Quick Answer: Blackout shutters and Shutter blinds combine plantation shutters with integrated blackout blinds. As well as being the ultimate room darkening solution, this combination offers added insulation and improved privacy. Blackout shutter blinds are perfect for children’s bedrooms and home cinema-style rooms.

If you have a room that would benefit from improved darkness control, you may have considered blackout shutter blinds.

In this guide, we’ll explain everything there is to know about blackout shutters and shutter blinds, including some benefits, how they work, and how to ensure you’re getting the best possible result.

What are blackout shutters?

Blackout shutters combine interior window shutters and an integrated blackout honeycomb blind.

Shutters alone can only reduce external light so much. This is because of the adjustable louvres – the fact that they’re adjustable means a little light ‘bleeds’ through the tiny gaps. This light reflects – especially on white shutters – lightening your room.

To combat this, a retractable integrated room darkening blind sits behind the shutter and in front of the window pane. This slides down and covers the window entirely, blocking virtually all light.

When you combine these two products, you get the ultimate window covering. Shutters look beautiful and offer a range of benefits – and the blackout blinds mean you’ll get a restful night’s sleep.

Here at Shuttercraft, “Shutter and Shade” is the name we give to our blackout shutter blind range.

Adding insulation

Shutters are the single most effective way to reduce heat loss in your home. This is thanks to the layer of high-quality hardwood helping to keep the heat and cold locked in.

That said, there is an even more effective solution. You’ve guessed it – wooden shutters and blinds.

According to the Centre for Sustainable Energy, a blind and shutter combination will reduce heat loss by 68%. This is likely a low figure, too – since it’s based on roller blinds.

Since our Shutter and Shade blinds have a single honeycomb cell construction, the savings will likely be even more impressive.

Where are plantation shutters with integrated blackout blinds most useful?

Look at where some of our previous customers have had plantation blackout shutters installed in their homes.

Bedrooms

Perhaps the most obvious choice – bedrooms are the ideal location for blackout shutters and blinds.

While it’s virtually impossible to get curtains or stand-alone blinds to shut the light out completely, blinds built into a made-to-measure shutter frame have no problem.

Changing sunrise and sunset times are a problem for most people, but shutters and blackout blinds benefit shift workers and other people who need to sleep through the day.

Home cinema spaces

If your idea of a perfect night in involves a movie or a box set with snacks and drinks, blackout shutters can be the perfect addition to your room.

You don’t have to compromise on your room’s appearance to get this ‘home cinema’ experience.

The shutter panels used in our Shutter and Shade range are the same as the ones you’ll find elsewhere in our product range – and the blind can be hidden completely when not in use. You can have all the perks of blackout shutters without losing any aesthetic appeal.