Sometimes we are invited to fit shutters in some of the most amazing places, and not just in London. We headed off to the beautiful city of Oxford to fit some interior shutters throughout a house that sits right on the River Thames and is a very short walk from the centre of the city and the world famous Oxford University.
While we fitted shutters in a variety of windows in this home, for this news story we wanted to take you through how we helped our client with the windows in their kitchen and living room that were flooding each room with light. Our client was looking for an option to give them control of that light and we had the perfect solution in mind.
First of all we have the kitchen, and as you can see from the picture above, the window takes up most of the wall space in there and does seem to be a large source of natural light. While the natural light is a key addition for any room, sometimes it can prove to be overpowering. And it’s not surprising that this is the case here. Our expert surveyor who traveled out to meet the client in Oxford suggested that the best style option was Full Height with a mid rail. This completely covers the window thus providing the much needed shelter from the overbearing light. The louvres will help our client have access to that light when it suits them. The inclusion of a mid rail is an excellent way of breaking up the appearance of the window. The client wanted the same for their back door and the two flanking windows as well which we think looks amazing.
While the design is the same for both rooms, the material that the client chose for them is different. While the back door, flanking windows and the rest of the windows we fitted in the house are made up of our Pearlwood material, the kitchen is made from the very durable Waterproof material. These shutters are the ideal solution if you are looking for a waterproof solution. They are manufactured from ABS and are perfectly suited to bathrooms, wet rooms and rooms that have condensation or humidity issues.
And aside from the kitchen, with the Pearlwood range that we fitted in every other window we installed for this client offers a custom colour matching option allowing you to have your shutters in your favourite colour. It is a very elegant product and can virtually be installed in any window – from bay to triangular windows and all styles and shapes in between. They are ideal for large window expanses or windows situated within roof spaces. It has one of the highest strength to weight ratios that we offer in our range.
The wood of the Pearlwood shutters is derived from the Paulownia tree. It is a very light hardwood which is intensively hand sanded and coated with fine layers of stain or paint for a brilliant lustrous finish.
When it came to the choice of the slat size that the client wanted they chose the fashionable 76mm size we call In Vogue for the entire house and our surveyor believed it was the best choice for our client with the vast amounts of natural light that come through each of the windows at any one time. If the client had opted for a smaller slat size, the windows could have looked over occupied and with a bigger one, the amount of light escaping through would made the shutters redundant for these windows. With this size being in the middle of the range that we offer, it was the perfect compromise for our client.
With the same thoughts on trying not to over occupy the window space, our client decided to have hidden tilt rods on all of the panels, giving them all a very simplified look which a lot of our clients prefer. Especially on smaller windows as it often makes them look cluttered.
With each room where we fitted our shutters being quite bright in the colour of the walls and the furnishings, it made sense for our client to opt for a colour that blended in with this scheme. So with that our surveyor suggested the light and brighter end of the colour spectrum that we offer however our client wanted to make their decision extra personal and chose a custom colour match that we offer via Farrow & Ball, choosing their pristine white RAL 9010 which looks perfect. And alongside this colour our client chose Stainless Steel Fittings for the kitchen and White Fittings for the back door, flanking windows and the rest of the house, which really helps each of the windows to differentiate from each other. A lot of our clients like a uniformed look but not too conformist, letting each room have their own personality.
And with our clients decisions all locked in, we sent off the specifications to our manufacturers in China and sooner than later, our clients’ made to measure shutters arrived and our outstanding fitting team travelled on up to the serene city of Oxford to make our client’s desires a reality.
Plantation shutters are the perfect choice for any busy family as they are durable, easy to maintain, offer privacy, light control and of course stylish! For all your plantation shutter queries please call us now on 020 8871 9222 or email our friendly team today.
