Buyers Guide to Blinds and Shutters

Every year we wait with bated breath for the first rays of spring sunshine to peep through the clouds, then the next moment we’re frantically fanning ourselves in an attempt to keep cool in the increasingly stifling summertime. But while we can’t control our fickle climate, we can invest in intelligent window treatments that protect ourselves and our interiors.

More adaptable than curtains and more versatile than voiles, the newest shutters and blinds come in a whole host of modern materials and super-chic colours, that not only make a feature of your windows, but provide flexible sun protection too.

The latest trends for blinds and shutters

‘Wow colours such as yellow, red, orange and juicy green are back, both in textiles, lacquered steel and coloured plexi’. Christina Widholm, chief designer and trend forecaster, Faber.

‘We’ve seen a rise in sales of wooden Venetian blinds with cotton tapes. For summer, I’d expect this to continue with neutral slat colours and contrasting tapes in coastal blues.’ Rebecca Brooks, marketing manager, Novatec and Eclectics.

‘Our up-and-coming trend is for high gloss shutters in dark wenge or black. These look stunning with dark floorboards.’ Mark Carter, company director, Shutterly Fabulous.

‘Following in the footsteps of the US, we’re seeing much bigger louvres. We do slats up to 114mm for a really modern look.’ Aideen Smith, marketing manager, Shaftesbury Shutters.

‘Our sliding shutter mechanism is great for small spaces and for using shutters as a room divider.’ Harriet Shackleton, sales manager, The New England Shutter Company.

Blinds – Essential info
Modern blinds do much more than just provide privacy. The latest fabrics also offer solar protection, so no more faded fabrics or floors. They also block out heat, so rooms stay comfortable without the air con – an eco-friendly way of keeping cool. With moisture-resistant, anti-fungal and dust-repellent options too, it’s easy to keep window treatments in top condition. And if it’s too hot to even pull a cord, many come with a motor option for the ultimate in operational ease.

If you need to reduce glare, choose one of the many sheer fabrics that provide an effective and modern alternative to nets. ‘A mid-tone grey will take out glare but still provide good visibility,’ says Georgina Clark, showroom manager at Silent Gliss. ‘White reacts with the light and is harder to see through, whereas black gives the best visibility but will become totally transparent at night – fine if you’re not overlooked, but otherwise you’ll need a secondary window treatment to provide privacy.’ These mesh blinds work in a similar way to car screens, gently filtering the sun’s rays without completely blocking out a beautiful day, making them ideal if you work from home – no more struggling to see your computer screen if you’re sat near a window.

Types of blinds
Roller blinds provide excellent protection against heat and light and give the room a neat, uncluttered look. Choose sheer to soften sunlight, patterned fabrics to introduce colour and texture or blackout blinds to block light completely. Head to Hillarys or Novatec for a bottom-up roller blind, which is great for providing privacy while still letting in light through the top half of the window.

Vertical blinds have shaken off their dowdy office image with companies such as New House Textiles and Luxaflex adding sheers, patterns, even metallics to their ranges. Ideal for high windows and doors, tilt them to let in a lot or a little light, or pull back entirely.

Venetian blinds can be adjusted to filter or totally cut out light, or pulled up completely to let in maximum light. Wood Venetians sit well with floorboards, but for something more daring, look at Faber’s 2007 collection, with multi-coloured slats for a modern take on this classic.

Roman blinds are a staple option for a large window. When pulled up, they make a neat stack at the top of the frame that is still visible, so they remain a feature in any decorative scheme.

Panel Systems, also known as Kyoto Panels, are wider than Venetians and on some systems, each panel can be manoeuvred independently. Eclectics has a range of panels in a variety of colours and fabrics, including dramatic digital prints, while Silent Gliss does a range that attach to a track with an extra-strong Velcro system. This means you can alternate the panels and choose a heavier material in winter and a lighter, airier fabric in the summer months.

Shutters – essential info
Sales of shutters have grown an impressive 40 per cent in the last two years,’ says Fiona Kelly, managing director of The Shutter Shop. ‘People appear to be leaving curtains behind in favour of the clean, minimalist lines of shutters.’ Some shutter companies provide a completely bespoke service, where a consultant measures up and fits the shutters for you, while others can make something for you to fit yourself (only advisable for those confident with their tool kit).

With lots of materials to choose from, from MDF-based wood to the more expensive solid woods, Mark Carter, company director of Shutterly Fabulous points out: ‘It’s worth investing in the best your budget will allow as shutters are, in reality, furniture for your windows.’

Taking their name from the sprawling 19th-century mansions in America’s deep south, the most versatile are plantation-style shutters. These feature louvres that open and close to minimize heat from the sun. They provide ventilation and privacy when needed and come in an impressive array of colours and materials. Shutterly Fabulous, Shaftesbury Shutters and The New England Shutter Company will all colour match or stain shutters to Farrow & Ball, Dulux and many other well-known paint colours. They will also treat with a UV sealant so touch-ups aren’t necessary. The New England Shutter Company also offers hand-stitched faux leather, suede and fabric finishes in a huge range of shades and textures.

You can now choose the width of your louvres too. ‘Larger louvres allow in more light when the shutter is open,’ says Harriet Shackleton, sales manager at The New England Shutter Company, ’so it’s worth bearing this in mind when you’re making your decision.’

The traditional method of opening and closing louvres is with a rod on the outside of the shutter, but many companies now offer designs that feature hidden mechanisms or even remote-controlled shutters (good for hard-to-reach windows) for a contemporary finish.

Solid shutters were originally installed in pre-Edwardian houses and were only used a couple of times a year when the owners decamped for the season. They weren’t designed to be opened and shut daily like our present designs, which is why so few remain today. As well as traditional wood, they now come in a number of materials, so try Parma Lilac for an acrylic version or Draks for Japanese-style canto shutters with hardwood frames and a bespoke central panel of non-reflective acrylic, glass or even a fabric of your choice.

You can also source antique shutters at salvage companies such as Lassco. ‘Shutters can be cut down, just make sure they still work proportionally,’ says Francis Lee, design consultant at Lassco. Or you can add an extra leaf to make them fit, but measure up carefully to find a pair as near perfect as possible.

Types of Shutters

Café-style shutters are hung only on the bottom half of the window and are more cost effective (as they only cover half the window). They are ideal if you live at street level and need privacy, but still want to allow light in, but no good if you ever want to black out the room completely.

Tier-on-tier or double-hung shutters are the most versatile shutters you can opt for, with two sets hung one above the other, working independently. This gives great flexibility as you can have the top open and the bottom shut, or vice versa, and both sets can be open or shut too. The only disadvantage is that they can look a bit fussy on some types of windows.

Full-height shutters are best for taller windows. There is usually a dividing rail either halfway up, or at a natural break in the window (i.e. at the level of the sash). This makes taller shutters more sturdy and enables the louvres in the top and bottom half to move independently, so you could open the top set to let in light but keep the bottom shut for privacy.

Solid shutters give a clean look and come with various centre panels such as raised, moulded and Shaker styles. Solid-based shutters are a combination of louvre panel at the top and solid panel at the bottom.