Plantation shutters in Appleton

Plantation shutters, also called California shutters or interior window shutters, made to the measurements you take and shipped to your door in Appleton. Fit them yourself, or ask us for an independent installer near you.
Framed California shutters fitted across a condo window wall, in time-lapse.

Homes in Appleton

Appleton is a city of houses: of its 32,221 homes, 67% are detached, 7% are townhouses and other attached houses and 26% are apartments or units in buildings of two or more homes.

The biggest building period was 1950 to 1979, which accounts for 39% of homes standing today; 15% are from 2000 or later. The median home dates from 1971. 67% of homes are lived in by their owners.

In Oshkosh, 20 miles away, 39% of homes are apartments, more than here. Nationally, Appleton's homes are older than those in 70% 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.

Out-of-square openings

With 65% 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.

How to measure

Plaster walls and deep casings

26% 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.

How to install

Whole-house orders

With 67% of homes detached, most orders here cover a whole house: bedrooms, a patio door, perhaps a bay. Put every window in one list in the designer so the louver size and colour match from the street, and if you have an HOA, send it the drawings before you order.

Bay window shutters

Replacement windows

39% 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.

Choosing a louver size

Appleton weather and your shutters

At Appleton, WI (2 mi away), July averages a high of 81.5°F and January a low of 10°F. Average lows sit at or below freezing from November to March.

About 6 days a year reach 90°F, 157 nights fall to freezing and 33.2 inches of precipitation falls, most of it around June and least in February.

Among the Wisconsin cities we have climate normals for, Appleton has the second-most freezing days.

That's more freezing nights than in 96% of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.

Daylight runs from 15 h 31 min on the longest day to 8 h 51 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 69° above the horizon in June and 22° in December.

Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Appleton, WI (temperature) and Appleton, WI (precipitation, 2 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.

Appleton: average monthly low and high temperatures10°F30°F50°F70°F90°FJFMAMJJASOND
Average daily low to high, by month.
Monthly figures
Monthly climate normals
MonthAverage highAverage lowPrecipitation
Jan25.4°F10°F1.4 in
Feb29.1°F11.7°F1.1 in
Mar40.6°F22.1°F1.9 in
Apr54°F33.9°F3.2 in
May67.2°F46.4°F3.6 in
Jun77°F56.6°F4.7 in
Jul81.5°F61.3°F3.8 in
Aug79.3°F59.8°F3.6 in
Sep71.9°F50.8°F3.2 in
Oct57.8°F39.3°F2.8 in
Nov43.4°F27.6°F2.1 in
Dec30.7°F16.8°F1.8 in

Cold winters

With 157 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.

Why poplar

Fitting them in Appleton

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.

How to install · How to measure

Near Appleton

More about shutters in Appleton

Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Appleton’s own figures.

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.

Design your shutters