To get the right window shutters for your windows, you’ll first need to decide whether you want to cover part of the window or all of it. Some rooms may need just the lower part of the window covered, while other rooms need the window shutters to fit over the entire window.
Next, for windows that will be fully covered, you’ll need to decide whether you want a single-panel window shutter or you want two rows of stacked window shutters (this allows you more flexibility because you can open just one of the rows of window shutters and leave the other one closed or you can open both at the same time).
Then you’ll need to decide whether you want window shutters with slats (which can be opened while leaving the window shutter closed) or without slats.
Full-height window shutters are a single panel (you’ll have two per window) that will cover the entire window. Tier-on-tier window shutters cover the entire window as well, but since the top panels are separate from the bottom panels, they can be opened independently of each other. This allows you to get light in the room, while still maintaining privacy.
Café-style window shutters (also known as half-height window shutters) only cover the lower part of the window. Many times the top part of the window will be covered with a balloon shade.
Solid window shutters don’t have slats at all and are good for rooms that require privacy, like bedrooms and bathrooms.
Half-solid window shutters have one row of panels (the bottom) without slats and the other row of panels with slats (the top). These provide privacy while still allowing light to come into the room.
Window shutters available in polyvinyl and wood. The polyvinyl window shutters look like wood, but they can hold up to high-humidity rooms like laundry rooms and bathrooms, better than wood window shutters. Both of these kinds of window shutters are available in many colors, so that they will fit in with the décor and style of your home.
Measuring for window shutters requires you to determine whether the windows are recessed or not. In recessed windows, the window shutters will fit inside the recess (either at the front of the recess, which allows the shutters to be completely folded back, or against the glass of the window), so that’s where you’ll need to measure. In windows that aren’t recessed, the window shutters will be installed outside on trim, walls, or doors. Once you decide where you want window shutters installed on non-recessed windows, you’ll measure using that place.
If you have bay windows, they may have three sections side by side or a main section with a section on either side angled at 90 degrees from the main section. You need to measure each of the sections.
Window shutters can have small or large slats. Small slats give rooms a more traditional look, while large slats give them a more contemporary feel. You can choose between a visible rod and a hidden rod to use to open and close the slats.
If you need help choosing and measuring for window shutters, you can speak with our experienced staff at McNeill Palm. You can come to our showroom at 655 Grand Blvd Ste 106D, Miramar Beach, FL 32250, or you can call us at (850) 613-6228.