Quote for Plantation Shutters

[BeverlyGoldberg]

We’ve had a quote for Plantation shutters for £1370 for three windows:

2 x bedroom windows at: 150 x 130cm ; and 90 x 130 ; and Living room window at 150 x 130.

This feels like quite a lot and I’m wondering if it’s worth it or if I should just get made to measure hardwood Venetian blinds in white or dove grey. Would they look significantly less nice, is the extra cost of shutters justified? I am concerned shutters are now so common place that they’re on the verge of becoming a bit dated. However I do like the look, but possibly not enough to spend over a grand on it when blinds will be about £200.

I'm not keen on plantation shutters.

Part of the appeal of plantation shutters is that it tells the world you have a lot of money to spend on decoration. They're popping up all over our little corner of South London as people are priced out of more desirable neighbourhoods.

I can see the appeal - beyond the price - though. They allow a variety of combinations to allow a mixture of light and privacy, and it's harder to see whether people have gone on holiday.

If I had the money I would go for shutters every time. I haven't so I cant! (plus I have mahoosive windows. T'wud cost a small fortune)

We don’t have a lot of money to spend on decoration.

I think white or pale grey hardwood Venetian blinds will be the way to go.

I’m keen to gather opinions on whether shutters are worth the extra... because they are loads extra!

My dm has shutters in her living room and bedroom. She really likes them for the ability to change the different options for light coming in and privacy etc as mentioned above.

She has found though that they are causing more condensation in the windows then before when she has curtains.

We’ve got a combination of Venetians and shutters and from the outside they look pretty similar. Because of the cost we put shutters in the rooms that were overlooked and we would always want to have some form of covering in the window. In the other rooms we went for blinds. This means that we can pull the blind up completely if we want to which is not really possible with shutters.

We find that our shutters are making a massive difference in the temperature of the house. I don't think blinds give the same level of insulation.

We have shutters in one room and wooden Venetian blinds in some others. I much prefer the shutters.
We had our Venetian blinds made to measure and they cost a lot more than £200 for three windows.

Love shutters - look clean, crisp, classy and are versatile. Haven't got them but would love them.

I want to know where you have found mtm Venetians for 3 windows for 200? I really want shutters but have settled on blinds with thick slats as a cheaper compromise.

I think your shutter quote seems about right. Our quote was 5k for 3 windows but two of them are 5 panel bays. Couldn't get them. Boooo

I'm having the same dilemma, but leaning towards the Venetians for two reasons:

1 - price. If I get shutters, I can't afford to do the master bedroom and the bay window in the living room (which are all the windows at the front of the house) yet, and realistically the money is needed for other projects in our moneypit home as it needs a lot of TLC.

2 - light. We have an Edwardian semi, it's not very big and feels quite dark. I was worried that the shutter frames might make it feel even darker - which could be a good thing in very light houses, but not in ours!

I've walked around our road and surrounding roads and seen houses with white wood or wood effect Venetian blinds, which looks smart and not hugely different to shutters.

Leather - I can get the blinds for the 2 upstairs windows (one is 95x170cm, the other 85x170cm) for about £150, from blinds2go - there seem to be quite a few online retailers in a similar price range.

I have shutters in our kitchen. They take so much light out of the room and it isn't practical to have them open.
They are beautiful though, and suit the kitchen perfectly. If I'd have known about the light situation I likely wouldn't have ordered them though.

My kitchen is east facing, if that helps. It didn't have tonnes of natural light to begin with.

Thanks all

@AwkwardPaws27 I think you’re right about them not looking very different. One of the houses I really like has Venetians but it’s only after I had a very good opportunity for a proper nosey that I determined they must be venetians.

Our house is a terraced too and our living can be prone to darkness - also east facing. Our bedroom catches the sun in the afternoon and it’s blinding. At the moment we just have black out curtains so it’s very much all or nothing. Venetians would probably suffice very well and then, like you, wed still be able to afford to decorate.

We had a quote for 3 windows (although 2 are big curved bays) for 3k so your quote seems reasonable. We went for made to measure Venetian blinds from blinds to go which were about £500 (you have to do your own measuring though).

We've got plantation shutters just in the master bedroom. I wasn't a massive fan tbh but decided they were the best solution for our road facing bedroom. We had a roller blind in there which was left by the previous owner but that had to be fully closed for privacy or fully open. We wanted something that could adjusted a bit more - so closed at the bottom half for privacy when needed but open at the top to let light in/look out of. Now they are in I really like them. Wouldn't bother for any of the other rooms though. Our downstairs front windows can't be seen from the road and the other road facing rooms upstairs are kid's room and playroom. Might be worth thinking "functionally" about what would work best in each room. Ours cost £750 for the bedroom.

I was going to do shutters, as I love the look, till my neighbour put me right off, as they have them in one room and she said they make the room much darker and also when fully open to the sides they impose on the room due to size.

I just wanted to come back to this thread as I'd posted to say I had the same dilemma. I decided on Venetian blinds, and have just fitted them upstairs, and wanted to share the result. I hope the image works!

We are getting shutters. Total of 9 windows, which includes bay window in lounge. I got 2 local companies out, and got the one I preferred, which had lots of good reviews, to price match the other one. Total cost of £2800 (had originally quoted £3200).

Obviously they aren't fitted yet, but I'm pretty confident that they are going to look great. Still got another 5 or 6 weeks to wait yet before fitting, it is annoying having no window coverings (new build house!).

We've not ordered for any bathrooms or en-suite, nor the kitchen, as we might have an extension in the next year or so, and didn't want to spend out on shutters then they be ripped out!

@Ilovefluffysheep would you be willing to share the details of the company you used? That quote sounds very reasonable. Thanks.