Shutters - anyone got them? Would you recommend them?

windym_2

droopsnout wrote: »

Thank you. Very interesting.

They look very smart, but I don't fancy painting them! And do they gather dust?

I'm a bloke, you see, and allergic to dusters.

Ours were pre-painted but I guess over some years may need doing again. Dust - not really, but then I am a fresh air fanatic and always have the windows open so I guess it gets blown around!

PasturesNew

I bought white plastic venetian blinds off ebay. 9 for £115, long drops too. Bargain.

They were good quality, didn't look plastic and they actually really set the house off inside and out. Everybody remarked how really posh the overall effect was.

At £150/square metre, those 9 would have cost about £2900 !!! blimey.

Posh round your way aren't you.

littleowl

Having lived in France I really wish that English houses had interior shutters. However, French windows open inwards (no window cleaner to pay!)
I have made shutters for smaller windows using a wooden frame covered with fabric. This looks wonderful but would be a bit of a fag for a bay window - and perhaps a little too rustic?

Confused_landord

I beleive that wooden horizontal blinds are making a big come back,,i had an intererior designer in an shes teaming my curtains up with the wooden blinds.I also have people who come into my shop that work in "blind" shops and they say they are on a massive comeback,,,,,,,,hope this helps

Dan29

windym wrote: »

This could be a good website. http://www.thecaliforniacompany.co.uk/

We have some and they worked out about £150 per square meter. They were from our local builders merchant though.

Hi Windy (aren't you on the wrong board? )

Are they Venetian or Plantation? Also, is the builders merchant a chain or just local to you?

Ta
Dan

HariboJunkie

We have a window that's really low and on a road that leads to a tourist site so we had people gawking in the window in the summer. We couldn't afford shutters and I spotted some louvered doors in a charity shop for £1, took them home, painted them and OH fitted batons down the side of the window.
Picture. They can be removed by sliding them out. We would have used hinges but it's a bay window and wouldn't have worked.
Very very cheap alternative to shutters and we don't need them to open and shut as the window is huge anyway and they don't block out alot of light. Not too bad to paint either.

quietheart

HariboJunkie wrote: »

We have a window that's really low and on a road that leads to a tourist site so we had people gawking in the window in the summer. We couldn't afford shutters and I spotted some louvered doors in a charity shop for £1, took them home, painted them and OH fitted batons down the side of the window.
Picture. They can be removed by sliding them out. We would have used hinges but it's a bay window and wouldn't have worked.
Very very cheap alternative to shutters and we don't need them to open and shut as the window is huge anyway and they don't block out alot of light. Not too bad to paint either.

they look FAB!

[Deleted User]

Haribo ~ they look great. Talk about a bargain!!

Nikiya

Isn't that called serendipity Haribo??? How on earth did you find the right thing, the right quantity and the right measure!!! Congratulations! That does not happen to me even when I'm buying full price!
We have two neighbours who have just installed inside shutters in their houses and they look great. We live on a road with Edwardian houses (big rectangular windows).
Since we gave up trying for DG long ago due to de cost we thought we would try for shutters. Although they do not isolate as much as DG, they do protect from noise and cold. Now each of these neighbours used a different company and since it is very difficult to work out a price (you have a "quick quote" in each site but to that you have to add installation and other costs and take away eventual discounts) we called them for a quote.
The quotes were virtually similar. To give you an idea, slightly more than 1900 for seven windows in PVC, none small and the two biggest 1.80 m X 1m.
The shutters come in PVC or MDF (is it the same???) and various types of wood, which has the advantage of being lighter and suitable for repainting (you cannot paint the PVC ones).
The shutters from both companies look identical to each other and to the ones featured in the California Co link provided above. I have run a quick quote in that search and apparently it works out a bit cheaper.... but as I said, the final price varies a lot.... the companies we contacted have differences in the "quick quote" but their final figures matched.
I think the shutters are made in China and any Co that installs them just charges for the order, the installation, etc.
Here are the sites of the Companies we called, both in London (I do not know if they operate in other areas)
http://www.shaftesburys.co.uk
http://www.keywestshutters.co.uk
Now both these companies have now an offer of 15% discount on the total price which apparently expires on the 14th.

Penelope_Penguin

We have original Victorian shutters in our house. They were boarded up and inaccessible due to PVC windows when we moved in, so when we replaced the wooden sash windows, we took them out, restored them, and had a joiner remake the weights.

They're great for keeping the heat in during winter, heat out during summer, and as an extra security measure when we're away.

Don't suppose anyone will want to see photos, though............

Haribo, yours are beautiful!