Shutters

[Gilead]

I am moving to a new property and wondered if anyone else had shutters instead of blinds, I have a couple of questions if so.

1. Do they block out the light completely when shut.
2. Do they block a breeze completely when shut (obviously with window open).
3. Are they easy to maintain.
4. Are they still fairly private when the slats are open?
5. Should I go for wood or the upvc type. Thank you! Any recommendations gratefully received!

We have had shutters in two houses (I love them!) so hopefully the following helps you:

1. No, they do let light in so if you plan to have them in bedrooms I'd suggest getting an integrated black out blind with them. We have these and despite being expensive they are fantastic.
2. Not completely but they do limit how much breeze you feel.
3. Yes - we just dust/wipe ours down.
4. Yes to a point. If you want privacy but still to have light then you just need to tilt the slats at a slight angle.
5. I assume you mean MDF rather than UPVC?! If so, you can't really tell the difference by looking at them as to if they are made of wood or MDF. Both have their pros and cons but for us it came down to price so we went with MDF.

Oh, thank you Oneday. I've always liked them and like the idea of them, I think price may well have a part to play. I was wondering whether to have curtains and shutters in the bedroom, not sure if it'll look ridiculous though so the integrated black out blind may well be an option. I'm also hoping to have them in the sitting room, so not quite so desperate for a black out blind there, just the privacy aspect. Your information is really helpful, Thank you!

No problem.

We only have black out blinds in the bedrooms. I wouldn't bother anywhere else to be honest.

In our old house the shutter created a great feeling of privacy for our lounge (which was very close to the pavement) so I'd highly recommend in that sense.

I think curtains would look good with them too.

We have shutters in our lounge, hallway and bathroom but not bedroom. I think they look great and are easy to clean. They don't block light completely and you would have to slightly tilt them to let air in freely. Ours have two sections so we can keep the top part open for breeze and light and close the lower part for privacy

Thank you!
I have decided they are a definite for the sitting room and bedrooms, possibly for the kitchen too, may help keep the flies at bay in summer!