 65.3°F | 48.3°F | 2.2 in |
| Jun | 70.2°F | 52.7°F | 1.7 in |
| Jul | 76.5°F | 56.5°F | 0.8 in |
| Aug | 77°F | 57.1°F | 1.1 in |
| Sep | 71.3°F | 53.2°F | 1.8 in |
| Oct | 60.5°F | 46.7°F | 3.6 in |
| Nov | 51.9°F | 40.9°F | 5.9 in |
| Dec | 46.5°F | 37°F | 5.5 in |
Fitting them in Seattle
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 Seattle
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Seattle’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Seattle
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Seattle 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.