For many years there has been a tie up between blinds and shutters as the best window dressing for the home. Up until recently, blinds were the most commonly chosen and accessible of the two, but shutter innovation has seen this luxury product gain traction and start to edge forward. This increase in popularity brings an important question into focus – are shutters better than blinds?
It’s no secret that we’ll be a little biased when it comes to this debate, we are shutter specialists after all! But we do have an appreciation for blinds and what they can offer to rooms and windows.
It’s not widely known (because we live and breathe all things shutter) but we do actually supply some blinds alongside shutter orders as we understand that there a simply some projects where a mixture of blinds and shutters works best. There is also the consideration that as a luxury window dressing that it is custom manufactured, not everyone will be in the market for shutters due to their price and we ultimately want what is best for our customers.
Different styles of blind offer different aesthetic finishes but the majority function to a simple all-open or all-close trajectory and light and privacy control is limited because of this. Even venetian blinds and vertical blinds which are designed to have more variation in this control are not sturdy in their finish and can completely miss the mark on design – looking more office waiting room than contemporary and polished living room aesthetic.
The benefit of blinds is that they are often lightweight and less secured to windows, so can be changed on a fairly regular basis by homeowners.
Study finishes of shutters however mean that this stunning custom dressing is securely fixed to windows or surrounds making for a long-lasting addition to the room that looks as though it was always intended as a permanent structure in the home. Being fixed in this way allows windows to be opened behind the shutters if required without the annoyance of breeze causing movement and provides a more secure barrier between the window and room. Shutters can provide a cooling effect with a through breeze using this method. They also add an extra barrier in front of the window in colder months which can enable warmth to be kept in the room by the shutters.
Louvred shutters are brilliant at controlling the privacy levels of a room as sections can be manoeuvred to any angle to best achieve the preferred visual obstruction into the room without blocking out all of the light.
On top of the light, temperature, and privacy benefits of shutters there are also a couple of other contributing factors that make them a fantastic addition to the home, including easy maintenance and finishes that can be effortlessly dusted and cleaned.
Many homeowners opt for neutral tones in shutters to match the window surrounds and pair wonderfully to the room aesthetic, however we tend to find that the same effect cannot be achieved in blinds where white and neutral tones do not boost the window in the same way. Shutters can also be used to add brighter colours in a room so homeowners are by no means limited to colours to match the base room furnishings.
It is certainly worth noting that shutters and blinds can be used as a combination on windows. This is a particularly popular option in living rooms, especially where café style shutters are fitted to the bottom section of a shutters and blinds are added above.
Both shutters and blinds make for wonderful additions to a home but conclusively, all of the fabulous benefits that are provided by shutters mean that the answer to this hot topic window dressing question is yes, shutters are undisputedly better than blinds.
