Shutters...or wooden ventian blinds...help!!

[LittleMissSnowShine]

Hi ladies

We have a bay window in the living room that looks out onto the street so it feels a bit strange having nothing there. At the minute there's a very sorry set of vertical venetian blinds that must be at least 20 years old and are falling to pieces.

We have a sofa in the window and curtains are a bit of a pain to pull, a lot of sofa clambering required! I've had a look at frosted glass window stickers and I'm not so keen on this option.

So I've narrowed it down to going with either wooden venetian blinds or getting shutters.I don't know anyone who has actually got shutters in their house anywhere though so I would love some advice!!

I got a quote for £1200 to do this one bay window - I knew it would be pricy but I thought maybe £800 / £900. I'm still tempted because not only do they look nice and provide a bit of privacy, I've read online that shutters are great for insulation so they will keep the heat down on a hot day (this room gets a lot of sun) and they will keep it a bit warmer in winter. Is this true? Would it be worth the initial outlay? We have been here for 2 years already and I'd say it's definitely likely we'll be here for another 10 and probably longer so we would get good use out of them!

Wooden venetians are going to be more like £400 for this window so should I just go for these instead?

Basically I am looking for anyone what has a window like this and has gone for one or other of these options to convince me what's the best option!!!

Thankin you in advance

[DarlingCoffee]

We have a bay window in our living room and have got white wooden shutters on the bottom half of the window. I love them, they look fantastic and let lots of light in. I believe ours cost around the £1k mark but I think they have added value to our property which we are trying to sell at the moment. Go for shutters!

[RNBrie]

I'd echo that previous post exactly! We have shutters over the bottom half only, £750 from Hillarys. I know they get some mixed reviews online but we found them excellent and much cheaper than other places.

[LucyLocketLostHerPocket]

I have white wide slat wooden venetians which were pretty cheap (Tuiss) but have been up for a few years and still look good. I love shutters and think they look better from the outside too but the cost was ridiculous and I don't like the windows covered all the time so decided it was better to have lightweight blinds I could pull up than shutters that would have to fold up and block a bit of light.

[EnriqueTheRingBearingLizard]

I have a wooden venetian and would never buy one again. It's got to go. It holds the dust whatever method I try to clean it with and it's totally impossible to reach between the sets of strings. That problem applies twice over as it affects both sides. I hate it

[ppeatfruit]

Go for the shutters , that quote is very good IMO and E. I have outside shutters, they are brilliant.

[whois]

Shutters all the way! Look a million times better than blinds and much more practical.

[JoJoSM2]

I've opted for wooden Venetian blinds in the last two houses and have been very happy with them. As I measured the windows myself and ordered them online, even the biggest ones cost under £200/each. They are lovely quality and I feel that wth the money saved, you could get some amazing furniture/ decorations that would really set the room off.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Shutters do look lovely though, if it would make you happy then do it.