Whether as a Christmas present or looking ahead to the spring season ahead, quite a few people are looking into fitting solid wood shutters to their windows, particularly the ones at the front of their house where the privacy benefits are maximised.

However, a concept known as smart shutters might have caught their eye as an intelligent, easy way to automatically adjust their blinds for different conditions.

Smart shutters, like most smart devices, are shutters or solid blinds that use a technology known as the internet of things (IoT) to connect to a central home hub, which itself is activated via a smartphone.

This lets you open and close the blinds no matter where you are in the house, and allows you to schedule when shutters open and how much they open, allowing for much better light and temperature control than would be obtained manually.

Beyond the basic convenience of not having to get up and manually move shutters, there are some more substantial advantages to installing smart shutters, depending on the system you use and how it is set up.

Some shutter systems are fitted with light intensity sensors that can automatically adjust the position of slats to avoid glare and to help maintain an optimal target temperature, with settings that can be adjusted and saved depending on the season.

These sensors also can detect strong winds or potential projectiles and automatically close and retract to protect people inside the house, or open completely in case of a fire.

Given that smart shutters often cost a lot more to set up and sometimes require bespoke wiring, the question of whether they are worth it will vary considerably depending on how much that convenience and novelty are worth to you.

For most people and most types of shutters, smart shutters might add a little functionality if set up carefully, but for the most part, are not worth it right now for what they can offer.

By the 18th and 19th centuries, glassmaking and window pane installation had evolved to the point that most buildings could afford to have any glass fitted in their windowpanes, at least if they could afford to pay the window tax.

However, even with this in mind, shutters were still widely used in the 19th century, and in places such as the American Frontier, they were more popular than ever before, and for reasons that were equal parts an assertion of wealth and the result of practicality, depending on exactly where they were based.

In terms of practicality, they were often still used early on during the travels westward because glass windows were still a non-trivial expense that could not be wasted on log cabins and wooden buildings that might need to be abandoned quickly.

As a result, most windows were fitted with oiled paper, which whilst not transparent was at least translucent enough to allow light in.

Given that paper is not particularly resistant to the elements, it needed an additional layer of protection, which was often provided by solid wood shutters.

As frontier settlements became towns, these shutters were still used even as the paper was replaced by glass, primarily as a security method to secure buildings with valuable goods in them such as saloons and shops.

By contrast, in the American South, wooden shutters were used less as a necessity when battling the elements and more as a symbol of wealth and prosperity.

This was particularly the case with plantation complexes, which is why louvred shutters which can also be opened are known as plantation shutters. These were typically placed on the outside of a building to emphasise their nature as a status symbol, as well as a means to block and reflect bright sunlight.

As the era of the frontier ended with the dawn of the 20th century, wooden shutters have not only endured but a wider variety of them have become more accessible.

For many people living on Brighton, the windows can provide a huge source of light. Regency architecture was always designed to ensure that homes received plenty of natural illumination in an age when homes were lit by gas lamps and electricity was still some way off.

Depending on the time of year, this can be a mixed blessing. While the long light days of summer can provide lots of pleasant evening illumination, they can cause problems in the morning; without effective means of blanking out the light, residents may find they are awoken very early by the summer sun’s dazzling rays.

However, now autumn is beginning a different proposition presents itself. The mornings may be getting darker, but so are the evenings. Now the advantage of having lots of window space can be maximised to make the most of what there is.

This is why having full height wooden shutters in Brighton is so ideal. It is not just that they can keep the light out when required, but they are also great at opening up to let it in, whereas, for example, curtains can take up a lot of space at either end of the window and reduce the amount of light coming in. 

Other reasons for needing the great flexibility shutters offer is the fact that the sun can often be low at awkward angles at times of the day that won’t be a problem in summer – when it is higher – or winter, when it is lower. In Autumn, however, it may be at just the right angle to dazzle. No better time to keep the shutters closed.

The other side of that coin is you may want to keep the shutters open in the evening if the sun is setting, especially if you have a south-westerly view over the sea, where it can be a magnificent sight not to be missed. Either way, the flexibility full height shutters offer provides great flexibility to both let the sun in and keep it out. 

Households up and down the country are growing increasingly concerned about the rising cost of living, but this has not stopped half of Brits planning to renovate their home this year.

According to the latest findings from Experian, the majority of the country want to update their home before 2022 is over, with one in ten of these doing so to make their property more energy-efficient. This will help them pay for household energy bills, as these continue to rise, reported the Express.

Head of consumer affairs at Experian James Jones told the newspaper: “As the cost-of-living crisis continues to squeeze families, households are being forced to tightly budget.”

The survey found as much as a third of people are planning home improvement jobs to add value to their property, as well as boost their mood. This will help them if they go to sell their home, as they will be able to increase their equity and, potentially, release some cash.

One way to increase the asking price of a property and improve its energy-efficiency is to install shutter blinds in your Brighton home.

These look chic and stylish, from both the inside and outside, helping to boost the home’s kerb appeal and get viewers through the front door.

In addition to this, they are excellent at keeping houses warm during the winter, as they create a substantial barrier to the outside and prevent heat from escaping.

Solid shutters, in particular, are a good choice for cold houses, as the block of wood prevents any heat loss.

In modern home design, huge windows are seen as a very important feature, and solid wood shutters help to ensure both privacy and greater control of how much light is allowed into a particular room.

However, when glass windows were starting to become widespread in the 17th century, there were some cases where the window would be covered with a rather more substantial form of shutter: brick.

The reason for this was a protest against one of the most controversial taxes the UK has enforced up until that point and would be commonly claimed to be the source of the term ‘daylight robbery’ to mean a cost that is seen as egregious.

The window tax was introduced during a period when the idea of income tax (a tax charged relative to a person’s earnings) was still particularly controversial and King William III had recently undertaken a vast recoinage scheme to try and stop the clipping of their edges.

To make up the £2.7m (over £200m adjusted for inflation) that had been spent re-minting all of Britain’s coins, King William wanted to bring in an income tax, but fierce opposition led to him enforcing a similarly banded tax based on the number of windows in a house.

It was made up of a flat-rate house tax that everyone paid (two shillings, or £14.19 adjusted for inflation), and a variable tax based on how many windows were in the home above ten,

Properties with between 11 and 20 windows paid an extra four shillings (nearly £30 in modern money) and houses with more than 20 windows paid eight shillings per window (£56.75).

In one sense, it was a relatively intrusive and easy to calculate tax because you could simply count the windows from the outside, but people strongly disagreed with it to the point that many windows were simply bricked up and it was called a “tax on light and air”.

Eventually, pressure from doctors and a growing agitation from people who connected a lack of light to ill health led to the tax being repealed in 1851.

Solid wood shutters are the best of both worlds in that they provide a distinctive look to your home whilst also effectively improving privacy and allowing you to control the amount of light in your home.

However, there are a few common misconceptions about these versatile solid window coverings that can cause people to get the wrong idea about what shutters can bring to your home.

Here are some common myths about shutters and the truth behind them.

 

Shutters Are Not The Same As Blinds

Perhaps because we talk about louvres for both Venetian blinds and plantation shutters, some have managed to conflate the two types of window covering.

However, they both produce a very different effect in your home even when using the same materials and colour schemes.

Venetian blinds, the closest analogue to shutters, use a series of louvres made of either thin metal or wood that are closed using a roller, whilst shutters are solid panels typically opened and closed using a latch or lever mechanism.

Whilst blinds are a common choice for windows, they can be difficult to operate, too thin and gather dust very easily depending on the design.

 

You Do Not Need A Traditional Looking Home To Have Them

Whilst plantation shutters have been historically associated with certain house styles, they are highly adaptable as a design concept and look great on nearly every home, with colours, louvre sizes, shapes and shutter systems to suit every need.

 

Shutters Do Not Darken A Room

Because shutters are solid and often have a border, there is a misplaced concern amongst some homeowners that they can sap some of the light away from a room.

Whilst they are very good at darkening a room at night when they are closed, rotating the slats provides a lot of light, and the shutter itself can be swung open to get the most natural light possible from a window.

The history of the beautiful solid wood shutters available today spans thousands of years and several fundamental changes in purpose, material and positioning in a home.

One of the most fascinating examples of this is how the first shutters ever made were made in Ancient Greece between 800BC and 500BC using, of all materials possible, marble.

Marble is a heavy, multicoloured stone that is more associated with Greek statues and column construction than it is with window coverings.

The reason for this is that it is especially heavy, requires special mounting points on a house and has louvres that are fixed in place, simply because no mechanical system would make them easy to move.

Because of this, Greek shutters were not really used to control light levels but instead were used to provide ventilation in the hot Mediterranean climate and protect against strong winds, dust and rain that were common in coastal towns.

However, because marble is also very expensive, it was typically only used for this purpose by the upper class and since the blinds were pointed downwards, they did not allow much light in. However, whilst marble was not the right material, the idea did have value in itself.

Either the Greeks or other Mediterranean countries would replace the marble with wood, which was not only cheaper and easier to build with but also allowed for movable louvres, which meant that for the first time a shutter could shut out as much or as little light as the homeowner wanted.

Eventually, as the centuries progressed, shutters would spread across Europe, most commonly in the form of solid panels for security and block out light, switching from helping air to circulate to helping to keep warm air in at night.

As glass would take over as the window covering of choice, shutters changed from being purely practical to being more decorative in nature, and to this day they are still used as a stylish way to control the levels of light in a room.

When people choose window coverings, how much they prioritise privacy will in many cases dictate what drapes they choose.

This is why so many people opt for blinds over curtains; there is a greater control not only over the natural light in the room but how much people outside could see into their home. People who choose solid panel shutters or plantation shutters over blinds prioritise their privacy even more.

However, when you close the louvres of your shutters, which direction the closed shutters are facing matters, as depending on what floor you are on, people can sometimes peer into closed shutters if they have not been closed the right way.

A carpenter did an experiment on social media that showed that if the blinds were closed facing down (where the closest edge of the blind to you is pointing down) and the lights are on, you can see inside a ground floor room from the outside.

However, if the blinds are closed in the opposite direction facing up, all someone will see through the blinds is the ceiling, and your privacy will be assured.

Interestingly, the opposite is true for upstairs rooms, which should face down to stop people from looking inside from below.

Whilst this is a useful hack to know in general, there are potentially interesting implications for future shutters that take full advantage of smart home technology.

There currently exist blinds that can be opened and closed remotely, and whilst these most often take the form of roller blinds, Venetian smart blinds also exist and unless they close completely flush, they need to take into account which direction the blinds are closing in to maintain privacy.

 

It may become the case that when smart shutters are sold to the public, they could need two closing options depending on which floor they are installed on.

The days may be starting to get light again – although it will be some time before anyone notices much difference – but it is certainly cold most of the time. While Britain may have had its warmest New Year on record, the coldest weather usually comes in January and February.

Brighton’s southerly, coastal location means it is hardy vulnerable to the kind of perishing temperatures some parts of the UK may get, or the kind of snowfall seen on high ground, though there may be some flurries in town and plenty of the white stuff up on the South Downs.

Even so, if you have large windows, as many Regency buildings do, that’s a lot of area through which the cold can seep. That’s why solid wood panelling is a great option if you need full height shutters in Brighton.

Herein lies two of the great winter benefits of solid wood panels. Because wood is such a good insulating material, it helps keep the warmth in and the cold out. At the same time, it can have the reverse effect in summer if it gets very hot and you want to keep the room cool in the middle of the day – especially if you have just come inside after being out in it.

The second benefit is the way the opaque panels can keep the sun out. That may be easily overlooked on a cloudy day, but if your window faces southwards a winter day can provide a piercing low sun that gets in your eyes.

If the window faces in other directions, there may be times of day at other points in the year where there is a similar dazzling effect from a rising or setting sun.

While there are those who prefer a little bit of light filtering through, others like a clear all-or- nothing approach. For good insulation, avoidance of dazzling low sun and privacy, solid wood panel shutters are hard to beat.

With summer now a distant memory, it is time to embrace the colder seasons and revel in getting wrapped up and warm, kicking crunchy brown and golden autumnal leaves, and most importantly, getting excited about Christmas and the festive season!

As December gets closer, many people will be figuring out their festive decor for Christmas, if you haven’t already replaced Halloween with Christmas decor, that is! Have you considered how to dress your windows for Christmas yet?

We have a look at some simple ideas on how to dress your windows for Christmas.

 

Themed

If ‘Christmas’ is not enough of a theme already, then you can narrow your decor focus to something particularly, whether that’s a rustic feel, or building your theme on a festive colour, such as green or red.

Whatever you decide, extend your decorations to your windows. Not only will they match the decor elsewhere in the room. But they will reflect the light and create a lovely, warming feel to the room.

If you are thinking about a more rustic theme, why not buy a small wooden basket and decorate it with fir branches, fir cones and stars made from wood or old wire.

 

Lighting

Few things are as inviting as twirling lights at the window, from traditional strings of fairy lights to cascading stars like a waterfall. Battery-operated candle-style lights look great, as well as being safer near wooden window blinds and curtains than real candles.

 

Traditional

Maybe you want to be traditional with your decor, and the window is the ideal place to site a cavity scene, typically consisting of a stable, baby Jesus in the manger, Mary, Joseph, and everyone! Hang a star above the scene, and illuminate with fairy lights.

 

Simple but elegant

Not everyone wants to go over-the-top with their Christmas decor, and sometimes keeping things minimal can maximise the effect. Try hanging a traditional wreath on your window shutters, and use a can of artificial snow around the corners of your windows, with a few stencilled snowflakes on the glass.

 

If you’re looking for plantation shutters in Worthing, talk to us today.