Vertical blinds or shutters?

[perkypixels]

Calling on MN's who have had both vertical blinds and shutters in your windows. I'm soon to be getting all new window stuff but don't know whether to go for blinds or shutters. Do you have a preference and if so, why? Don't want to spend a fortune on shutters if they turned out to be a pain for most who had or have them. Thanks.

[perkypixels]

No one? At all?

[daphine2004]

Loads of different window coverings out there and the worst in my opinion are vertical blinds as they are always found in offices.

I’m sure you’ll find something you like.

[JeansNTees]

Vertical blinds look naff IMO.

[Puddypuddy]

I got shutters in my kitchen a few years ago and absolutely love them!A huge step up from blinds.They're beautiful.

[MarigoldGlove]

I’ve had vertical blinds in a rental house and I absolutely hated them. They are ugly and make you feel like you in a waiting room. In the end we got springy poles and put voiles up so we didn’t have to use the blinds.

[missbattenburg]

Never vertical blinds. Ever.

HTH

[perkypixels]

Thanks, everyone. Verticals do remind me of offices/waiting rooms but I wasn't sure if I was being fair in that assessment.

Shutters it is, then!

[bluetongue]

Anything but verticals! I see them in a fair few new builds around here and it baffles me. Maybe they’re cheap.

[moleeye]

We have shutters and they are a thing of beauty. I love driving/walking up to my house. They make me so happy!!

[Idontwanttotalk]

"Anything but verticals! I see them in a fair few new builds around here and it baffles me. Maybe they’re cheap."
They're not cheap unles you buy ready-made Argos ones and aren't bothered about the size of them, whether they open from the side or are split-draw and the type of opener (chain cord, wand or motorised).

Shutters do block out more light than blinds so it depends on how much light you receive and/or want.

[sevencontinents]

I would say shutters are better too, although I personally wouldn't have either (sorry). It's Roman blinds all the way for me!

[perkypixels]

The idea of potentially losing light is what gave me pause for thought in the first place. Where I live there are several homes with shutters, some with verticals, some with venetian and some with just bare windows so anyone walking past can look in. A day or so before I made my original post I was walking my dog and idly looking around and noticed two homes at right angles, one with shutters and one with verticals. Seeing the two so close together, it struck me that the verticals looked as if they let more light in than the shutters, but the shutters were lovely - maybe just because they were white against white frames (the verticals looked at least off-white, and not as nice by contrast) - but as I studied them, I did wonder if having shutters would make my living room darker, which I wouldn't want.

When we first moved in, there was a venetian blind at the kitchen window and I hated it. Never had Romans though, but they always look so crisp and neat in house magazines

[missbattenburg]

If privacy is your main aim we have used window film to opaque the lower half of the front windows. Absolute privacy with minimum light loss.

It's cheap, easy to apply and looks smart.

[BasiliskStare]

Roman Blinds in upper storeys - shutters where can be seen from street ( can be angled for light during day or privacy later on ) - Just an opinion.