Wooden solid panel shutters are a beautiful aesthetic touch that helps to improve the privacy of a home, whilst allowing greater control of the light of a room compared to other types of blinds.

One other advantage they have over Venetian blinds, for example, is that cleaning the solid wooden panels and slats is so much easier.

Here are some of our top tips to keep your shutters looking superb.

 

Dust Regularly

Shutters are fairly hard-wearing and rarely build up a large amount of dirt, so the main priority of any weekly cleaning or touch-up routine for your shutters is to regularly remove dust.

There are plenty of different options, from feather dusters to microfibre mitts. However, one of the most effective for plantation shutters is to use a paintbrush, as the bristles can get into the mechanism, nooks and crannies of the shutters to get rid of all of the dust.

 

Clean Every Month

Generally, cleaning should be undertaken in moderation using gentle ingredients to avoid damaging the finish or the wood itself. A diluted solution of washing up liquid and warm water, dabbed onto the shutters with a cloth is ideal.

A monthly cleaning regime for indoor shutters is fine, as they are unlikely to build up that much dirt, grime or debris, especially if you are dusting every week. You can also polish the wood, but keep it in moderation.

 

Refinish As Needed

Whilst shutters will last a long time when properly taken care of, if you start noticing chips in the wood or the colours fading, it may be time to strip the old finish off and re-coat it with a new wood stain.

Close The Shutters

As counter-intuitive as it may sound, closing your solid wood shutters is one of the best ways to keep a room cool, especially when the sun is at its highest.

The reason for this is the same reason a greenhouse is warmer inside than outside. Sunlight hits your windows, heats up the room and can actually make your room hotter than the outside temperature.

Closing the shutters and curtains will keep your room cool, and has the side effect of avoiding unsightly glare on your screen. Just make sure to take a break and enjoy the sun.

Use The Ice Fan Trick

In many countries, air conditioning is a standard part of every home, but this is not the case in the UK. However, there are ways to improvise.

Get your fan and pop a bowl of ice-cold water onto the bottom of it. This will create a super-cold breeze that will cool you down very quickly.

Stay Downstairs

Heat rises, so if you have the option, try to spend as much time downstairs as possible.

If you happen to live downstairs or can fashion a downstairs bed, sleeping downstairs can help improve your sleep considerably, rather than deal with intolerable heat upstairs, especially if you sleep in a loft conversion.

Whilst solid wood shutters are primarily known as a window accessory, they actually pre-date the use of glass in windows, making them a trusted, effective choice for providing privacy and blocking sunlight for thousands of years.

The first window openings date back to the 13th century BC, where small openings in the roof were made to allow light to enter the home during the day, and were typically covered with cloth or animal hide at night.

The first shutters were believed to have been created in Ancient Greece, and whilst wood and textiles do not survive that long, we do know that early shutters were made out of marble, although they were also known to have used wooden shutters in Ancient Greece as well.

The reason for the switch was obvious; whilst marble is an exceptionally beautiful and strong material, it is very difficult to make moving pieces out of marble, and so the louvres were solid and fixed to a single position.

Wooden louvres were much cheaper to make, much easier to fit due to being a lot lighter than marble, provided similar protection from sunlight and the tropical climate, and much later advances would enable the louvres to even move, allowing for as much or as little light in a room as you like.

Shutters would spread throughout the Mediterranean and were the standard covering for windows in the centuries before glass windows.

In Tudor England, you started to see glass windows, but as clear glass was expensive and fragile, solid shutters were used for the lower half of windowed openings.

By the time of King Louis XIV of France, window shutters had evolved from being a necessity to a royal accessory.

Given that shutters often need to be designed with particular needs in mind and are commonly made-to-measure, it is important to choose the right material that enhances your room, rather than causing design clashes or long term problems as they get older.

Unlike blinds, which have quite a wide choice of materials, solid wood shutters are the primary solution for most homes, with different types of woods having distinct advantages and disadvantages.

Hardwood is the traditional choice for window shutters going back as far as the era of Louis XIV, who allegedly had them installed into the Louvre palace as a way to watch people on his grounds.

As an older wood, hardwoods such as beech and oak are exceptionally strong, long-lasting and hard-wearing, but this strength also makes hardwood blinds more expensive than most other options.

However, an alternative, known as hybrawood, has also become an option, which provides the look of hardwood with a durable metal core and polyvinyl slats. This maintains the look of natural wood but also a long-lasting core.

Softwoods can on some occasions be used for indoor shutters and they can provide some particularly bright and beautiful textures, although they are also more damage-prone.

Medium-density fibreboard (MDF) used to be the primary material for low-price window shutters because the compacted concoction of hardwoods and softwoods was exceptionally durable for the price it costs.

Outside of wooden shutters, polyvinyl shutters do exist, as do metal ones, although both are primarily used for outdoor shutters.

Shutters are the ultimate option for light control and privacy. Tier on Tier style shutters allow for a versatile approach, which means you will be fully screened from outside view, while still being able to let in a good amount of daylight, and to have a view out of the window.

Full-height shutters can be fitted with separate louvre control, allowing you to close the lower section for maximum privacy, while the upper section can let in enough daylight to avoid having extra light sources.

Bespoke shutters will be designed to fit any window perfectly; in fact, this is one of their great advantages, because they enhance, rather than disguise the shape of the window, and maximise the space in the room. This is particularly effective for classic bay widows, or unusually shaped apertures.

The perfect fit of shutters means there are far fewer gaps for heat to escape from the room, so you may notice that you use less heating and save on energy bills. They are also very durable, not to mention stylish and contemporary!

Blinds are a more affordable solution in most cases, so may be better for those on a tight budget. They also give you more flexibility when it comes to styling, patterns, weight, and so on that will match the rest of your interior décor, and have a more softening effect.

In the end, there are no right or wrong choices; you may even decide to have shutters for some windows, and blinds for others.

One very effective – and very stylish – way to make your home more eco-friendly is to invest in solid wood shutters, which can really help boost the insulation of your house, keeping the warmth in during the winter… which means you can turn the thermostat down and use less energy, as a result.

Because these window treatments are made from solid wood, they’re the best way to keep draughts out and ensure your property remains airtight, especially when used in conjunction with double or triple glazing.

You’ll also likely find that shutters are more effective at preventing heat loss through the windows than curtains, drapes or blinds, because they’ll be made to fix your window exactly.

And you can easily regulate the amount of light that comes in through the windows, so you’ll find you have less reason to turn the lights on, reducing your energy consumption even further.

The very fact that they’re made from wood also makes them a sustainable option for your house so, as you can see, if you’re keen to start transforming your home with the planet in mind, shutters would be a great place to begin.

They’re available in a wide range of different styles, materials and colours, as well, so you’re sure to find a set that ties in well with the rest of your interior design choices.

Check out the Energy Saving Trust for even more advice on how to improve your home’s insulation.

Plantation Shutters

Cafe style? Full height? Solid? Slatted?

White? Off-white? Custom colour? Wooden?!

Okay… Deep breaths…

The options are many, and it can be a little hard to know where to start. We are here to help at any stage, but if you are still in the early stages of deciding which option is best for you, read on!

Style or substance? 

Okay, this is a bit of a trick question. We of course offer both! Our wooden plantation shutters stand the test of time, daily wear and tear, and are easy to clean – great news when dust or small sticky fingers are around – or both! Lucky you.

Are you looking for chic, calm minimalism for your zen den or bedroom?  To ensure your shutter design remains a harmonious feature for years to come, consider a white finish, as these compliment a huge range of interior design tastes and flavours! So when you crave painting that wall that incredible fuchsia colour you’ve been eyeing up, you can rest assured your room will still look wonderfully put together thanks to your white shutters. Winner! Click here to find out more

 Perhaps something bright and funky to add the finishing touch to a feature wall is something you’re more interested in? No problem! Whilst white is the most popular of colour choices, we are always excited to provide unusual or custom colours for shutters – you’d be amazed how effective even a soft sage colour can look in a living room, or a pebble colour in a bathroom or kitchen. Check out our gallery for some colour inspiration! Whatever your style, we can design and install the perfect shutters for you. See our custom colour shutters

Shutters are securely fitted to the window area, and so make a fantastic, long term, timeless addition to your home. They provide insulation, privacy and light – or lack thereof, if that’s what you want!.

Show it off! 

Are you lucky enough to have a beautiful arch window in your home? How about a sweet porthole window? A dramatic triangular feature? If so, you will know how difficult it is to find a window covering that really compliments and frames the space, rather than hiding it behind curtains or other out-of-the-box solutions. We can help you to enhance these wonderful features of your home with bespoke plantation shutters, measured to fit perfectly onto your unique window area. If you’ve got it, flaunt it! Arch Window Shutters

Privacy AND light?!

You don’t need to have curtains half open, half closed anymore, and you can tear down that yellowing lacy voile that’s been plaguing the windows of your home for far too long. If you want to sit in your dressing gown and work all day, you do you!

Shutters provide permanent privacy whilst allowing in as much sunlight into the room as you want! There are a range of designs to choose from to suit your home, of course. For example, traditional sash windows in a lot of the homes in the Brighton and Hove area look fabulous with Cafe Style shutters. These typically cover the lower half of the window, leaving the top completely open and free of any fixtures. This is a brilliant option for privacy, whilst also allowing as much light to enter the room as possible. These create a wonderful open, airy feel to the space. Another option would be our Tier-on-Tier design. Think ‘double-decker’ shutters – like the Cafe Style, but with another row of panels on top! This design offers you the option of almost complete blackout, as and when needed. Check out our gallery for a range of both Cafe Style and Tier-on-Tier shutter designs.

Cafe Style Shutters – Click Here

Tier on Tier Shutters – Click Here

 Whatever your needs, budget, design aspirations, questions, concerns – we are here to help! We will listen and advise on what could work – give us a call or drop us an email. We would be happy to pop over for a no pressure chat – we love a natter.

Shutters in Sussex have never been so easy.

When it comes to shutter colours you really can have it any which way. You’ve got your whites, off-whites, creams, greys, and wood stains. That’s without even mentioning the hundreds – maybe even thousands – of colour matching options available. Here at The Brighton Shutter Company we like to keep things simple. So, to help you out we’ve compiled a short list on why white shutters are a great choice.

1.   Simple, but effective

We get it. You’re looking for that elusive “Wow Factor” the moment you walk into the room. Maybe you think that white isn’t a bold enough choice. However, there’s a reason that white is our most popular colour. By choosing white shutters, you’ll get a simple look with a huge impact. Apart from bringing a fresh feel to a room, it will evoke feelings of tranquillity and relaxation. Sounds great, right? We couldn’t agree more.

2.   It will go with any décor

Our customers often tell us that the most difficult thing for them is choosing the perfect shutter colour to go with their existing décor.  Nowadays, most homes have white windowsills. The same goes for skirting boards, door frames and cornices. If you’re worried about a colour clash, then why not go for the tried and tested? Not only this, but if you’re starting from scratch, or undergoing a complete renovation, your white shutters will serve as the perfect neutral focal point to build around, no matter the look you’re going for. Simply put, white is a classic choice, and its adaptability means it will never go out of style.

3.   It’s incredibly versatile

When we say white, we don’t mean one shade. As any interior designer will tell you, there are tonnes of different shades of white. Indeed, these different shades will have different effects. If you are opting for a clean, modern and minimalist look, then our Pure White is the perfect choice for you. If it’s a more traditional look that you are going for, then you’ll want to go for one of our warmer shades. Silk White or Shell are both great options

4.   Brighten up your Living Space

If you want to add more light into a room, then there is no better choice than white shutters. It can serve to add freshness and lighten up the atmosphere of any space. It also works just as well in summer or winter, so even the gloomiest of rooms can be illuminated.

5.   It’s practical

While we’re massively into style, we don’t skimp on the substance either. Apart from looking amazing, white can have a maximising effect on a room, making the space seem larger than it is. If you have a room that feels just that little bit claustrophobic, then some beautiful white shutters are sure to open up the space. Why knock down a wall when you can shutter a window?

So, why not see for yourself? Whether your windows are big or small, square or circular, recessed or otherwise, our service is always designed for you. Let us show you how white shutters can improve your home. Call now on 01273 232 091 or book on an appointment below.

Some useful links for more colours are Farrow and Ball or Dulux Trade. We can colour match to both of these colour palettes.