Shutters, will I regret the cost?

[Hellovation]

We are slowly renovating. We have huge privacy issues, due to road proximity and massive windows.

although the road is not busy, we are closely set and it’s feeling goldfishbowl-like.

we can’t use normal blinds because they’re just open or shut / up or down and we need the natural light.

without sounding dramatic it really feels like shutters are honestly our only real option is shutters (so we can have the top half open and bottom shut etc )

but the cost is huge (wooden blinds come in about £700 vs shutters £6000)

this is a forever/long term home.

Are there other alternatives I don’t know of and should consider? And beyond the practicality of it which I think is perfect solution, do they really warrant the price and are they as aesthetically pleasing and house value improving as everyone seems to say?

putting it to mumsnet for the final word before I pull the trigger and give up the next two years holiday budget for them 😅

Super! Let the daytime sleeping commence!

I have curtains over mine, just to make it look a bit more homely. I have solid ones, so they are very easy to clean!

I love our shutters, we have had them for about 10 years. Do yours really need to cost so much. We used California Shutters (in the UK, no idea why they are called that). They have a great website, with lots of information about DIY measuring and are very helpful if you want to check things by phone. They sell lots of different types in various wood and finishes. They ship them to you and (according to my husband, who is a retired Teacher, not a tradesman) they are very straightforward to fit.

We have shutters in our living room, and we absolutely adore them. We paid £1,900 and they are so elegant and stylish. Definitely don’t regret.

Edit: we used Shutterly Fabulous.

We have them at the front downstairs. I was appalled at the cost of them (same as others, we used a local firm they was about 60% of the cost of the big nationals, but it was still a lot!) but they do look nice and neat. We might get curtains here them eventually to make things feel a bit cosier. If you were thinking of having curtains too, how about having the half height ones (I think they're called cafe style?) just for privacy? That was you wouldn't lose so much light.

We had those fabric blinds that you can pull down from the top in our old house. They looked nice but the cords had snapped on one side and I found them really difficult to keep clean, they ended up quite mildewed

I've had shutters in every house I have had and would so again. If you are looking to skimp on a couple of windows try the " night and Day " blinds.

I have tried both traditional shutters and “perfect fit” as suggested up thread

For our style of windows the traditional shutters just didn’t work.

I highly recommend the perfect fit ones. Have to measure yourself etc but they are cost effective, look similar and far less faff

I must be out of sync with Mumsnet but I’ve never been a fan of shutters. Much too bulky and hard to open properly, and they get dusty all the time.

in a similar house, we had modern net curtain panels (linen) on the bottom half of the windows with bit curtains for the night time. No shutters anywhere.

Does anyone know how much an average upvc window would cost for Perfect Fit blinds 2Go, please?

They absolutely do not all use the same factories in china. TS shutters are a cut above the rest and well worth the price imo.

we had some shutters put in our living room window. It was the only solution that would stop the dog barking at everything that went past. We went with upvc rather than wood as they are “dog proof” and in the event that he does damage them relatively easy to fix.

I have shutters in my house all over
Im getting a new patio door in a few weeks and I will get perfect fit shutters on those to match

I paid for my sons shutters in his house last year
3 upstairs with black out blinds behind them
1 downstairs ( kitchen )
3 perfect fit shutters on the back inc the french doors

paid 4.3k last year

Love our shutters. Used Hilary’s both times to install. Remember first salesmen saying to me don’t waste your money getting real wood just go with MDF. And he was right. Think we paid in the region of £400-£800 per window depending on size.

What’s the difference between perfect fit and normal shutters?

Each type have their pros and cons.

Love our shutters. Would recommend a black out blind behind the bedroom ones.

Cafe curtains on the bottom half of the windows. We have them and they allow privacy without blocking light. I think they make a room feel much more cosy, but I also personally hate shutters!

That’s what I have in my bedroom and at my sons house

We had Hillary’s over, they came in about a quarter more expensive that TS, and a local firm who would match but only in the ones that have the pole (I’m sorry that’s not the term but my brain is flatly refusing to recall its proper name) which I didn’t like.

TS went on to offer us an extra 5.5% off so although the cost is still hefty, I think this will be one of those things I won’t live to regret, she says.. in hope.

We have them downstairs and in our bedroom. They’re fine, I preferred when we had opaque glass (window film but it looked like opaque glass) on the bottom half of the sash and curtains. It was much warmer and cosier (our house is old and draughty) in the winter and lighter and brighter in the summer. I would never get them in the bedroom again as they don’t block out enough light for me sadly.

@Fagli Thank you for mentioning window film, I can now solve being overlooked as blinds are way out of my budget!

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C6X66QV6/?coliid=IZI2NEBLCFTUU&colid=2Y13OL85OQHUZ&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it

I love the clean look of them …makes the room look bigger, but do have curtains in the bedroom