Sometimes just the location can be the challenge. Kitchens and bathrooms can look crisp, clean and streamlined with white shutters amidst white tiling and appliances, but the humidity and potential for splashing water isn’t the right environment for wooden shutters. Luckily, vinyl shutters have no such issues, happily shrugging off any water and basking in humidity without warping, fading or cracking, and they're usually cheaper too. Choose a high-quality vinyl shutter and only you will know they're vinyl, as they look like painted wooden shutters.
If your home has gable end floor to ceiling windows, perhaps with some glass doors too, you may feel like it’s a bit of a mixed blessing; it’s a stunning feature that creates a real sense of space and allows an enormous amount of light to flow in, but on the flip side such vast swathes of glass can make the room overly hot or cold, dependant on the season. Bespoke shutters can be crafted especially for any configuration of windows and doors, or angles and shapes for a tailor-made solution.
Shutters are a work-horse of a window dressing, fulfilling multiple functions, like managing light, providing insulation - both in terms of temperature and noise, and it's easy to overlook who they can be a practical solution too. During summer, large expanses of glass featuring doors and windows can beautifully blur the boundary between outdoors and inside, but they are less engaging in winter. Tracked shutters still allow access to the doors behind them if required, but are turned into an interactive piece of art simply by tilting the louvres on alternate shutters top and bottom for an eye-catching look, not to mention blocking out the wintery weather.
People often imagine that shutters require a large wall space to fold them back against and discount them as an option if their space doesn’t have a large enough clearance. There’s no rule book that says you have to fold your shutters back – often simply angling the louvres lets in more than enough light. This kitchen is a perfect example, with its unusual tall and narrow windows either side of the door. You need a practical window dressing so close to the door, and with adequate light from the glass panel to the door, these Tier on Tier shutters are a great choice, creating a slimline and fuss-free look that can cope with all the comings and goings out into the garden.
While we’re talking about practicalities, what do you do when you have a window that’s anything but standard? This floor to ceiling window affords wonderful views from the comfort of the bed, but that wedged angle at the top means you need a bespoke solution. We offer a wide range of shaped shutters, from this relatively simple angle to more complex solutions and in a range of wood, MDF or vinyl.
What about windows that are part window part furniture? This window seat is a delightful feature, and a great spot to curl up in with a good book. These café style shutters offer the best of both worlds – light flows in at the top giving you natural daylight to read in, while the lower half is shuttered off for privacy.
What about bay windows, I hear you say. Our years of experience have led us to develop a unique system exclusively for shutters in bay windows, that’s how committed we are to finding the perfect solution for every window. Our Bay Pole system allows adjoining shutters to be positioned at any angle without unsightly daylight gaps between the bay pole and shutter, following the lines of the bay window itself.
When we said we’ve created shutters for almost every size and shape of window you could imagine, we weren’t exaggerating. This charming little window presented all sorts of challenges – the deep recess, the arch, the leading. Our wooden shutters in a café style are the ideal solution, allowing both the archway and leading to remain visible while giving the option to close the lower section if desired for privacy.