Plantation Shutters are a Good Long Term Investment for your Home Sublime

Plantation shutters, also called window shutters or interior shutters, are the classic wood shutters you’ve seen in those majestic Southern homes; just to give you a reference. That’s not to say that they are not popular all over. Plantation shutters are the classic window treatment, offering good looks, long life, good insulating properties and more.

Plantation shutters should not be confused with Bahama shutters which are actually a type of external shutter, hinged at the top of the window, and can be lowered to protect windows from flying debris from tropical storms and hurricanes.

Shutters are not cheap; let’s get that out of the way right away. There are, admittedly, many cheaper window treatments options available. Shutters are a long term consideration. But, they are worth the extra money. They look good with just about any décor and even add to a home’s curb appeal. A house for sale with plantation shutters will usually list them as a feature so they add value to a home.

You can find less expensive plantation shutters made from vinyl, or faux wood (composite). The cost savings between real wood shutters and vinyl shutters is approximately 25% and about 20% for composite wood. Plantation shutters also come stained or painted, the latter option being the least expensive. An additional benefit of vinyl or faux wood plantation shutters is that they won’t warp, crack or split in hot or humid areas, like kitchens and bathrooms. When planning your order, you may want to keep that in mind.

Shutters are highly versatile. They can block light very effectively or let in plenty of sunshine just by raising or lowering the louvers, which range in size from 2 ½” to 4 ½”. If you are covering a large picture window, I recommend the larger louver size as they allow greater see-through. You can custom order them to fit windows of just about any size or shape. Shutters offer effective insulation, a real plus in almost any climate.

One limitation of plantation shutters is that the color choices are somewhat limited. Generally, the painted shutters come in white, off-white, alabaster, and similar shades. These are colors that won’t clash with any décor. The stained shutters come in colors from natural to dark walnut. One reason for the limited painted colors is that shutters are a very prominent addition to a room or home and bright or dark colors would tend to dominate the color scheme.

Real wood shutters usually come in premium hardwoods and are hand-sanded for a smooth finish so they are like fine furniture. And just like fine furniture, wood shutters make a statement about the home and the homeowners – that they care about their home and want only the best. If you are going to purchase real wood shutters, you may want to consider the stained variety as opposed to the painted ones. Why waste all that beautiful wood if you are going to paint over it? Then you may as well save money by purchasing the vinyl or faux wood shutters.