Mumsnet Talk

I want to get plantation shutters fitted to my main sitting room windows - 2 very tall windows.

I have had them before in previous properties but over 12 years ago when there weren't many companies around. I just googled and there are loads of companies now including John Lewis. I really don't know where to start and who to contact, so need advice / recommendations from wise mumsnetters who have bought them recently.

I am looking for a company to make and install them rather than the DIY option as neither DH or I are up to anything more than changing a light bulb.

I obviously want a good price, but most importantly excellent craftsmanship and customer service.

Come and tell me who to call and who to avaoid!!

TIA

where are you in the country?

I've just ordered some from a local company, cheaper (and better quality) than B&Q.

We are in west London, and looking for a company who will provide a full service - measure, manufacture and install.
If not in London does your local company only work locally?

bump!

I had two companies in to quote me for a 5 pannelled bay window - 5k!! I can't afford that so I'm getting a chippie to buy them at b&q and install them for me. Haven't had a price yet though.

I love them by the way.

Thanks Monty I hadn't thought of doing it that way....£5k for 1 window it sound like the price has gone up a lot over the past few years!

Take its a 1930's house so not a floor to ceiling window or anything, I was astonished, it was Hillary's and someone else who's name escapes me that I had in for the quotes (a couple of years ago now too). 5k was including so called discounts etc.

I'll be watching this thread with interest. Thanks for starting it. Good luck, I'll let you know if mine progress. My next move is to go to B&Q and have a look at the quality etc but imo it would be the fitting that makes it.

I will take a look at B&Q too.

In the meantime I think i will just choose 3 names from the vast array that came up when I googled and get them out to estimate - I will avoid Hilarys - thanks for the tip!

Can highly recommend House of Shutters.

They were the only company I found who actually make them. Most just measure up and send details to China. They are made there and then shipped so take up to 8 weeks to arrive.

House of Shutters come and measure up, design, make in their workshop and then install. They were fantastic with our weird shaped bay and came up with lots of ideas.

Also affordable, we got 3 quotes and they were mid range in terms of pricing.

Thanks so much seaside I will definetely call them, I had no idea that they were made in China, I thought that all the companies would make them themselves.

How long did it take from order to installation?

Soz, the company I used are just around here (NW) I'm afraid. It's costing 1K for 7 narrow shutters in a large bay window. Quite a lot less than 5K!!

they are also measured up then come from China.

It's actually a curtain/blind shop that are doing it, so it may be worth having a look in your local area?

I will try curtain/blind shops too, John Lewis are advertsing them in their blinds section. Thanks!

I think it was about 4 weeks from measuring to fitting.

Low, is that NW as in England?

See I knew 5k was extortionate grrrrrr. And I suspected there was nothing special about Hillary's etc.

London here and everything is such a rip off.

I am in rip-off London too, but was hoping to get a non London company in as I assumed that companies would be prepared to travel for a largish job. Though they will probably oik the charge up for London customers

I'm in Manchester.

I was speaking to my decorator last night, she said she was quoted £400 per square metre by Hilarys, and that was with a half price voucher!! there's something not right there.

BTW, if anyone wants to know, my shutters are coming from Fabrics of Chester in Prestwich, Manchester.

Low

I don't have them but a friend used a company called Affordable Shutters and was very pleased but have no idea of price.

Do avoid Hilarys like the plague, they are massively overpriced and will hope you won't haggle on the price.

We had them in to quote for roof blinds for our conservatory and the quote was ..... £12k. That is not a typo and our conservatory is not the size of a wedding marquee. I burst out laughing when the salewoman said that (had had DS 10 days before) and she immediately dropped the price to £9k. I said it was a ridiculous price and she must be mad, so the price dropped to £6k.

See, there's a pattern emerging, dropping it by £3k each time. I said I wasn't interested as they were way too expensive and she said she would speak to her area manager to see if there were any further discounts. I politely said don't bother. She rang back that evening offering them for £4k. Told her to get stuffed and that if she could drop to £4k then why start at £12k, that I felt ripped off and I hadn't even bought anything. <hormonal> Utter madness.

The very nice people at John Lewis did them for £2.1k inc installation and it was seemless.

Thanks so much Deux I will try Affordable Shutters and have been well warned about Hillarys!

take we have recently had several companies round to quote for half height shutters in a 5 window bay. Quotes from £900 to £1600 (and we are in London). £5k sounds extortionate!

If you're in London/SE then have a look at: Shaftesburys, Shutterly Fabulous, The New England Shutter Co (most pricey by far, but lovely quality), The Traditional Shutter Co, Plantation Shutters, OpennShut. All these got good reports on mumsnet and elsewhere.

There are quite a few slight differences in the products so if you are fussy about such details it's worth working out what you like/don't like. Eg not all companies do a completely hidden tilt rod if you want that style. Most companies put the frame outside the shutter, whereas some companies hide it behind the shutter. etc.

We're thinking of having Shaker-style solid shutters in a couple of bedrooms. Hope op doesn't mind the hijack - but can anyone recommend a company who'll do these? Would be going for DIY option as DH refuses to pay for anything he thinks he can do himself. In SW, but I guess it doesn't matter for DIY.

Thanks minipie we are in Notting Hill and I will look into all those you have mentioned. the prices you have been quoted sound about right to me. Do you mind me asking which company you prefer?

whatswrong the solid ones would be lovely in a bedroom, I would have thought most shutter companies do both styles?

You're probably right. Will get to trawling the web asap thanks!

Hi WhatsWrong, B&Q do these (they have a partnership with California Shutters who do both slatted and solid shutters). Yep most shutter companies do both.

take we went with the Traditional Shutter Co in the end. Mainly because they were one of the few companies (along with New England) who put the frame behind the shutter rather than round the edge, and we prefer the frame-behind look. They also seemed marginally better quality than some of the others. However we have only just placed the order so can't really express a view on the end product just yet! Leaving aside the frame design difference, there wasn't much between all the companies really, they all seemed about equal. We didn't see Shutterly Fabulous or OpennShut but both get good reviews.

PS Some of these companies have discount offers - worth doing a web trawl before you place your order. Eg Shaftesburys had a partnership with Lombok, if you ordered through Lombok you got a 10% discount - though don't know if that is still running.

I have made appointments with 3 companies for Monday-
House of Shutters
Traditional Shutter company
Shaftesburys
I will let you know who we choose! Thanks for your help

Thanks for all the recommendations.

I have ordered today with Traditional Shutter Company....so minipie you will get your fitted first, I hope you are happy with them, let me know!

yay! this is just the info I am going to be looking for if we ever exchnage and complete - thanks!

Just out of interest - what is involved with teh DIY optuon? How hard it it. Both DP and I can measure up, use a drill to make a hole, whack in a plastic thing and screw a screw in - is that sufficient DIY ability do you think?

We have quite a lot of rooms to do so I am thinking of going this route to keep the cost down.

BIL is also a kitchen-fitter so could presumably help.

Also, on a related note, 2 of teh bedrooms have velux windows and have basic blibds on them. As these will be the children's bedroom I want to replace with blackout blinds, ideally with an automatic function so they can open and close them as they are quite high up. Anyone any idea where to get them from?

You may already know this, but you can get shutters for velux windows. like these - I'm sure other companies do them as well.
We have blinds on DS1's veluxes, also high up, and bought a hooked pole from the blinds shop - like the ones I remember from school. Does the job.

takeonboard hope your shutters work out well.
Do you mind if I ask roughly how much they were price-wise?
We have used New Eng shutter co before, who were excellent, but cant stretch to them this time, they are very expensive.

yes I've seen the velux shutters, they look great. i think we might go for the velux blinds to keep the price down in those rooms. I would also love to know ball park figures to preare myself!

I don't know about the DIY option, we have gone for the full service - measure, manufacture and fit. I suppose it depends on how handy you are - we are not!

we are paying about £1300 for 2 large floor to ceiling windows, with hidden tilt rods, in "pointing" (yes they do farrow & ball colours!).

Traditional Shutter co were the mid-priced company of the 3 we saw and I was suprised at the price of all of them, we had shutters fitted over 12 years ago, when hardly anyone did them and paid more than this for 1 bay window. I suppose as there are more companies around they have to price competively.

talking of colours, I realsie these wouldnt be everybodies cup of tea but I would love these for my babies room! www.shutterlyfabulous.com/gallery/nursery-shutters.html

taken that sounds like a good price, esp given they are F&B colour matched and have hidden tilt rods (I also want both of these options).

I recently had some shutters installed in a small bay window by a local company, they installed shutters made by S:Craft, which I saw in John Lewis the other day are the ones that they supply and fit. For those that are interested to know, it cost £900 for completely concealed tilt rod shutters.

I did an online quote with the B&Q DIY option, that was around £500 with either 15% or 20% discount (can't remember) for the same window. Our window is wonky (I won't mention the 'S' word insurers and house buyers don't like, but it is over 100 years old) so didn't fancy trying it ourselves and getting it wrong. Also, they don't do concealed tilt rods, just the more minimal metal ones on the side.

We also had less panels on the bottom half than the top half because we open the top half of the shutters in the day, but not the bottom half.

Hi all any updates? Need to order mine soon. Anyone had theirs installed and got any advice? Also could someone explain the options to me? What are the different options for the rods? What is the hidden/nonhidden thing?

I am still waiting, they are due to be fitted in 2 weeks.
I have gone for hidden rods, the alternative is the tilt rods are on the front of the blades which looks fine, but I thought the hidden ones look less cluttered.
Will report back when mine are fitted. minipie have yours been fitted yet?

Hello! Feedback time. We had ours supplied by Traditional Shutter Company as mentioned above, and fitted a week ago.

I should say that we chose to get our own carpenter to fit them (due to a hideously tricky 5 part bay window with angles all over the place) so I can't comment on the company's fitting service.

We are definitely happy with the quality of the shutters. They look great - and a lot less plasticky than some I have seen. Delivery was on time and everything was exactly as ordered.

My only gripe is that a couple of the shutter frames were very slightly warped when they arrived - but it was so slight that it disappeared once the shutter frame was screwed onto the window frame.

Overall, a happy customer!

thats great minciepie I am hoping mine will be fitted end of next week or beginning of the following week.
Hopefully I will be happy too!

Update.......My shutters were fitted today!
They look great,even better than expected and I cannot speak highly enough about the Traditional shutter company. the shutters were ready and fitted a week early (early is unheard of!), the fitter arrived dead on time, worked quickly and neatly, cleared up every bit of mess and the whole thing was finished with no disruption whatsoever.
I am wondering which windows to do next....

glad to hear yours worked out too take!

hi on your recommendation I have decided to go with The Traditional Shutter Co. Only gripe is that they only do one shade of white! When I queryed this with Ted he seemed surprised that I would want a more chalky white and advised me to go find a paint chart and let him know. Did you go with the white (which is Crown white) or did you chooose a differerent shade? Thank you!

That's funny, I thought they offered us more than one shade of white but not sure. I can't remember what the name of the white we have is, but it's probably the Crown white. I remember we wanted a proper white white (not brilliant white but not far off), rather than an off white.

hi take, when you ordered your shutter with TSC were you offered more than one shade of white i.e. Crown white?? I'm about to place my order (very impressed with quality, price and Ted) but don't want such a bright white! Ted did suggest letting him know when I found another white (and seemed a bit bemused at my request) but I'm not sure if this will cost more and quite honestly I would have been much happier if the company had offered an alternative shade! Did you stick with the normal Crown white? Thank you!

By the way, in case you had not spotted this - the Traditional Shutter Company (along with New england shutter co) do a slightly unusual design, the frame sits behind the shutter panel rather than round the edge of the shutter panel. Most companies do the frame around the edge.

Main advantage of the Traditional Shutter Co style is that the frame is not visible (which is especially good if, like us, you have to bodge the frames a bit to get them to fit a wonky window). Main disadvantage is that the whole thing sticks out from the window twice as far, because the frame sits behind the shutter rather than round the sides of it.

Just thought I'd mention this difference in case you weren't aware!

Just bumping this thread as am finally getting quotes for plantation shutters. So far have booked Thomas Sanderson to come out as they seem to have a good offer one (though am aware this could be the usual Hilaries Blind permanent sale type scam). I also, strangely, liked the look of the B & Q / California company ones so might try them too. Looks like Traditional Shutter Company went down well here too so will also try them.

Any other recommendations now a few months down the line?

I don't think I care what they are made of really as long as aren't flimsy and don't look cheap - am going for white. Would like to get a good price but havent relaly got a clue how much it works out to - am ideally doing 2 patio doors, 2 large windows and 2 small. Any ideas what kind of price I am looking at?

Other than the style choice - hidden frame/not, hidden tilt rod/not - what should I be looking out for? I would like them to be "black out" capable - the B & Q ones expressly mention this - are they all blackout when fully closed?

Thanks

Hmm tbh Thomas Sanderson get some pretty terrible reviews online and are known for having mega high starting prices so that they can offer massive discounts. But I never tried them so shouldn't really comment .

No, most are not full blackout when closed. For total full blackout, you need the ones where the louvres have L shaped notches in, so that they "lock together" when shut (hard to describe!). Not many places sell these, as I recall. Most places just sell styles where the louvres are smooth (no notch), so when they are shut they just sit against each other and don't "lock together" in the same way. However these still block out pretty much all the light, just not full blackout.

I would ditch Sanderson now, you will be forever plagued by phones calls if you dont go with them and they are overpriced.
We used New England Shutter Co and they were great, pricey but lovley quality and fitting and whatever colour you like.

I'm Whatswrongwithyou and posted near the beginning of this thread.

We've now had 2 average-sized shutters from California Shutters. We went for the DIY option as the property is new and sizes were standard.

We found them very reasonable and helpful, and I think they're still doing a discount if you 'like' them on fb.

< tries to think of something witty to say about shutters >
< fails >

I know this is an old thread but thought I add a recommendation for Shutterly Fabulous. They are a Brighton based company and I have used them twice now over the space of a couple of years.

Can't fault their service or quality. Not badly priced either although take 8 weeks from order to delivery.

They are really helpful with suggesting things eg hidden rods or visable rods and width, colour, style etc.

thanks guys - i suspected sandersons were a hilary's/everest type company. Luckily I never answer my phone if i dont recognise the number! Will try Shutterly Fabulous as well.

Hello everyone, I know this is an old thread, but I would recommend Eden House for fitting internal shutters - I've used them a couple of times now and they've been brilliant. Small company offering a personal, detailed appoach, lots of advice and an excellent fitting service. They're based in Ascot, Berkshire but I know they do cover London areas too.

Seeing as others are posting recommendations, I'd like to recommend that no-one consider using Homestyle (Lee High Road, SE London) for shutters.

I've posted about our disastrous shutter experience previously in the legal section but hadn't named the company. To cut a long story short, we ordered shutters and after 6 months shutters with the wrong sized slats were fitted. Poorly. Having had no response to our letters we eventually took Homestyle to the small claims court which found in our favour. Sadly, we have never received a penny from the company and are reluctant to waste any more money on bailiffs etc. as we can't imagine that we'd recoup our costs. Homestyle have, as a result of our action (and supported by detailed documentation that we'd kept), also been 'struck off' by the Guild of Mastercraftsmen.

So, steer clear of Homestyle by Peter Rhys for shutters!

I was a poster on this thread, we used Lifestyle Shutters in the end - Surrey/Sussex area, and can thoroughly recommend them. They were excellent no complaints whatsoever.