What Is The Most Famous House With Plantation Shutters?

The beauty of plantation shutters is that they make as much or as little a statement as the homeowner wants them to.

In a light, airy room, a set of white or off-white shutters will add to the light feel without ever getting in the way, whilst simply painting them a darker or brighter shade will create in itself a statement piece.

It is perhaps telling that one of the most famous houses in the history of cinema appears to have been carved out of white marble except for the notable black pairs of exterior louvred shutters that cannot help but catch the eye.

Twelve Oaks might be the true star of the 1939 film Gone with the Wind, even above Vivian Leigh and Clark Gable, and many of the film’s most famous scenes are framed in a segmented light only possible with perfectly placed louvred shutters.

The house itself was more in line with the Colonial Revival architectural movement, with its vast array of columns, double-hung shutters and symmetrical facades which exaggerate features from the historic buildings depicted in the original Margaret Mitchell novel.

This caused some mild controversy, although as history has remembered the film adaptation far more vividly than the book, the iconic appearance of Twelve Oaks is defined by black louvred shutters and white columns than the original 1836 house.

The author of the original book was somewhat unhappy with this change, expecting a more historically accurate house to be used. Ultimately, the striking and deeply staged and cinematic feel of the cinematic Twelve Oaks and its beautiful shutters ultimately ended up winning out in the public consciousness.

It may have also had an effect on reviving plantation shutters as a popular design feature in the United States and making louvres a hugely popular summer house feature in other parts of the world that drew similar inspiration.