Shutters - why?

[Member786488]

The house down the road from me has shutters in every room. And they’re always, and I mean always, 99% closed.

this is SE England, not France, and obviously they’re inside not out.

I can’t help think that it must be so dark in every room in their house.

I know the couple, they’re fine, I’m not interested in their lives in any way.

if you have shutters, does this mean that you live your life in the dark?

I just can’t understand why anyone in this part of the world would want them, light is everything…

enlighten me…

To say your not interested in their life, you seem to be, errm, very interested in their life 🤣

Nah - we have them on our south facing windows, inside, and they do a pretty good job of keeping the room cool. No doubt exterior shuttering would be more effective still.

The climate is heating up, despite the endless 18 months of rain we've just had, and something we're not good at understanding - yet - in the UK is that when it's roasting outside, you don't open the curtains, blinds or shutters in the middle of the day, you close them. Those who grew up in hotter lands (like my partner) will tell you this.... so they might seem dated and old fashioned at this point but the 1990s days of endless glass buildings, say, are almost certainly behind us.

We're all going to have a lot of learning to do the next few years.

Besides which, unless there are odd smells and bats flying around, is it really anybody's business but theirs?

Are they out? I keep them shut to keep the heat out. Makes a huge difference to the temperature of the house.

I will be getting them in my front room and bedroom as my new house faces out onto a main road. I work at a desk facing out of the window ( in a glass artist, I need the natural light) and honestly some days I feel like a drs receptionist with people walking past, stopping and peering at me through the window. Also, I only work mornings as the sun comes around and blasts through the front windows from 1-sunset and it gets HOT in those rooms.

This reminds me of a thread once where the op was wondering why her neighbours never opened their curtains, some people like shade and privacy

I think they look great on big old houses with big windows. Would look a bit wierd on my little ex council terrace...

I have them all through my house.

I hate curtains, I think they are unhygienic dust traps.

I've thought this too OP! I sometimes see them in new builds with tiny windows. I've got horizontal thin but wide slatted wooden blinds, not particularly fashionable at the moment but do the trick.

I've always thought the same about windows with massive plants in too, they look dingy to me - much like plants I need light to thrive 😁

Ye olde net curtains will inevitably come back in at some point, the ideal solution to privacy and light.

Well, our house was built in 1863, and the shutters are the original ones.

I really like them but they are so expensive we won't be getting any.

None of my neighbours have them but by far the majority keep their curtains permanently closed. When I walk my dogs (different times of the day at least twice a day) they are closed.

Along my street there are 11 houses and 7 of them have permanently closed curtains, front and back. Their rooms must be so dark and gloomy. It's all the time, not just when sunny.

On my estate of 200 houses over half have their curtains closed all the time.

I think it is very weird. I like as much light as possible and we don't even have curtains on our downstairs windows. Our road is not that busy and we have very long front gardens.

DH jokes that they must all belong to some sort of cult!

Of course they do - just like closing curtains during the day during a heatwave helps keep the room temperature down.
Why do you think standing in the shade when outside keeps you cooler than standing in the sunshine?!

We don’t have them but a lot of Victorian houses in our area do, including some of our friends. They look quite classic and go well with the different styles of furniture that each household has.

Anyone got a ballpark price for how much for a Victorian terrace bay window a bit like this one might be? Also would people suggest just lower part? Thank you.

I’ve just paid for my sons shutters.
I’ve sent you a pm with link with photos from the company’s pages of my sons that were done toast week
if you just went half way all up I reckon around 650 700
I paid 3k for two large downstairs windows and double patio doors
small kitchen window
2 large bedroom windows

That’s your opinion. My mum and dad have them and they look lovely. They blend in with the wall colour, allow plenty of light and give them the privacy they want. There’s a couple that live up the road from them and every time they used to walk past you would see them nosing into their living room. In the summer it’s lovely and cool and they help to keep the heating in during the colder months. I would have them if I could afford them.

Don’t worry though, I’m sure Labour will introduce a tax on them when they win the election when they tax us all into oblivion 🙄

My curtains are currently closed. I hate the light getting in when I'm sitting watching telly. I would love shutters

Excellent!!
I have them in one room for privacy, and echo all the positives so far. I hate net curtains, film on windows, any kind of privacy blind, shutters work perfectly!
My house plants are very happy too.

I don't like them at all- I think they are naff.

Ye olde net curtains will inevitably come back in at some point, the ideal solution to privacy and light.

Until you switch a light on ! Horrible things , have never had them in my life

Sorry that was supposed to be quoting someone further up thread !

I have shutters and a dust allergy too. They're very easy to wipe over once a week, give privacy and still allow plenty of light in.

I love them and would never go back to dusty curtains or blinds.

lol. DH has tried to educate me on this very subject (except it was blackout blinds not shutters) but I can't recall the details.

I’m slowly taking some of mine out. I inherited them with the house, and I don’t think they suit the rooms. They’re too clinical for the space IMHO.

Some houses (Victorian, for instance) look great with them.

I suspect we’ll go back to nets… or voiles 🤣

The sun was pouring into a room and the moment I closed the shutters, you could feel the temperature drop, like magic!

As others have said, you can tilt the shutters so they let light in while giving you privacy and yes, it probably looks like they're closed from outside. I love opening just the top part to let light come in while tilting or closing the lower parts.

They do leach in light especially as we have bay windows hence curtains as well which can be pulled right back and softens them and dresses the windows. I love a very dark bedroom at night!

@Clingfilm

Ye olde net curtains will inevitably come back in at some point, the ideal solution to privacy and light.

I hope so. I love net curtains, some houses I pass have such gorgeous patterns on their net curtains