The climate emergency has many manifestations, but for people living in a coastal town like Worthing, the effects of stormy weather and rising sea levels are sure to be the greatest concern.

Dramatic pictures of a massive crack in the cliffs at Seven Sisters has revealed once again what the forces of nature can do, and while erosion of chalk cliffs has been a continual geological process carrying on down the ages, a more volatile climate could accelerate the process.

All that may leave householders wondering what they can do about a global situation, but it is all of us who contribute to the problem, so we can each be part of the solution too. This even applies to the blinds fitted in windows. 

Fitting plantation shutters in Worthing homes is a smart move because they are made from solid wood, which can be sourced from sustainable forests. This makes it an organic material and also a sustainable one, as well as having fine insulation qualities to help keep energy bills down on colder days. 

The value of wooden plantation shutters has been highlighted by the Low Carbon Buildings website for this very reason, emphasising these different ways they can help reduce our carbon footprint.

Using wood also means less plastic. It is true that plastic is, like wood, plastic is a good insulator because it does not conduct heat in the way that, for instance, metal does. However, it can only be recycled so often and, as we all know, far too much ends up in landfill, in streams and rivers and, ultimately, the sea.

For those living in Worthing and other seaside towns in Sussex it is not just the accelerated weathering effect on chalk cliffs that poses a problem. So too does plastic pollution washing up on the beach. But with plantation wood shutters, there is no way what covers your windows in 2023 will one day end up polluting the sea.

 

The vast majority of panel shutters are horizontally aligned and have been for centuries, but why is this the case, and why do we so rarely see the reverse?

The reason why horizontal shutters are so common is that historically Venetian blinds and shutters have always been made with horizontal louvres, and they are perfectly suited for controlling the light levels of a room.

However, a much rarer configuration, at least with shutters, is shutters with vertical louvres instead of horizontal ones, which can provide a very dramatic look, particularly for rooms with larger windows.

Given the popularity of floor-to-ceiling blinds and the development of effective window coverings for larger and taller windows, it may seem surprising that vertical louvres are less common, but the reasons why are based more on practicality and function than feasibility.

From a feasibility standpoint, they can certainly be manufactured; vertical solid curtain blinds exist and can be commonly seen in many public buildings. All that would need to be done in addition to this construction process is to create a solid panel around the vertical louvres.

This certainly could be made, but why is it far less common than horizontal shutters?

Part of the reason is expense; by definition, a vertically-aligned panel shutter would have longer louvres than a horizontal one, which for many solid wood shutters increases the manufacturing costs to ensure the shutter is as solid and long-lasting as people expect it to be.

As well as this, there is an issue of practicality. Most shutters with louvres are plantation shutters that are designed to open and close as well as have adjustable shutters.

As these panels can be opened regardless, the practicality benefits of vertical shutters are vastly reduced compared to floor-to-ceiling vertical blinds, given that many panels can be opened individually.

Horizontal louvres provide more precise light control and can create the perfect ambience for a building.

The image of Brighton has always been that of an attractive seaside town, although some have seen it in slightly disparaging terms as being slightly downmarket and seedy, at least compared to neighbour Hove. 

However, the best people to ask might not be the large number of holidaymakers who still come to ‘Sussex by the Sea’, but local residents. That is what The Argus has just done. 

By and large, the vox pop responses were positive, with many praising the city and its liberal social culture and one praising the “seagulls [actual birds, not the football team] and sunsets”.

However, the comments were a bit more mixed when it came to the built environment. While one praised “The Lanes, the North Laine, the parks,” she also lamented the decline of Madeira Drive. 

One said the city “needs a spring clean these days” and another called it “a bit tired and grubby in places”, although he would still not want to live anywhere else.

Another respondent actually found a positive in the mix of good and bad, claiming that “knowing that it has always, always been a balance of the sublime and the shabby” was a good thing, as he could “walk unafraid through shanty towns and five-star hotels”.

However, some may not be so keen on the thought that the downside to the appearance of parts of Brighton might be anything to do with their own home’s appearance. Could more window shutters in Brighton help this?

The answer is surely yes, because attractive shutters certainly look more stylish than grubby old curtains, while fitting them could be a part of a wider window renovation project. 

Indeed, in a city where it is not just fancy hotels but many apartments for everyday living that are building in Regency style, having stylish window spaces could add some extra lustre in the most visually prominent places.

It may be that many love Brighton ‘warts and all’, but there is no reason for its residents not to make it look even better.

 

There are many good reasons to fit stylish shutter blinds in Brighton, which go so well with the tall windows common in the city’s Regency architecture. But the way your windows look, while important, is not the whole picture.

In order for your shutters not just to perform a utility role in your home but also to match up with the rest, you may need to consider the design and how these fit with other fixtures, fittings and furnishings in your home. For example, you may want the colours or the materials used in your shutters to match up with your bookshelves, and vice-versa.

Indeed, it appears that the average Brighton and Hove resident is much more likely to have a lot of bookshelves than most. A new survey by the Holiday Cottages website has revealed Brighton is in the top five UK locations for book lovers.  

According to a spokesperson for the website, this is not surprising. She said: “Brighton and Hove is a city famed for its creative and culturally rich environment, so it makes sense that this seaside city is in the top five UK literary hot spots.”

Indeed, one might reflect on the many famous books and series set in the city, from Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock to Agatha Christie’s Evil Under the Sun and Bethan Roberts’ My Policeman. One can only hope that not all the literature on Brighton book shelves is crime-related. 

Often if you are shopping for window coverings you can read lots of articles discussing the relative merits of blinds compared with shutters. While these are certainly worth reading to give you food for thought and ideas to discuss with our experts, it is just as important to make sure you are also thinking about how your choice will fit with the rest of your home.

 

As a shutter company can attest, the time when most people look into installing wooden shutters is during the summer, as they can help brighten up a room whilst also controlling the light and heat, making summer lounging more enjoyable.

However, in order to keep shutters and blinds functioning at their best all year round, they need to be carefully taken care of during winter.

With that in mind, here are some top tips to protect and take care of window shutter systems during the cold, wet winter months.

 

Keep Temperatures Consistent

The biggest concern for people when it comes to shutters is the issue of condensation, which is caused by heat colliding with a cold surface such as a window. This can lead to the build-up of mould, which not only can cause health concerns but affect your shutters too.

Whilst there are a lot of approaches you can take to minimise the amount of condensation your windows will deal with through ventilation and double glazing, one of the best solutions is to avoid rapid fluctuations in temperature.

Set your central heating to a lower, consistent temperature that it can remain on throughout the day.

 

Avoid Air Drying Clothes

Drying clothes near a radiator using a clothes horse inherently increases the humidity in the room, which in itself can make condensation worse.

If you do not have a tumble dryer, try to cycle the rooms you dry clothes within in order to avoid all of the moisture being concentrated in one place, and take advantage of dehumidifiers and extractor fans wherever possible to avoid extra moisture which can affect the shutters.

 

Dust Then Wipe

Keep on top of dusting and wiping the louvres, starting by using a feather duster to wipe away dry dust before taking to the shutters with a slightly damp microfibre cloth.

 

If you are planning some home decorating in the New Year, your attention may soon move to the windows. The issue of whether to have blinds or curtains is a common one.

Of course, the likelihood of you buying window shutters in Brighton will rise if you already have them and simply want to renew what you have with a different style or simply replace them after years of wear and tear. However, other householders may currently have curtains and want to consider the benefits of the alternative.

As Shutters Up argues, there is one great advantage to having shutters over curtains. Shutters are stylish and never go out of fashion, as they exist in a finite number of styles that have been popular from centuries ago right up to the present day. They are simple, understated and attractive. Curtains, by contrast, come in patterns and designs that can soon fall out of fashion.

The site adds that curtains also require more cleaning and cannot easily be tailored to fit windows of a certain shape.

Comparing the options of shutters, blinds and curtains, the Window Shutter Company put shutters ahead of the others for style, while noting the extra design choice curtains offer. However, that very choice is the hostage to fashion fortune that Shutters Up has pinpointed as a disadvantage.

Shutters certainly come out on top when comparing the ability to block out sunlight, as they can be opened to different extents and even be organised in a two-tier Louvre configuration that means they stay closed lower down for privacy while allowing in lots of light higher up. This flexibility is something the alternatives cannot possibly match.

Perhaps most significantly given the current energy crisis, it noted that studies such as one carried out by Historic England have shown that when tailored to fit the window, shutters are actually better at keeping the heat in the room than curtains or blinds.

So when everything is added together, it really does look like blinds are a better option than curtains.

 

Householders in Brighton who may have been thinking of moving to a new home in the area or even out of the city might have been dismayed by the recent house price news, showing the amount they can sell their house for is falling.

If this is you, there are many things to consider. Of course, you may be able to counterbalance a lower sale price with the fact that the new home you want to buy will also cost less, but this may not always fit with your plans; people might wish to upsize, downsize or go to a different area where general prices are higher or lower than where they live now.

With Halifax being the latest lender to publish survey data showing prices are dropping and Purple Bricks founder Harry Hill recently telling the Mail on Sunday a recession and higher mortgage rates could lower them by as much as 20 per cent, this is clearly a real issue.

This situation means now may be a good time to look at alternatives, such as improving the home you have. Attractive interior design features such as solid window shutters could be a great place to start.

This is not just a way of making your home look more attractive to any prospective buyers viewing it. Home improvements can add value to your home at the very time when it would otherwise fall, ensuring it is of a higher value than when you bought it. Moreover, this kind of improvement is less costly or disruptive than major structural work like an extension or whole new kitchen.

Apart from that, however, a beautiful pair of window shutters can also make your home a more enjoyable place for you to live in. If you decide to stay there longer and wait until the housing market recovers or cancel plans to move altogether, it makes sense to enhance your own living space and make it beautiful, stylish and a joy to experience.

 

 

The ultimate use of solid wood shutters in the bedroom are blackout shutters that stop any light from getting in that could potentially disturb a person’s sleep.

Unlike blackout curtains or blinds, which use materials that could potentially move and cause small amounts of light to get in, solid blackout shutters are unlikely to move once closed, allowing for a more restful slumber.

However, the invention of blackout shutters and blinds was not, in fact, to keep light out of people’s homes but to do the exact opposite.

The concept of the blackout is most associated with the “home front” of the Second World War as established by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, although its origins can be traced to just before the First World War as a plan devised by the First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill.

Initially, only coastal towns were affected, with bright lights being extinguished in an attempt to hide towns from potential attacks by battleships and U-boats. It was later expanded to the whole of England by 1916 once the German army started to use air raid tactics.

In the Second World War, the blackout was even more pronounced due to the extensive use of air raids and bombing attacks during the Blitz, with regulations being imposed even before the declaration of war in 1939.

This meant that all windows and doors needed to be covered by heavy, dark material or paint to stop any slight glimmer of light that could signpost a target to a bomber plane.

Street lights were dimmed, covered to point lights downwards or sometimes shut off completely, whilst headlamps and traffic lights had their lights deflected to the ground, which would ultimately lead to an increased number of car accidents at night.

Ultimately, by the end of the war, radio beams and radar were already being widely used, making the blackout far less effective, but the concept and the name stuck, its legacy is still used in reverse to stop bright light from invading our homes when we sleep.

Almost everyone who has blinds or shutters in their windows likes them, for they are sturdy, durable, great at keeping the light out or letting it in when needed and – of great importance when everyone is watching their energy bills – good insulators, as wood in particular is.  

All that should appeal to those who like something practical, sensible and robust, which in an age when getting value for money is as important as it ever was has to make sense.

However, those with an eye on design trends as we head towards 2023 may note that practicality is not everything and aesthetics has a big part to play. According to Hackrea, design will be a big thing in the world of blinds and curtains in the months ahead.

Among the trends in blinds it suggests will be in vogue are Roman blinds and roller blinds. The former, it suggests, will never go out of fashion, which is of course the greatest endorsement of all for any kind of furnishings. 

Roller blinds, which offer a more translucent look, are more suited to full length windows, something your local blinds company in Brighton will know all about with all the large Regency-style bay windows in the city. 

As ever, this time of year sees many predictions about the latest fashions and trends in interior design. New Interior Trends also expect 2023 to be one in which Roman blinds and roller blinds are popular, which is worth noting; often a comparison of two sets of predictions of upcoming styles and fashions finds wildly different forecasts.

New Interior Trends also expect some prominent trends to emerge among shutters. This includes eco-friendly materials, the use of bamboo, “unusual horizontal and vertical slots” and the use of “exclusive photo printing” on vertical blinds.

It remains to be seen if all these tips come to fruition, but it seems clear enough that if you are looking for blinds or shutters, aesthetics may play as much a part in your decision as practicality.

There is a considerable appeal in solid wood shutters, not merely for their aesthetic qualities but also their practicality.

Compared to Venetian blinds, solid shutters last longer, require much less maintenance and provide more effective light control. They also have a tendency to stay in style, unlike many blind styles.

However, a debate has emerged about the best material to make solid shutters between solid wood and medium-density fibreboard (MDF), an engineered wood that has a precise, smooth finish compared to hardwood, where the finish largely depends on the particular cut of wood.

In terms of aesthetics, MDF and wooden shutters look similar, especially once they are painted and sealed, although with the popularity of natural textures and materials, that can be a minor negative if you do not plan on painting the shutters white or a solid colour.

Both have their own strengths in terms of functionality as well. MDF is more durable, and the protective coatings regularly used with the material can make them easier to clean, whilst solid wood is stronger and lighter, due to the flexibility of the material.

This flexibility means that if you want oddly shaped shutters to fit unique windows, MDF is less suitable, and the weight means that they cannot be used for especially large openings such as doors and wide windows.

In rooms where humidity can become a factor, such as bathrooms and kitchen windows, wood can sometimes pose a problem as it changes shape and size in these hot, damp conditions, whilst MDF remains static.

The final consideration is cost, with MDF typically having a lower cost depending on what type of shutters you need.

Ultimately, whilst MDF shutters are a functional option in certain cases, solid, natural wooden shutters are the optimal choice for the vast majority of rooms, design schemes and use cases.