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siobhanny5

Older homes, plantation shutters, wood blinds

siobhanny5
18 years ago

There's a thread going on the home decorating forum about plantation shutters, though I thought I'd try here as well.

Has anyone here installed plantation-style shutters in their old home? I'm partial to natural materials whenever possible, though some are saying the polywood is less heavy, less expensive than the natural wood. Your thoughts?

Also, leaning toward wood blinds in some rooms. If you own them, do you have wide slates or thin? Did you try to match the wood trim on your windows, or complement your hardwood floors?

Any suggestions on size, materials, making color choices here would be appreciated.

Comments (15)

  • aprilwhirlwind
    18 years ago

    I remember them being in style maybe 30 odd years ago and they were a pain to dust and keep clean. They do look nice, though.
    I have wooden blinds in my rooms. Most of the wood in my living room is a dark cherry or walnut, so I went with dark cherry blinds in both the living room and adjacent dining room. My floors are oak stained in a mid-value cherry, my woodwork is a warm white. I selected the wide slats, have them under swags and jabots when not in use am very pleased with the look, whether they are up or down.
    For my family room I went with white, wide slatted wood blinds. I have dark colored walls and a triple window and another single one. We changed the trim in there from a warm white to a yellowish-cream and I'm still very happy with the blinds on the windows. (I get very picky-picky)

  • joyce_6333
    18 years ago

    In my last home (not an old home) we had solid oak plantation shutters on every window. They had wide (3 - 3 1/2") slats, and I absolutely LOVED them! They were custom made by Sherwood Shutters -- I can't recommend them highly enough if your budget is liberal. They worked with us to mix a custom stain that matched the wood in the rest of the house. I didn't think they were difficult to clean at all. Couple times a year I washed them with a damp cloth, and the rest of them time I dusted them when I dusted the furniture. I could do the large windows in our living room in less than 10 minutes, although I did have to bring in a step stool to reach them. I would think shutters with narrow slats would be a nightmare to clean because the slats are so close together. But the wide slats make it so easy.

    Now we live in a 1916 bungalow. We have two rooms with wood blinds with 2 1/2" slats. They are working out very well, but I would get the same plantation shutters again if my budget would allow it now. I am definitely getting the wood blinds for the rest of the windows, doing a room at a time. The ones I like are by Levolor or Graber, and they come in so many colors you could easily match just about any wood color.

  • southern_2008
    15 years ago

    We have plantaton shutters and love them. Many of the old homes in our part of town (the only part of town that has old homes) have plantation shutters although many of them have the narrower slats (1", 2" max). Ours are 3 and a half so let a lot of light in. I was against doing them downstairs for my more formal rooms, so we just did the entire upstairs. I will say that it really provides a "finished" look. They were expensive, however. For our molding though we did have to go with shutters that came slightly out from the interior molding on the windows so that the slats would still be able to open. We could have gone with 2 and a half inch slats and had them mount flush on the inside but with the shutters painted cream, the walls painted cream and the trim painted semi-gloss cream, it's not really noticeable. I'll try to take some pics tomorrow.

  • tinker_2006
    12 years ago

    I currently have them in our new home we are living in (while we restore the old!) I have always wanted them, but now that I have them.. I don't like them! They are dust collectors, but the main reason I did like them is how dark they made our home. I have the 2-1/2" slats, but they still darkened the rooms a lot!

  • sombreuil_mongrel
    12 years ago

    Paneled or louvered multifold shutters are what's most appropriate for old houses. The wide-louvered wood blinds were hung outside, people.
    Sometimes the shutters were fitted into the window jambs with such excruciating care that you would not realize they were there unless someone showed them to you. A combination of raised panels and louvers was a typical feature. Sometimes all raised panels. They were so well fitted that when closed were basically draught-excluders for winter nights.
    Casey

  • columbusguy1
    12 years ago

    Hooray to Casey for mentioning the proper uses of these things! This is NOT the only option for darkening rooms--my house has --shades--which I can pull down to shut out glare and unwanted drafts. They can fit either inside the window opening, or mount to the trim beneath the curtains. AND they can come with fancy trims at the bottom and a variety of materials to allow for different light levels. IF you have the skill, it was even popular to paint scenes on them if the view outside lacks appeal.

    And best of all, they are far cheaper than plantation shutters! :)

  • palberda
    11 years ago

    I am seriously considering getting plantation shutters in our living room. We have cream horizontal painted wood with pine wooden windows. Would it look ok to have cream shutters on the wooden windows? I am just not sure with the natural wood around them.
    I am also wanting the separation between the top 1/2 and the bottom 1/2 of the shutter so if furniture is blocking the shutter we can still open the top. Does anyone have this type and can give light to this topic?

  • palberda
    11 years ago

    I am seriously considering getting plantation shutters in our living room. We have cream horizontal painted wood with pine wooden windows. Would it look ok to have cream shutters on the wooden windows? I am just not sure with the natural wood around them.
    I am also wanting the separation between the top 1/2 and the bottom 1/2 of the shutter so if furniture is blocking the shutter we can still open the top. Does anyone have this type and can give light to this topic?

  • jlc102482
    11 years ago

    After seeing holes where the originals used to hang, we got plantation shutters for our library. It took us two years to find them and we got super lucky to find not only the correct dimensions but also the correct age, as they were original to a house built just two years after our 1857 home. The only bad part is that they were painted long ago and now I have to strip each panel and louver.

    Incidentally, does anyone know if plantation blinds were commonly painted in the 1850s and 1860s, or were they stained? The woodwork throughout my home is and always has been painted except for the library, which is the room the shutters are going into. I don't WANT to paint the shutters, but I sure as heck don't want to strip them, either...

  • sombreuil_mongrel
    11 years ago

    Grain-painting (faux bois) was popular, decorated to match whatever wood trim was in the room.
    Casey

  • jlc102482
    11 years ago

    Ha, I think faux bois would be more complicated than stripping and re-painting put together! Stripping and staining it is, then...

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    Plantation Shutters of Florida Inc
    8 years ago

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  • PRO
    Plantation Shutters of Florida Inc
    5 years ago


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  • PRO
    Plantation Shutters of Florida Inc
    3 years ago

    Looking for quality plantation shutters??

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