Would shutters keep the sun out of my west facing bedroom?

[penona]

Err, that's it really. We have a west facing bedroom with big bay windows - beautiful views but the sun wakes us up every morning. We currently have blackout roman blinds, but they hang inside the window frame so the sun peeks round the edge - it's bright enough to not need to open them to make-up etc in the mornings!!

I have been recommended curtains with a pelmet but the windows are a strange angled shape and go right to the cornicing on the ceiling (Victorian house) so have no idea how they would fit.

Thanks for tips!

[OldLadyKnowsNothing]

Er, west facing, and you're woken by the dawn? Where are you?

More seriously, I've lived with wooden shutters, and they're fabulous. They cut out light and noise waaay better than any alternatives.

[penona]

East facing then, derr I don't really know my compass points very well!! (Or left and right for that matter). That might explain why the woman in the shop looked so strangely at me when I told her the blinds weren't sufficient!!!

Thanks for the tips on the shutters. The blinds were expensive, and now pointless, so I really want something that works and is colour neutral when we repaint the walls etc.

[SweetDreamerGirl]

Shutters are great and have been very effective in my experience. After all, in hot sunny countries like Spain, where the summer sun really means business, they are a traditional way of keeping the sun at bay.

[Earlybird]

Are you thinking of solid shutters, or the kind with slats? Slats obviously less effective than solid....

[IMoveTheStars]

sorry for the slight hijack - OP we're thinking of doing the same thing, we have dormer windows and were thinking of shutters for them, pref with slats - have you found any good suppliers?

[penona]

Hello

No not found any suppliers yet. Have a friend who had hers done recently and look very nice (but on ground floor for privacy not blocking light) so going to ask her. There are always loads of adverts in our local free magazine (live in SW London).

I was thinking of ones with slats, or at least that are easy to open and pull back so when I actually want to be awake I can flood the room with the morning sun!!!

[wilbur]

We have slatted shutters on our east facing bedroom windows and I have to say I think they were an expensive mistake. They look lovely, but barely block out the light. I sleep facing them and wake up around 5.30 every morning in the summer. In dh's old flat, we had solid wooden shutters that were amazing, totally dark, and I thought these would be similar. Wrong.

[penona]

wilbur that is exactly what I wanted to know. Our bedroom is east facing (not west, got confused in first posting and now can't change!!!) so gets the sun early and is driving us mad. Would the solid blinds work then - did they in your last house? Do they fold back to open or something?

[OldLadyKnowsNothing]

I had solid (original) shutters on one house I lived in; they folded back into a kind of recess at the side of the window iykwim. They will deffo keep out the light!

(And they cut down on draughts and noise, too.)