How Did Plantation Shutters Get Their Name?

Solid window shutters have a fascinating history that predates the glass windows they protect today, and outside of the marble louvres of Ancient Greece and solid hide protection, are one of the first window covering systems ever invented.
The most popular type of shutters, however, are the versatile, endlessly elegant and functional plantation shutters, which provide effective ventilation, home protection and control of natural light.
Initially, however, the concept of louvre shutters did not actually come from plantations, but instead, like the popularity of most window coverings, from the Sun King himself, King Louis XIV.
He insisted on the use of window shutters, in part so people could sleep comfortably in his royal domicile without being spied upon, and the royal cooks could use the kitchen without an abundance of sunlight burning them or making the kitchen too hot to use.
This, along with King Louis’ obsession with curtains on every wall, bed and other conceivable space, made him a very important part of the story of shutters, and it would only take a century or two for louvred shutters and curtains to spread beyond the Royal Courts of France.
Where these shutters would get their name would be in the Antebellum era in the southern United States, where the large plantation manor houses, often designed with overt inspiration from Gothic Revival and other European design movements, would employ shutters on every window.
After the end of the plantation era that coincided with the end of the American Civil War, many of the exterior window shutters were kept for decorative rather than practical reasons, helped by the development of more practical and affordable glass sheets that began in the latter part of the 19th century.
Related articles

Where Did The Term Daylight Robbery Come From?
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 […]

How Shutters Can Help Keep Your Home Warm
Summer in Brighton has been a hot time this year, with no lack of excuses to head for the seafront. But if the season has been great for splashing about in the sea, lazing on the beach or just getting out and about in the heat, the months ahead are a different prospect. The end […]