Wooden Window Shutters: How To Choose The Right Ones

Quick Answer! To find the perfect wooden window shutters, pick the style matching your property and interior design. Then, decide on the best mounting method. It’s a good idea to decide whether DIY or made-to-measure is right for you, too – then choose the right colour for your home.

Virtually all shutter retailers have a comprehensive range of wooden window shutters. The question is, which ones are right for you?

In this guide, we’ll pose some valuable questions before you make any solid decisions about plantation shutters for your home.

After reading, you can narrow your choices according to your needs, interior design style, and where you plan to install wooden shutters.

Shuttercraft Stafford Wooden Window Shutters Full Height

Which style of wooden shutters would suit your home?

Everyone’s interior design tastes are different. The kind of shutters that look perfect in a new apartment will likely differ from what would work well in an 18th Century cottage.

As such, thinking about your property and interior design style is an excellent place to begin when considering plantation shutters.

Wooden shutters for traditional-style homes

You’ll find shutters that match perfectly if you have an older home or a more traditional interior design taste.

Full-height shutters look fantastic in older homes, especially those with sash windows – like Victorian or Georgian homes. A full-height shutter design covers the whole window.

People with traditional tastes or properties often choose a design with smaller louvres (slats) and a tilt rod to control the angle of the louvres.

Wooden shutters for modern homes

People are often surprised to discover that the same range of shutters that would look great in a period property can also look great in a contemporary setting.

The key to finding shutters that work in modern homes is to consider the details. Rather than small louvres, deeper louvres give a more modern feel.

Also, think about a ‘hidden’ or ‘silent’ tilt mechanism. Where traditional shutters have an exposed hanging rod that controls the louvre angle, modern shutters can hide this completely, so you can control the angles by moving the louvres directly. This adds to the clean lines and uncomplicated look.

Shutters for ultimate light and privacy control

Getting the right atmosphere in your living space is a big part of feeling relaxed in your home. To get this just right, it’s good to have a balance of light control and privacy.

If light and privacy are essential, consider a tier-on-tier shutter option. At a glance, these look like full-height shutters but are separate upper and lower sections. This allows you to let light in through the upper section while maintaining privacy from street level.

If you do decide to close your room off from the outside world for the ultimate snug feeling, you can close both sections and enjoy total privacy.

Shutters for light and bright rooms

If you have a bright and airy room, you might choose a shutter design that lets plenty of sunshine into your space. In cases like this, café-style shutters are often a perfect solution.

A café-style shutter only covers the bottom half of your windows. Often, tall windows – like bay windows – covering just the bottom half of the window provides enough privacy from street level and still lets daylight flood in.

What’s the best mounting option for your windows or doors?

When it comes to mounting wooden shutters, you have three styles to choose from:

1. Frame-mounted shutters
2. Bi-fold shutters
3. Bypass shutters

Frame-mounted shutters attach directly to your window frames. They open on hinges when you want to open shutters or access your windows.

Bi-fold shutters are mounted on a discreet track before your windows or doors. As the shutters effortlessly open, they fold back in a concertina fashion. This minimises the amount of space they take up when fully open.

Bypass shutters are usually used on large windows or patio doors. Again, this is a track-mounted option with front and rear tracks. As your full-height shutters open, they overlap without folding.

Do you choose DIY shutters or made-to-measure shutters?

When exploring how much plantation shutters cost, some retailers offer lower-cost DIY options. Although we don’t offer a DIY option here at Shuttercraft, we appreciate that fitting your shutters appeals to many people.

Before deciding whether to opt for DIY or a professionally installed made-to-measure option, it’s good to think about your level of DIY skill and the tools you have. You’ll typically need the following tools:

Power drill
Hammer drill
Electric planer
Spirit level
Screwdriver – with different attachments
Tape measure
Stanley knife
Masking tape
Silicone

It’s not just fitting to think about either; you should carefully approach measuring for your new shutters. Double (or triple!) check all your measurements and think carefully about ensuring enough clearance for the opening mechanisms on your windows and doors.

Also, don’t fall into the trap of assuming all your windows are perfectly square or rectangular. As properties settle over time, windows can become slightly misshaped, so check all the corner angles too.

If you’re not 100% confident about the measuring and fitting process, it’s a good idea to explore ordering from a company that includes this technical work with the cost of your new shutters. If you do, you can be confident that you’ll get wooden shutters that fit perfectly, operate as they should, and come with a guarantee that covers materials and fitting.

Are you sure that real wood shutters are the right choice?

Natural wood is increasingly rare when you shop for furniture and window coverings. When you find genuine wood products, they feel luxurious – but they’re not always the intelligent choice.

Why not? Well, the properties of natural wood don’t always match what people need.

Take bathrooms and kitchens, for example. Natural wood looks and feels fantastic – but it might not stand up to the moisture in the air and high-quality faux wood. For this reason, it’s a good idea to consider faux wood shutters in these high-humidity settings.

We created our Java range of shutters for this reason – and we’ve installed thousands of these high-grade ABS shutters in bathrooms, kitchens, and even swimming pool rooms around the UK.

Our Java shutters are finished in the same way that our real wood shutters are – and this makes them virtually indistinguishable from wood. Since they’re created using ABS, they are much more moisture resistant than wood – but they look every bit as attractive, and they have the same range of benefits.

Which colours would work well on your property?

Most of the shutters installed in UK homes are in pale colours – often white. While white is popular, many other colours are also available.

If you prefer a darker colour, perhaps creating a monochrome look in your space, then make sure the wood shutters you choose are available in the colour you’d like.

If you have a particular colour in mind, some made-to-measure shutter companies can match your requirements exactly. Our custom colour service lets us take virtually any colour and have your shutters created and finished in this exact tone!

Would you like more information about wooden window shutters?

We know that everyone’s shutter requirements are a bit different. This is why we’ve got people from our design teams on-hand to answer your questions and offer advice to help you find the perfect shutters.

We’d be delighted to hear from you if you want more information about wooden window shutters.