Summer has finally kicked off and we're dreaming of beach houses and lazy days lake lounging at the cottage. Whether you're heading off on vacation this summer or not, we've grabbed 14 of the best modern shutter designs to help inspire you in easily transforming your urban space into a year round summer retreat.

Bright Colours

Coloured shutters can make an otherwise ordinary window or doorway pop. Painting your old shutters or installing fresh modern ones can be a game changer in updating your home's exterior. Here's some of our favourite bright coloured looks:

light blue window shutters
Sky Blue Shutters

Channel this fresh take on a Southern farm house with cheerful blue shutters on your front porch. The light blue against a white panelled exterior creates a nautical look that we're loving and sets an inviting tone to your home.

mint green shutters
Long Mint Green Shutters

Create an elegant and fresh summer look with long sea mint green shutters. These door length shutters from an Ohio home are a great way to add texture and symmetry. Update the back or side of your house with a mint sea green to perfectly flow and compliment your backyard garden.

robin egg blue shutters
Robin Egg Blue Shutters

Go bold and springy with a fabulous robins egg blue. The flower boxes and matching bench add a cute touch but the shutters alone are satisfying enough. The contrasting black iron details make the shutters pop so much, the neighbours won't be able to look away.

greek blue interior shutters
Greek Blue Interior Shutters

Blue is the summer colour, can't you tell? We love how the combination of a bright primary blue colour and a crisp white reminds us of the beautiful cliff side homes of Greece. "Summerfy" an interior with unique indoor shutters. Pick one colour to be the star of the show and dress the rest of the room in clean neutral shades to create a fresh and youthful look.

Wood Works

There's something about wooden shutters that seems to almost scream summer beach house! Here's a couple ways to achieve the look:

Dark Wooden shutters
Dark Wooden Shutters

White panelled wood floors paired with dark wood window shutters are perfect for a sunroom or cottage. Add a few patterned decorations and throw pillows for a more bohemian look like what's been done here.

dark wood indoor shutters
Dark Wood Indoor Shutters

Another way to stylize dark wood shutters is to install them around an entire room on all the windows and doors. Recreate a tropical beach house or relaxing hotel resort spa appearance with a rich dark wood.

Crisp White

white bathroom shutters
White Bathroom Shutters

Brighten up a room and accentuate natural lighting with crisp white shutters. Installing white shutters in a bathroom or kitchen is a simple way to achieve a clean and open look.

white kitchen door shutters
White Kitchen Door Shutters

Applying the same concept here, this kitchen feels bright and spacious. What's great about movable louver shutters is that you can enjoy both summer breezy vibes as well as adjust them for a more private enclosure.

half shutters white
White Half Shutters

These bay window shutters look and function as both blinds and open swung shutters. Replace old fashioned curtains or boring blinds with half size shutters to instantly modernize your interiors. A bay window or over a kitchen counter are great spots for the half size to keep eye level privacy but still allow for maximum light from the top.

Cottage Shutters

Cottage Porch Shutters
Fish Camp Cottage Porch Shutters

Update your cottage by installing some porch shutters. We love how this beach cottage mix and matches hard texture shutters with soft elements like a cream curtain and ruffled throw pillows. Shutters are also a convenient and functional way to protect your patio furniture from rain and overnights.

Flower Box Adornment

black exterior shutters
Black Exterior Shutters

Modernize your place and paint your shutters black. You can balance out the harshness with a window box of beautiful flowers like what's been done here. You can have fun with this and play up different colour combos every couple of years by repainting your shutters and switching up the types of plants or flowers. A simple long stem grass plant or white flowers would look equally as good.

Bedroom

Grey Rustic Bedroom Shutters
Grey Rustic Bedroom Shutters

We love this beautiful shade of claude french grey in the bedroom. Try a weathered painted look to create a rustic appearance reminiscent of a European summer home. A soft tone of grey matched with creams and beiges also evoke an airy and breezy feel to the room.

Beach Home

Beach House Shutters
Beach House Shutters

This Chilean beach house has got the right idea with placing shutters within the window and door frames themselves rather than beside. This placement technique offers more privacy but still produces that fresh summer look.

European

Bright Coloured European Shutters
Bright Coloured European Shutters

Saving the best for last, we're dying over this Monaco home's insane architecture. Taking our initial bright coloured concept to a whole new level, Europeans tend to paint their buildings and window shutters separately with contrasting bright colours.