Catz in the Kitchen

  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Healthy
    • Italian
    • Mexican / Latin
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegetarian
    • Grilling
    • Desserts
  • DIY
  • Featured
  • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Healthy
    • Italian
    • Mexican / Latin
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegetarian
    • Grilling
    • Desserts
  • DIY
  • Featured
  • Contact
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Healthy
    • Italian
    • Mexican / Latin
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegetarian
    • Grilling
    • Desserts
  • DIY
  • Featured
  • Contact
×
Home » DIY

DIY Window Box and Shutters

Published: Aug 6, 2016 · Modified: Jul 25, 2020 by Joshua Rief · This post may contain affiliate links · 27 Comments

20.6K shares
  • Share394
  • Email
  • Print

Looking to dress up a plain exterior window? It doesn't get any cheaper, easier, or more flexible than this plan for a DIY Window Box and Shutters!

Looking to dress up a plain exterior window? It doesn't get any cheaper, easier, or more flexible than this plan for a DIY Window Box and Shutters!

Chels and I have been working on a few DIY projects this spring and summer that we haven't shared with you yet (we did recently share the farmhouse style dining room table we built last fall, and we've just finished a less formal round table that we'll share soon!). Those are perhaps a bit more ambitious projects, but if you're looking for something super easy...look no further than these easy window boxes and shutters! 

We live in a "development," like so many Americans in the suburbs. Each house is designed to have a bit of character out front - alternating elevations, rooflines, paint colors, finishing materials, and landscaping, to keep things from looking too cookie cutter. In back, however...other than color, everything looks the same! It's a big flat wall. That's fine, of course, and from the developer's point of view, makes all the sense in the world. We spend quite a bit of time in our little backyard, though, and so we started looking at little ways to personalize it. We haven't done much yet, though we have lots of ideas! Some of them are spendy...so let's start with one that's definitely not. Each of these little projects (window box and/or shutters) can be built for around $10, so they're not going to be breaking any banks! We highly recommend you try this project out for yourself! 

Window Box

Let's talk about the window box first. As I've been doing a lot lately, I paged through Shanty 2 Chic's impressive library of DIY projects until I came across this post about window boxes from three summers ago. It didn't have the spiffy step-by-step PDF directions that their larger projects typically have, but it also didn't really need them - this is a simple project!

Looking to dress up a plain exterior window? It doesn't get any cheaper, easier, or more flexible than this plan for a DIY Window Box and Shutters!

So, what do you need in the way of lumber and tools? Not much. A 1x8 cedar board, a 1x6 cedar board, and two pieces for the trim, a 1x3 and a 1x2. The length of the boards you need will depend on the size of window box you're building. We wanted ours to stretch the full width of our kitchen window, which is about 40 inches wide. I build a couple of these for gifts in addition to the one we put on the kitchen window, so you'll see a few sizes in these pictures. Shanty 2 Chic's is about 28 inches long. Additionally, the type of boards you buy depends on the look you're going for - the original post uses good quality finished cedar lumber, which is a little more spendy. We were going for a rustic, worn look, so we were able to get away with cedar fencing, which is very cheap - think $1-4 per board!

For tools, you'll need a miter saw, preferably, or a skill saw. A nail gun is nice, but finishing nails and a hammer will work, too. An electric sander is a good idea, though you could get by with sandpaper.

To figure out the length of the boards you need, think about it like this: the narrower cedar board (the 1x6) is going to make up the bottom and ends of the box. The ends need to reach the top of the 1x8's, so you'll need about 15 inches of 1x6 to cover that. The wider cedar board (the 1x8) is the front and back. So, for a 28 inch box, you'll need about 56 inches of 1x8 and about 43 inches of 1x6 (so, maybe a five foot 1x8 and a four foot 1x6, if those are the lengths your home improvement store is selling). For a 40 inch box, you'll need about 80 inches of 1x8 and 55 inches of 1x6. Always buy a little extra if you can...well, at least if you're like me and make mistakes!

Looking to dress up a plain exterior window? It doesn't get any cheaper, easier, or more flexible than this plan for a DIY Window Box and Shutters!

Getting the "box" put together can be a little challenging the first time, but it's not too bad. Take the bottom piece, set it on top of the end pieces, and use outdoor wood glue and nails to put them all together. Once you have this "U" structure in place, the front and end pieces go on easily, add strength, and keep the whole thing square.

Looking to dress up a plain exterior window? It doesn't get any cheaper, easier, or more flexible than this plan for a DIY Window Box and Shutters!

Now you have the box, of course. The trim is easy - just measure and cut as you go. Especially if you're using the cheap fencing cedar, you can get a little variability in widths, so be sure to measure for each piece of trim rather than just assuming that everything will come out the way it's supposed to. In this plan, the wider piece goes on top and the narrower piece goes on the bottom, while the back gets no trim at all, as it will be facing the wall. If you are planning to make a box that will just sit on a porch or a table, you can add additional trim pieces to finish the back as well.

Looking to dress up a plain exterior window? It doesn't get any cheaper, easier, or more flexible than this plan for a DIY Window Box and Shutters!

And that's it! The basic box is complete. Your call on how to finish it, where to mount it, how to plant in it, and what to plant in it, of course. We needed to mount ours on the siding of our house, so we had to find an appropriate mounting kit at Home Depot - I think it was under $10. For our finish, we used Behr's transparent weatherproofing water-based stain, and had the good folks at Home Depot mix it to our desired hue, which was something called Cordovan, if I remember correctly. I sanded down the rough cedar a bit prior to staining, but it still soaked up a lot of stain.

Looking to dress up a plain exterior window? It doesn't get any cheaper, easier, or more flexible than this plan for a DIY Window Box and Shutters!

One tip that I loved from Shanty's plan was to use plastic planter inserts in the box, rather than putting dirt directly inside. For one thing, I have to imagine that the box will last much longer, especially here in the Pacific Northwest where everything is constantly wet. Secondly, it makes replanting so much easier! Pull out your insert, replant, drop it back in. Brilliant.

Looking to dress up a plain exterior window? It doesn't get any cheaper, easier, or more flexible than this plan for a DIY Window Box and Shutters!

Shutters

Now, what's easier than these incredibly simple window boxes? These ridiculously simple shutters, of course. These will run you something like $5 apiece, depending on the cost of the panels and the size of your windows, and they take all of 15 minutes to build.

Looking to dress up a plain exterior window? It doesn't get any cheaper, easier, or more flexible than this plan for a DIY Window Box and Shutters!

You basically need two types of wood for this little project. The same 1x6 cedar boards that we used for the window box, and the same 1x3 trim boards as well! Again, overall measurements will depend on the size of your window. This window was roughly four feet high, so I went ahead and bought a separate piece of cedar fence board for each slat, and then one really long (eight foot) piece of trim that I could chop up for the cross pieces.

Looking to dress up a plain exterior window? It doesn't get any cheaper, easier, or more flexible than this plan for a DIY Window Box and Shutters!

I can't remember where I read this tip, but it's brilliant. Once you've cut your boards to the correct length (equal to the height of your window), use those little free paint mixing sticks to space them! This keeps the spacing perfectly even, which is key. Once they're laid out, spaced, and square, measure across for the length of your trim pieces, cut appropriately, and lay them out to make sure everything fits. Be careful to use the same side of the trim board facing out for all of your shutters - different sides can have different levels of finish, which will result in the stain taking very differently. You could end up with some unwanted variation shutter to shutter.

Looking to dress up a plain exterior window? It doesn't get any cheaper, easier, or more flexible than this plan for a DIY Window Box and Shutters!

You can use wood glue and finishing nails to secure the trim pieces in place - make sure your nails are short enough that they don't come out the back of the shutters, though! Measure carefully to make sure everything is evenly spaced and square, and then nail it all together! Don't forget to pull your paint stirrers out when you're done.

Looking to dress up a plain exterior window? It doesn't get any cheaper, easier, or more flexible than this plan for a DIY Window Box and Shutters!

That's it! They're done and ready to be stained. We used the same Behr stain I mentioned above for the shutters, as we wanted them to match the window boxes - sort of rustic barn wood look. Or, at least, that's what we were trying for! We are definitely amateurs here...

Looking to dress up a plain exterior window? It doesn't get any cheaper, easier, or more flexible than this plan for a DIY Window Box and Shutters!

So, that's it. A quick and cheap way to pretty up a plain window. We're going to work on adding shutters to more of the windows in the back of the house, and maybe (maybe!) add a really long window box to this one six or seven foot wide window we have back there. I'm not totally sold on that idea, but we'll see.

Looking to dress up a plain exterior window? It doesn't get any cheaper, easier, or more flexible than this plan for a DIY Window Box and Shutters!

If you missed it earlier, the link to Shanty 2 Chic's original window box post is here. Please let us know if you have any questions about the methods or materials we used, or suggestions for improvement - we all benefit from that! We hope to bring you more DIY posts soon!

More DIY

  • DIY Under the Stairs Closet Pantry Conversion
  • DIY Floating Deck & Fire Pit
  • DIY Classic Farmhouse Kitchen Table
    DIY Classic Farmhouse Kitchen Table
  • DIY $20 Newel Post Makeover

Comments

  1. Lara says

    April 25, 2019 at 11:14 am

    Gorgeous! Please, I would like to know which wood stain ( specifically the color) or sealing did you use for the flower boxes? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Joshua Rief says

      April 29, 2019 at 9:05 am

      Hi, Lara! My apologies for the delayed reply. According to my notes from the project, it was a Behr (Home Depot) weather-proofing transparent stain tinted to “Cordovan”. Hope that helps!

      Reply
    • Kelli Magee says

      June 13, 2019 at 3:26 pm

      Do you have a printable version of this? Like a list of all tools and materials for both and step by step directions for both that people could print out as a guide?

      Reply
      • Joshua Rief says

        June 20, 2019 at 5:36 pm

        Hi, Kelli - we don't at the moment. We did add a plugin a few months ago that will allow this functionality, and have it on a couple of other DIY posts. Hopefully, when time allows we'll be able to redo this one in that format!

        Reply
    • Gina says

      July 23, 2020 at 11:57 am

      Hi good afternoon I was just looking at the shutters and flower box you mentioned you bought a kit for the flower box because of your siding what did you use to hang the shutters? I’m not sure what to use Thanks for all you do🙌🏼

      Reply
      • Joshua Rief says

        July 25, 2020 at 9:39 am

        Hi, Gina - it was four years ago, so I was worried they wouldn't still have it, but they do! We used the Vigoro 3-in-1 plant bracket. I just went and added the link to the post as well. Hope it works out for you!

        Reply
    • Suzanne Renshaw says

      September 15, 2021 at 9:39 am

      @Joshua Rief,
      So, I went on FB and saw someone was making shutters . I asked for a bid and it was over $450 for 2 windows!!! I came across your page and went to Menards for the supplies. The worker even cut all my boards! I just put them together this morning and now am going to Home Depot to get your recommended stain color. I am in shock! It was under $60 and they look amazing!!!! And I did them myself!!! Going to tackle the window Box next !!
      Thank you so much for this page!

      Reply
      • Joshua Rief says

        September 18, 2021 at 9:03 pm

        I am so glad to hear it! This is such a simple little project, but can make such a big difference. It makes me so happy to know this was helpful to you!

        Reply
  2. Penny says

    May 01, 2021 at 5:18 am

    Soooo... I have not found ANYWHERE that has liners that fit!! What the heck! Most taper from 5-8” online and the local landscaping stores do not carry! Help! Email me please!

    Reply
    • Joshua Rief says

      May 01, 2021 at 7:35 pm

      Hi, Penny - we bought ours at Home Depot back when we wrote this post in the summer of 2016. Amazingly, I still have the receipt! I checked the serial number, and it doesn't look like Home Depot carries them anymore, unfortunately. I agree - all of the ones I see for sale are tapered now, and too wide for the box!

      Reply
  3. Leihh says

    October 10, 2021 at 3:13 pm

    Off topic off the shutters what colors is the green in the window? Any idea the paint name?

    Reply
    • Joshua Rief says

      October 11, 2021 at 1:02 pm

      Hi, Leihh - hmm, I'm not sure which color you're looking for! Do you mean that little strip of paint color you can see on the right hand side behind the glass?

      Reply
    • Amber says

      June 12, 2024 at 4:09 pm

      @Joshua Rief, Yes! I was wondering tht as well! This is so inspiring! I can't wait to build these! :)

      Reply
      • Joshua Rief says

        July 20, 2024 at 5:06 pm

        Ah, I see what y'all are referring to there! I am sad to report that trim you can see the window is white, and it's just the sun through the glass that makes it appear green. ☹️

        Reply
  4. Jen says

    April 22, 2023 at 8:00 pm

    How did you attach the shutters to the house. I don’t see any screws or nails.

    Reply
    • Joshua Rief says

      May 23, 2023 at 6:24 pm

      Hi, Jen! I used short nails from my nail gun to tack them up (they are super light). Tried to make sure the nails were short enough that they didn't go all the way through the siding!

      Reply
  5. Stacy Handley says

    May 10, 2023 at 5:26 am

    I love the idea of making this myself. What did you use to hang the shutters? I have hardie board and batton vertical boards. Thank you

    Reply
    • Joshua Rief says

      May 23, 2023 at 6:23 pm

      Hi, Stacy! We have Hardie as well, and I just used short nails (from my nail gun) to tack them in (tried to make sure the nails were short enough that they wouldn't go all the way through the siding). The shutters are so light, this seemed to work really well!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Weekly Menu For The Week Of Aug 8th - Catz in the Kitchen says:
    August 7, 2016 at 8:57 pm

    […] of checking things off the to-do list, we put up our second DIY post on Saturday, an easy one for window boxes and shutters – hope you like […]

    Reply
  2. Weekly Menu For The Week Of Aug 8th - Catz in the Kitchen says:
    August 7, 2016 at 8:57 pm

    […] of checking things off the to-do list, we put up our second DIY post on Saturday, an easy one for window boxes and shutters – hope you like […]

    Reply
  3. $4 Easy DIY Cedar Planter - Catz in the Kitchen says:
    November 26, 2016 at 10:32 am

    […] seem to crack easily, so I’m a fan (we used the same rot-resistant, insect-resistant wood in these window boxes). It’s also cheap – under $4 at our Home Depot (and about the same at […]

    Reply
  4. 23 DIY Window Box Ideas-Build And Fill Them With Colorful Flowers | The Self-Sufficient Living says:
    February 24, 2018 at 4:11 pm

    […] plans show you how to build a country style flower box with matching window shutters. Perfect for that trendy farmhouse look. This style would be easy to […]

    Reply
  5. 23 DIY Window Box Ideas-Build And Fill Them With Colorful Flowers – The Self-Sufficient Living says:
    December 30, 2018 at 11:51 am

    […] plans show you how to build a country style flower box with matching window shutters. Perfect for that trendy farmhouse look. This style would be easy to […]

    Reply
  6. 10 Charming Ways To Add Window Box Planters To Your House – Home Inspiration Ideas says:
    January 22, 2019 at 1:37 am

    […] You’re probably thinking we skipped a few steps such as the part where you actually get to hang the planter box outside your window. There’s also something even before that: actually building the box. It’s actually a fairly simple DIY project and, while you’re at it, we suggest considering making some matching window shutters as well. You can find all the details on catzinthekitchen. […]

    Reply
  7. 10 Charming Ways To Add Window Box Planters To Your House - interior4you says:
    January 22, 2019 at 2:02 am

    […] You’re probably thinking we skipped a few steps such as the part where you actually get to hang the planter box outside your window. There’s also something even before that: actually building the box. It’s actually a fairly simple DIY project and, while you’re at it, we suggest considering making some matching window shutters as well. You can find all the details on catzinthekitchen. […]

    Reply
  8. 10 Charming Ways To Add Window Box Planters To Your House – Shawnee KS Homes and Lifestyle says:
    January 22, 2019 at 5:32 am

    […] You’re probably thinking we skipped a few steps such as the part where you actually get to hang the planter box outside your window. There’s also something even before that: actually building the box. It’s actually a fairly simple DIY project and, while you’re at it, we suggest considering making some matching window shutters as well. You can find all the details on catzinthekitchen. […]

    Reply
  9. DIY Shutters for Your Home House Decor Design Exterior says:
    May 22, 2019 at 8:07 am

    […] DIY Window Box And Shutters from catzinthekitchen.com […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome!

HI! We're Chels & Josh, and this is Catz in the Kitchen! Let's find love around the table, one recipe at a time!

More about us

Popular

  • If you've ever thought about turning your cement porch into a wood deck, it's surprisingly easy! Here are some thoughts, tips, & photos from our experience!
    DIY: Turning a Cement Porch Into a Wood Deck
  • Ever thought about turning your concrete slab into a covered deck? It's definitely doable! Here are some thoughts, tips, & photos from our experience!
    DIY: Turning a Concrete Slab Into a Covered Deck
  • DIY Window Box and Shutters
  • DIY Home Library Built-In
  • Grilling these simple chicken foil packets is an easy, tasty way to get a flavorful, healthy meal on the table, whether you're camping or at home!
    Loaded Chicken Foil Packets
  • Stuffed Peppers
    Stuffed Peppers

Recent

  • Simple Baked Oats
  • Almond Ricotta Cake
  • Molasses Cookies
  • Baked Brie with Berry Jam
  • Weekly Menu for the Week of Mar 10
  • Maple Mustard Salmon

Footer

↑ back to top

About

HI! We're Chels & Josh, and this is Catz in the Kitchen! Let's find love around the table, one recipe at a time! Read more

Socials

Contact

  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Catz in the Kitchen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Copyright © 2025 Catz in the Kitchen

20.6K shares
  • 394
  • 394