Are window shutters worth it? is a really interesting question, and in my experience the answer will depend on a number of things.
Are window shutters worth it? Question 1: Your Budget
When I quote for window shutters this is the main reason by a long way as to why potential customers don’t order their shutters.
Window shutters will cost at least 3 or 4 times as much as almost all other types of blinds or curtains.
To give you an idea of the price differences we will take a window size of 1200mm wide x 1200mm deep (the average size of a bedroom window in a new build home)
Window Shutter £494.00 Wooden Venetian Blind £140.00 Roller Blind £104.00
My advice would be to take some rough window sizes and contact your preferred blind / shutter supplier so they can give you a guide price at that point you will have your answer on are window shutters worth it financially?
Question 2: Do you like to change your decor?
If you are anything like my wife and get bored easy with the colours of your rooms then window shutters may not be the best option unless you choose a neutral colour.
Roller blinds and Vertical Blinds are a much better option as it is easy and cost effective if you change your colour scheme every few years. The cost and difficulty of swapping shutters would not be an option for most people.
Question 3: Different rooms
So if you are ok with the budget, happy you will not be changing the colour scheme, the next thing you need to consider if you want your window shutters to last as long as possible is the right shutters for the right rooms.
Fauxwood and Vinyl Shutters are perfect for bathrooms, kitchens and ensuites as they are totally waterproof. In my professional opinion MDF and Hardwood shutters should never be install in rooms where there is moisture or they are likely to get splashed as they could possibly warp or discolour over time.
All the shutter materials would be perfectly suitable for other rooms in your home.
Something that might be worth considering with your bedroom shutter is a shutter with a blackout blind built into the shutter frame. This will give you the best of both…the look of a shutter but with the option of almost total blackout. This option will be more expensive but it is something worth considering as shutters on their own are not the best for blacking out your bedrooms.
Something else that might be worth considering is Fauxwood and Vinyl shutters in your children’s bedrooms as they are waterproof and easier when it comes to removing little fingerprints.
Question 4: The appearance
A trade supplier of ours once said to me ” once you have fitted shutters in a customer’s house you will never go back”. This is very true.
The shutters in your home should last 20 years plus so you need to be very happy with how they will look in your room as you are going to be living with them for a long while.
The plus side to that is once you have bought them you don’t have to worry for the next 20 years, whereas other blind types you will probably be buying new ones in 5 -8 years time.
A customer said to me a couple of years ago that she had spent 12 weeks worrying from when she placed the order to time they were fitted that she would not like the overall look of them once we had fitted them. (she loved them by the way).
So we now use a visualisation program where we can take a photo of your window as show you exactly how a shutter will look at your window. You chose the colour, the number of panels, the louvre size and we show you exactly how it will look before you spend a penny. No more worrying.
It may sound like I am a little negative when it comes to shutters, in fact it is the opposite I love them and I think in the right home they are by far the best looking window coverings we do.
