Shutters!

[Mrsyessjess]

Hi. I'm really interested in shutters but the choices are overwhelming. Do you have them and love them? Any advice please!!!!

We have them and love them. Do you have a picture of the type of room you are having them in? Is it a bay window for example?

Had them in our previous house and really liked them so when we moved they were top of the list however by then we knew a couple of things that we didn't know when we ordered the first ones.

Our first ones were bifold but our new ones are fitted into individual frames which is far better as it allows you to open just a single shutter if you want to get to a window.
Having the top slats operate separately from the main body, allows light in while maintaining privacy.
Not having an operating bar on the slats makes for a cleaner look.
We have both shutter blinds and heavy blackout curtains. A mistake we made before was believing that the shutters would be effective at keeping out light so we removed the curtains & poles....... not correct! There is a certain amount of light bleed through the shutters but with both shutters and curtains the rooms remain dark and cool (important in this hot, sunny weather).

That is so helpful, thank you very much. We are thinking of getting blackout blinds integrated for the bedrooms to help with the bleeding of light. We also want our big bay window done so your comments are super helpful, especially maintaining light and closing for privacy. Thank you very much!
I think I now have a better idea. Can anyone recommend trusted companies that they have used?

We used a local company who manufacture their own blinds for our current ones, useful if any are damaged in transit/installation/use as they can immediately make the replacement.
I know with our first ones, a shutter was broken when they unpacked it and we were waiting many weeks for a replacement.

We also love our shutters, we have the blackout blind options behind the shutters and they work really well to block out light. I would definitely suggest this for bedrooms. They are lots of options to chose from that could be overwhelming such as louvre sizes, hinges and colours. A good company will show samples when doing the survey and advise on the different options. We used a company called 'ShutterLab'. The advisor was super helpful as I was so confused by the options. Here is the link for you:

www.shutterlab.uk

@Mrsyessjess we used a recommended local company. Where are you based, if you’re local I can pass the details on

They're expensive but lovely. Our house is Edwardian so they massively improve the curb appeal too.

We have at the front .Hinged at each side of window so can open one or both wide to reach window
Also have a 50/50 split so can keep bottom half closed which stops the dog getting annoyed .I'm saving up for the next few windows I need

We absolutely love ours and they were actually a fair bit cheaper than I thought they would be. If you’re in the South East I highly recommend the VIP Shutter Company. They did all our blinds as well which were also excellent.

I love shutters, they seem to have gone up a lot in price, same sized window came in at £1k compared to £530 during covid times, I can't justify spending that on one window. Damn.

They are expensive, I guess more so than when we had ours installed 16 years ago, and I had to justify them, but they have stood test of time, look as good as the day we had then fitted, no regrets. We would have had at least a couple of window soft furnishings so worth it. We are done south and used a local company, Just Shutters, excellent after care service when we had small issue many years later - a true lifetime guarantee service.

I got mine from blinds2go. I measured up, they made them and our local DIY man fitted them. They were good value and are a lovely ivory colour. I also have a blackout blind fitted in the recess.

when they’re both closed the room is pitch black and cool even in the height and heat of summer September.