I'm mid whole house renovation and I want to take time to get it right this time!
Initially I was going to go for a plain spring loaded roller with a pelmet, I just want plain white, but I find with rollers they eventually just look grubby regardless of cleaning. The plus side is they are cheap enough to replace more often. I'm not keen on blackout as too dark, but without is often too light (never happy!) and my dc struggles with this too. I've had venetian in the past which were small slats, very nice but a pain to keep clean and the cats had fun!
I've been considering shutter blinds, the kind that have folds (sorry probably not the correct terminology) and where they sit around the window frame rather than in the recess. I'm thinking that the positives are that the slats will be larger and open and close like venetian blinds, they could keep the cold out a little, and in summer I could have the windows more open (escaping cats!) rather than on the catch. Plus for additional light the shutters themselves could be open too which would make the rooms (north facing) brighter. I'm not worried about dark/evening, lights and lamps will be on.
The house is fairly small, older but a newbuild style with flat windows that open out so no period features and I might be happy without curtains, or a curtain alternative/pelmet/or something else.
What are the potential downsides, what haven't I considered? If you have shutter blinds and love them, why? If you don't love them, why? Or if you decided against them, why?