Shutters or blinds

[Shwish]

We have a very large window in the lounge with a sofa directly in front. So if we had shutters we couldn't open them - doors would stick out and sofa is in the way. We could only open the slats. Would this make the room dark? I was going to go for Venetian blinds for this reason but the window is too wide for 1 blind. We'd need 2 side by side. I think this will end up looking a bit messy (the window is in 4 pains so it will line up) but obviously with a blind you have the option to raise it to let in more light. At the moment we can't decide. I'm thinking shutters because blinds might look messy, DH is worried the room will be dark with shutters. Help!
Just got clarity we do need a bit of privacy as our road is quite busy. So rollers blinds are out.

We have a 5 pane bay window in our bedroom (& lounge). We were having the same debate but ended up going for white wood Venetian blinds.
Shutters were extortionate, would've made the room dark due to the wide frames, we wouldn't have opened them in the bedroom either so would've stayed dark.
My in laws have shutters everywhere in their house and it's chronically dark and gloomy.
With our blinds it's so easy to open them and they are so understated but also a feature at the same time.
From the outside too, they look really good - from the outside I think shutters look too much and a bit busy and enclosing.
It's a very personal choice but we're so pleased with our Venetian blinds. Good luck choosing! X

Could you have a cafe curtain for privacy? Then long curtains that close behind the sofa for privacy/warmth at night. Like this.

Another option is you can put either plain or patterned frosted film on the bottom half of the windows so people can't look in. You can get some really interesting modern patterns now and it is very easy to apply.

I have the sofa issue too! I've considered tier on tier shutters, where I'll be able to open the top ones or cafe style shutters, with curtains as well if need be. Think the addition of curtains will soften the look of the shutters too.

My room is north facing, so I worry it'll be too dark. Currently have awful vertical blinds which let in enough light when the slats are open but obviously they're a lot wider.

We went round and round the houses for months when we decided to replace the vertical blinds that were in our property when we purchased. I changed my mind daily 😂 so I can appreciate the dilemma.

Personally I am not a fan of shutters, so quickly ruled them out. Then I though day and night roller blinds might be a good option, but decided against these. Then I looked at Roman blinds, but as we live on a busy road, albeit, set back decided they would give us the privacy we wanted.

Finally we chose Venetian Blinds from Blinds2Go, that are called Pristine White, we have had them about a year now, and I am so pleased with my choice, they have a pelmet at the top so you don’t see the working parts, are easy to clean, they are plastic but like wood, so you don’t have to worry if they get wet, I have had wood in the past and they can split and are awful to dust. They were easy for my husband to fit, reasonable price. I would recommend them.

I always wanted shutters but they are so expensive. I went with Venetian blinds in the end for my favourite house. But here I've got fitted roller blinds. One of our bedroom windows is huge but we've still only got one blind.

Oh I’ve spent way too much time recently thinking about window dressings!

We have relatively large bay windows (5 panes, and quite tall especially downstairs) at the front in our 1930s house. I love the look of long curtains but these would have blocked the radiator in our bedroom and I wanted the upstairs/downstairs to look symmetrical. Also, perhaps weirdly, I worried that we might forget to open the curtains every morning and something about seeing houses with closed/messy curtains in the daytime gives me the ick.

We went with shutters - cafe height downstairs. I love them. They always look neat and tidy and the rooms, which face East, still have plenty of natural light. I like everything to be kind of minimal and uncluttered so they work well for me, though I do understand why they don’t appeal to some people.

I like shutters, but realistically if you've got them you never open them apart from the slats - they're essentially big wooden doors that open out into the room, so really get in the way. !00% they reduce light in the room - there's a lot of structure as well as the slats, which will cut out light. Depending on the style of the window, half shutters (like cafe curtains) can be a good solution which lets the light in at the top but gives privacy at the bottom. I have this and it works well for letting plenty of light in, but I think it looks odd when you have a window that doesn't naturally have the half way break in it, if you see what I mean.

If you decide on blinds OP, I suggest you use 3. One double in the center and singles on the sides.
This will look more balanced, whether you choose Venetian or Roman.

I would never have Venetian blinds again, cleaning them was a nightmare.
We went for shutters and found they made the room appear lighter, despite being thicker than the Venetians, I think they reflect light better.

This is good to know. I mentioned upthread about my fugly vertical blinds. They're also a very dirty beige, against gorgeous fake rosewood frames 🙈. I'm thinking once the frames are white and I get white shutters I'll be dazzled even if I have them permanently shut 😂

The thing that puts me off venetians is that I'd like them to work upside down - I want them to lower from the top so I can let in lots of light but nobody can see in still. They do sell upside down blinds but I find those quite ugly too. I think I'm probably going to go for cafe style shutters.