Plantation Shutters can give your home a rustic elegance. These Shutters mount into a solid interior frame to make a design statement in addition to being functional. They take their name from the early- to mid-19th century Plantation homes in the Caribbean and American South; in a warm, humid climate, before the introduction of window glass, the Shutters could be opened for fresh air and ventilation and closed completely in bad weather. Now, they're commonly paired with glass windows and are opened more for light and a clear view than for fresh air. Not sure whether Plantation Shutters are right for your space? Consider the aesthetic and atmosphere you hope to achieve. How Plantation Shutters Work Plantation Shutters are traditionally wooden slats mounted into a wooden frame, although composites and man-made materials are now available. Unlike curtains or hanging blinds, Plantation Shutters are a permanent fixture in the window. The slats open and close via a rod in the middle of the shutter. Modern versions are often hinged and segmented, so they can be folded away from the window to allow for an unobstructed view. They can cover the entire window or only part of the glass to add privacy and light control. Most of these Shutters are rectangular, but custom Shutters can be created for round or triangular windows, as needed. Benefits of Plantation Shutters These Shutters give a certain aura to a space. Depending on how you paint or stain them, they can look country chic, rustic, vintage, or elegant. When installed without additional fabric window treatments, their clean lines can help a room feel sleek and modern. But they have benefits beyond the aesthetic. Window Shutters can help with your home's energy efficiency, preventing heat transfer between the inside and outside of your home when closed tight. They're also ideal for light control; you can shut them at night to avoid being woken up with the sun and open them during the day to let in the desired amount of sunlight. If you open the window glass beyond, you can let fresh air circulate through your Plantation Shutters without compromising your privacy. Finally, for people with allergies, these Shutters are easy to clean and attract less dust than fabric window treatments. Considerations Plantation Shutters aren't ideal for every window, and the design of your home and your decor may not blend well with Plantation Shutters. Additionally, they cost more to install than horizontal or vertical blinds or fabric window treatments, especially if you're adding them to a custom-shaped window or using a stain-grade wood. However, if they're properly maintained, the Shutters will last practically forever and add to the value of your home. They're unlikely to go out of style, because they're fairly versatile and can be repainted or refinished to reflect changing tastes. Additionally, you can bring down the cost by choosing a wood composite rather than hardwood for your Plantation Shutters. Wood composite Shutters may also perform better in humid rooms, such as bathrooms and kitchens. If your windows are your home's eyes to the world, your window treatments are the lids and lashes. You want a window treatment that's both functional and beautiful, and for many people, Plantation Shutters fit that bill. Call a window contractor or an interior designer to discuss your desired look and learn more about your options. Kelly Robertson is a home improvement hobbyist who dabbles in interior design. She's also a senior Internet marketing strategist at the SEO firm Prospect Genius.
Rustic Plantation Shutter Styles Can Suit Any Style Home
A Rustic Plantation Shutter can be designed to fit either the exterior of the home or the interior of the home. Even if your home is not a country style, there are Shutter designs that will suit the style of the home nicely and provide a homey, comfortable, warm feel to the look of the home from both the inside and the outside.
A Rustic Plantation Shutter is usually stained wood, but they can also be painted. When you consider the style options available and the colors they can be finished in, there is almost an endless variety of dcor options from which to select. They are far more durable than blinds, and they also have more style options. The Shutters swivel so that it is quite easy to open a room up for additional sun light or close them up for extra privacy.
Even with all of the color options available for Shutters, wood stain remains the most popular. The simple style is practical and unobtrusive. They work well on the exterior of the home to give the home an inviting look, and if installed on the interior they will work well in any room of the home as well. They can fit even small windows, but they look especially good in larger windows. They are perfect additions to the master bedroom, den, living area, dining room, library or home office.
They have a hand made appearance, but are usually made by a quality manufacturer. Many are made to look especially Rustic, with knotted pine, knotted alder, red cedar, wormy chestnut and cypress as just a few of the options available. Others are made to look more finished so that they work well with a more modern style of home.
Rustic Plantation Shutter selections can be found in abundance online. Whether you are looking to add them to a log cabin or a home in the city, there are plenty of options from which to choose. They are excellent options for triangle and odd shaped windows as well as traditional rectangular windows. Select from the quality online providers to get the highest quality Shutters at the best value for your home.
These Shutters are popular in Tuscany, Italy. They are used on both the interior and the exterior of the home, and Tuscans have found a variety of ways to use the Shutters to make their homes more practical. They design and install their Shutters to be able to completely shut out the sunlight and make a room dark even during the day.
In regards to the initial purchase and the countless projects that go into it, your home represents one of the largest investments throughout your life. From interior design to landscaping, and from professional remodeling services to do-it-yourself (DIY) projects, it can be a challenge to discover and understand what the best home improvement products,
Faux-Wood Plantation Shutters
Faux-Wood Plantation Shutters are a practical and stylish alternative to curtains and drapes. These Shutters can be configured to cover any size and shape of window as well as French-doors and sliding glass doors. Faux-Wood Shutters are attractive with any decor and will also add to your homes' curb appeal.
The Shutters come in many different materials including PVC, poly-vinyl, and polysatin by Hunter Douglas. Some companies offer Shutters made of extruded poly foam material that are anti-static so they won't collect dust. Composite Shutters are made from a combination of Wood and man-made materials. This combination of hardWoods and polymers helps these Shutters retain their shape and appearance. Because of their resistance to moisture, they are especially useful for kitchens, bathrooms and high-humidity environments. They will not warp like Wood does, they are resistant to mold and mildew, and their materials render them immune to flaking and fading.
Every room in your house will look better with Faux-Wood Shutters installed. These Shutters are offered in many styles; Cafe style, covering the bottom half of the window only, or double tiered models to cover the entire window. You then have the choice of opening top louvers, bottom louvers, or both top and bottom louvers for maximum light and/or ventilation. The louvers or slats measure from 1-1/2 inches wide to over 4 inches wide with several choices in-between. The larger louvers are preferred for Faux-Wood Shutters and for windows with large expanses of glass. The large louvers allow the best ventilation and the most panoramic outdoor view. You can darken a room just by closing the Shutters tightly. They offer excellent light control and privacy as well as a high-quality look for an affordable price.
One of the biggest benefits of Faux-Wood Shutters is their attractive price. At 20% - 30% less than Wooden Shutters, they are affordable for most home budgets.
The color choices by some manufacturers are extensive - you are not stuck with white-only, although that is a very elegant look. If you cannot find the color you like, you can order unpainted Shutters and custom paint them yourself.
These Shutters combine beauty with durability. Another benefit of Faux-Wood Shutters is ease of cleaning. They are especially easy to keep clean and dust-free with the swipe of a cloth. For stubborn dirt, warm water and a mild dish detergent will make an easy cleaning job. Their semi-gloss or satin finish makes clean-up a snap, and gives every room a very elegant look.
You can purchase Shutters and self-install, or have the vendor do the installation. These Shutters can be installed inside the window frame, to the window frame itself, or outside the window frame. The latter can be done when the window frame is very narrow or nonexistent. In this case an additional strip of Wood will be attached to the drywall to stabilize the installation. In any case, the hinges should not be visible when viewed straight-on.
Beautiful custom window coverings at a price you can afford, that's why Faux-Wood Shutters are the answer to your decorating dreams.
Visit Willa at her Website www.IndoorPlantationShutters.com for additional information about all types of indoor Plantation Shutters.
Willa Ramsey is a writer and Interior Decorator who re-habs homes and sells them. She writes about do-it-yourself Interior Decorating projects, and re-modeling house interiors.
PolyCore Plantation Shutters
PolyCore is the world's only solid synthetic shutter with a co-extruded aluminum core. PolyCore Shutters have a baked on waterborne paint, and are both fire retardant and moisture resistant. In addition to providing a strong insulation quality against the heat and cold, they are not very easy to clean and maintain. PolyCore made-to-order Plantation Shutters are gorgeous, extraordinary quality, and fashionable. PolyCore has the graceful characteristic of wood Plantation Shutters, but the dependability and substance of a synthetic. You can have the best of both worlds! They are a beautiful shutter with a modern flair. With an stylish elliptical louver profile, these Plantation Shutters are an most desired selection for the buyer who wants it all.
Vital features of PolyCore made-to-order Plantation Shutters include:
- Aluminum reinforced louvers, rails, and stiles make this shutter as straight as an arrow.
- Louvers available to you include 2-1/2, 3-1/2, and 4-1/2 widths for a roomy "Plantation Shutters" appearance.
- Shutters are always screwed together for exceptional strength
- Elliptical louver profile
- Excellent light, noise and temperature control
- Fire impervious
- Fully repairable! great for commercial applications.
- Loads of frame choices
- Manufacturer's 25 year limited warranty
- Odd shaped windows such as arches, slant tops, hexagons, and octagons obtainable with sunburst or normal horizontal louvers.
- Overhead track obtainable for sliding glass doors, room dividers, or very broad windows
PolyCore customized Plantation Shutters are stronger than any other synthetic Shutters. Aluminum reinforcing is co-extruded with the shutter components.This gives for a quite strong, stiff, enduring shutter that will not bow, warp, peel, crack, or require repainting. Further, unlike other poly Shutters that are barely glued together, PolyCore's aluminum reinforcing allows for them to BOLTED together. PolyCore is totally resistant to the environment and are an awesome choice for areas that will get wet, such as showers. Their solidity makes them a good option for Shutters over sliding glass doors.
One other quality item to note is the finish. PolyCore custom-made Plantation Shutters provide a baked-on waterborne finish. The shutter materials are in fact painted before they are constructed into a shutter. This means that the painting process can be extraordinarily controlled. All materials are laid flat and painted in a computerized, advanced painting and fabrication facility. This allows for an inordinately even, satiny coat of paint.
Why PolyCore is better than PolyWood
- PolyCore's aluminum core makes increased louver lengths possible, making larger panels possible for a clearer and less limited view outside of the window. Many PolyWood Shutters are only made in small sizes to around 28 inches wide. However, PolyCore Plantation Shutters can provide panel widths up to 36 inches wide!
- PolyCore Plantation Shutters has a harder material surface, reducing the likelihood of dings and dents.
- PolyCore has stronger joints at the stile and rail. PolyCore is bolted/screwed together as opposed to glued. The screw together format is the strongest possible format for assembling shutter panels, still allowing for a easy unscrew to replace a louver if it becomes damaged.
- No hole strip that can slide up or down in the stile causing asymmetrical gaps between louvers and rails. PolyCore offers a co-extruded one part stile so no cracks are seen between the stile and the whole strip.
- Colors provided have been developed to match customers' decor and usually match any situation.
PolyWood Shutters always have a rubber flap between the stiles that require closing the shutter panels at the same time. This rubber flap has been known to become frozen together over time due to heat. PolyCore's stile has an accurate bevel that allows each panel to be opened and closed independently, all the while still providing light management.
PolyCore Shutters are an asset that will be appraised into the cost of your home. Like a discriminating piece of furniture, PolyCore Shutters are well crafted, handsome and long-lasting. They are surely a lifetime product.
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