We are often asked about shutters that can swing open at the top while the lwer panels remain in the window. This type of shutters is called double hung, and are used most often over double hung windows. The benefit of this shutter design is the ease of controlling the light and the view. The downside to this design is that there is gennerally an increase in cost, and there is a greater amount of light and view blocked when the upper and lower panels are in the window. The greatest negative to this design in our opinion is that the sitelines at eye level are the most affected. The top rail of the lower panels are generally about 4″ tall and the lower rail of the upper panels are usually about 3″. So this means that there is a solid 7″ crossing the window right at your eye level. We most often recommend a standard single panel  in height with a center dividing rail. This affords the homeowner to tilt the upper and lower louvers independently, and provides much more light and view when tilted open.