Choosing Shutter Colors and Paintable Finishes
Compare colors with your siding and trim, and choose a manufacturer-approved paintable shutter when you want a custom finish.
Shutters can blend with the trim or introduce an accent color. Compare the proposed finish against the siding, roof, masonry, and front door together. A color that looks attractive on its own may look different beside warm brick or cool gray siding.
Build a simple color plan
- For a quiet exterior: Choose a shutter color that sits comfortably with the trim and siding.
- For contrast: Compare a darker shutter against a lighter facade, or a lighter shutter against a darker one.
- For an accent: Pick a color that connects with the door or another existing exterior detail.
View a physical sample outside in daylight when one is available. Screen and printed colors are only representations. Check the manufacturer’s color name and code on the exact product; the same descriptive name across two brands is not a guarantee of a match.
Choose a paintable product for a custom finish
Paintability depends on the shutter material and manufacturer. Perfect Shutters specifies color 049 for its paintable vinyl and says its color-through products are not suitable for painting. Mid-America identifies its paintable option as color 030. Do not assume that an ordinary colored vinyl shutter can be repainted.
For Perfect Shutters paintable vinyl, follow the company’s preparation, primer, finish-coat, and curing instructions. Its current painting guide calls for four days of drying before installation. Use the directions for the product you are buying rather than transferring paint advice from one brand to another.
Review your selection before ordering
Check the finish against every pair in the project, including any separately selected accessories. If you are replacing only part of an older installation, compare a sample with the existing shutters rather than relying on a color name from memory.
See Perfect Shutters’ painting guide and Mid-America’s paintable-shutter instructions.
