How To Select The Best Shutters For Your Home

After browsing Pinterest for hours on end, binge-watching all the home reno shows on HGTV for a week and talking to friends, neighbors, and your Aunt Sally, you’ve finally decided that you want interior shutters for your home. Now you have to decide on which shutters you want. Consider this your handbook on how to select the best shutters for your home.

Don’t worry. It’s a short handbook and should be an easy read for you.

Step 1: What is your budget?

When is the last time you looked at the cost of custom window coverings? If it has been more than a couple of years, the cost for your project might be higher than you thought. Other than custom drapery and certain designer shade products, interior shutters are likely one of the more expensive options on the market. That being said, they can also be the best value for the money spent. Shutters never go out of style. In some instances, they actually improve the value of the home. If you select a reputable brand and they are installed by a trained professional, you almost never have to worry about repairs or service calls for interior shutters.

Step 2: What material do you want?

Interior shutters are available in three basic materials. Real wood, faux wood (sometimes called “composite”), and vinyl.

Real wood shutters are typically made from basswood or other lightweight woods. Basswood accepts paints and stains better than other wood species and is fairly strong and durable. You can sometimes find wood shutters made from cedar or other woods, but they are typically more expensive than basswood. Some wood species are not suitable for painted shutters and are only viable with certain colors of wood stain. Real wood shutters also allow for custom colors of paint or stains to be applied.

Faux wood and composite shutters are usually produced with a combination of materials. Their content varies from one manufacturer to another. These shutters are usually less expensive than real wood shutters but offer fewer color options (usually whites and off-whites). Faux wood or composites are also heavier than real wood because the material is denser. As such, there are greater size limitations on faux wood shutters compared to their real wood counterparts.

Vinyl shutters (also called PVC or ABS) are the easiest to clean and are great for areas where moisture is present (such as bathrooms). They cost about the same as faux wood shutters but typically have the smallest number of color options to choose from and the fewest frame options.

Step 3: What style and configuration do you want?

The style and configuration of the shutter includes your frame style, the louver size, and how many panels per window opening. It can also include whether or not the shutter will be mounted inside the window opening or outside of the window on the trim or wall surface. Then there is the question of “do you want a traditional tilt bar to operate the louvers or do you want an invisible tilt or possibly a motorized tilt option?”

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