Plauderwelten » Are plantation shutters always white

Shutters can disguise unsightly door handles
If you're unhappy with the look of your French door frame or handles, shutters are a great solution to hide them away while bringing character to your home. We supply shutters with an optional mid rail that can be positioned at any height you require. Mid rails are useful for adding separation to shutters allowing you to split the function of slats, closing one set while the other stays open for example, but also can be positioned in the specific location of your handles to sit neatly behind. Every door and window is different, that's why we ask customers to specify exact measurements for where their handles or frames sit, and build made to measure shutters to suit.
Shutters for doors are easy to fit yourself
At The Shutter Store we pride ourselves in empowering our customers to DIY. The hardest part is measuring accurately, the rest is easy. But with our easy to follow guides and expert customer service over the phone, you'll get the perfect measure and fit every time. You can call our team or email us photos of your windows and doors for support and advice. Once you've measured and measured again, our team will call you to confirm all details, and come installation day, it will be a doddle. If you've put together flat pack furniture or hung a shelf, you'll have no problem installing shutters to your French doors.
They offer an extra layer of insulation
If your French doors are prone to draughts, installing shutters provides an extra layer of insulation, reducing the amount of heat loss through windows and doors and ultimately saving you money on your energy bills.
They prevent pets and children going outside
Installing shutters to French doors is a great idea for pet owners or parents with young children. In hotter months, if you want to leave the door open for ventilation, but don't want your house cat or young child running outside, shutters are a good barrier to exit. We recommend installing your own latch system high up the shutter stiles to prevent animals or toddlers opening them.
So now you're sold on shutters for patio doors, what are the design options?
Shutters for French doors can be designed in a variety of ways depending on your preference. There are two popular options when choosing shutters for French doors. The first is full height louvred shutters, built as a 3 sided frame that commonly features a mid rail to hide handles. This style lets in the most light and provides a good level of light control. The second option (shown below) is a part solid part louvred shutters built with a 3 sided frame containing a solid shutter on the bottom half of the door, with slats on the top half. The benefits of this style is that the lower solid section is easy to wipe down, especially when traffic enters and exits the doorway bringing dust and particles from outdoors. The part solid, part louvred shutters have a more traditional look and help to break up the overall shutter design, great if you are covering patio doors that have shorter side windows and want to make a feature of it.
What are plantation shutters?
Plantation shutters are louvred shutters. The louvres - or slats - can be tilted from fully closed to fully open, as well as angled between these two positions. It's the louvres that make them different from traditional solid shutters, which have solid panels that fold across the window. With plantation shutters, the light that comes in can be precisely regulated, where solid shutters are either open or closed.
They get their name from plantations in the deep south of the USA. Here, wooden shutters were installed on the outside of the main plantation home. They commonly had fixed position slats back then but, over time, they began to be made with louvres that could be tilted to shield the interior of rooms from the sun.
What are the benefits of plantation shutters?
Fabulously flexible window dressings, plantation shutters have the edge over curtains and blinds.
Plantation shutters can help you sleep better. With the louvres closed, you can avoid being disturbed by street lights and early dawns as our bespoke plantation shutters fit your windows exactly.
Slats that can be angled precisely have other plus points, too. During the day you can maximise the daylight coming in without leaving the panes of your windows fully open as you'd have to do with curtains, which can mean intrusive gazes from passers-by or the neighbours opposite. And, unlike with Roman blinds or curtains that don't draw back fully, you're not leaving a portion of your window blocked so no daylight comes in at all.
Plantation shutters can also allow you to open windows to ventilate rooms in warm weather but retain the security of a covering across the window.
Another advantage of plantation shutters is that you can manage the glare of the sun as it moves round during the day, tilting the blades as necessary to keep screens easy to see, and to prevent the sun fading furniture.
As well as providing practical benefits, plantation shutters score in the style stakes, too. They complement homes of all ages and sizes from cottages to Victorian homes, 20th century architecture and today's new builds. And, as well as looking elegant from inside your rooms, they really boost kerb appeal, giving the exterior of a home a smart and consistent finish at every window.
Are plantation shutters always white?
White shutters are extremely popular, and have enduring style. However, other neutral shades can look equally stylish, and we offer a range from pale to deeper tones. Want to make your window a focal point? Coloured shutters create a great feature. And if you prefer wood, choose our hardwood shutters, which come in a choice of wonderful wood stains, as well as painted finishes.
Us Brits are no strangers in getting the best of our interior inspiration from our far-flung holiday destinations. From the boutique hotel room bed linens that ooze luxury, to Portuguese patterned tiles that make a grand statement underfoot. There's always something to catch our eye that we wish to replicate in our homes back in the UK.
One iconic design feature that never fails to get us dreaming are the stunning french shutters found most often along idyllic cobbled streets on old french buildings. They perfectly frame French balconies and window boxes, in all sorts of pretty pastel shades, and it's no surprise that they are on holidaymakers' wish lists. While we might not always be able to take the weather back home to the UK, we can certainly take lots of design inspiration - and French shutters are one of the most simple, yet transformative additions you can bring to your home which will instantly take you back to memories of your holidays. The cafe-style shutter has a typically French, traditional look. These shutters are fitted to only half of your window, with the upper half left bare, resembling the sought-after French shutters seen in Parisian cafes. Cafe-style shutters are commonly fitted on windows that face busy roads to provide privacy and keep light streaming through. Pure white shutters work beautifully in UK homes and are popular on the lower half of large bay windows, tall Georgian bathroom windows or dining areas. Opulent, boutique holiday stays normally provide quirky, vintage interior design ideas not to mention an excellent night's sleep. Both can be recreated with a great window dressing like solid shutters. Solid shutters bring French-chic character to a bedroom, especially when they're painted in the sweet pastel vintage shades. They're practical, not just beautiful, contributing to an uninterrupted, quality sleep night after night with their noise reducing, light reducing, and heat retaining qualities. Overall they make an excellent choice for recreating your holiday at home. You'll have spotted them on your evening walks through cobbled streets, those sought after single glazed, typically French wooden doors are coveted by lots of UK homeowners, but what if you've inherited upvc french doors and you'd rather a more traditional look akin to the French charm seen on holiday? Pure white, Alabaster (soft grey) or Seaglass Green (soft green) shutters installed over your upvc doors can appear as charming French doors when you glance into the room. The Shutter Store offer easy to measure and install shutters for French doors that will soften the look of upvc patio doors. UK homes can often be built with less than favourable views onto the likes of a neighbour's garden, a brick wall, or looking out onto an old fence - nothing like the sea views you woke up to on holiday. Installing shutters can make it less obvious and soften the view. With the ability to tilt slats at whichever angle you prefer, you can disguise your current view and dream of waking up to the Mediterranean waves.