Plantation Shutters

Plantation shutters are a popular and practical window treatment that are particularly fashionable. Plantation window shutters current popularity assists in updating a tired room and adding to resale value of homes and apartments. They come in a variety of styles to suit a range of decors but generally contribute to a coastal or Hampton’s type home decorating theme. They are an attractive window treatment which allows you to have light and privacy in any room decorated by plantation shutters.

Plantation shutters are generally made of wood or other reconstituted wooden product.  The plantation section of the name refers to plantation timber that is used to make shutters.  Plantation shutters also refer to their origin that dates back to the days of stately homes on plantations. These were found in the south of the US and other countries where plantations were established in humid countries for both cotton, tobacco and rubber production.  Generally plantation shutters are used as an interior window treatment and are characterised by a wooden frame with moveable louvres attached within the external frame.  They are attached to the window frame and can be used closed or folded back to reveal full sun.

There are also vinyl plantation shutters.  These are painted or spray painted with a vinyl finish or made from a synthetic vinyl wooden product.  This material increases durability particularly creating resistance to direct sunlight that helps to resist any warping or splitting.  As plantation shutters are used as internal and external window treatments, resistance to the elements is a particularly important feature.

Discount plantation shutters can be purchased in kit form.  If you have some basic home tools and do it yourself nouse you can easily save considerable money from your redecoration budget by assembling them yourself.  They may however only come in set window sizes so you may need to get some custom plantation shutters for any non-standard windows or doors.  It is worth doing a net search or even checking the yellow pages for wholesale plantation shutters, particularly if you are choosing to cover a large number of windows as this may also cut costs with your redecoration.  Periodically, large blind and window treatment manufacturers have promotional sales, so keep up to date with sales and end of year sales.  This may be a way of purchasing a discount plantation shutter without sacrificing quality.

Exterior plantation shutters are also a great way to create privacy without sacrificing light.  These are generally made from more hardy paints and materials as they are given little or no protection from the elements.  Exterior plantation shutters can be held open in place by an external brass metal clip that is driven into the mortar of the external brickwork of the house.  This allows the exterior plantation shutter to be secured in place so that is not buffeted or damaged by any wind or rain.

As their effectiveness is essential to allowing effective use of light and privacy, it’s not advisable to purchase cheap plantation shutters.  Some plantation shutters are imported from overseas where they could fall into two categories.  Exceptional hand craftsmanship were all working parts are functional and aesthetically pleasing, or shoddy materials and poor workmanship.  They may not be square and the louvre mechanism may not move freely allowing easy adjustment of interior plantation shutters or external plantation shutters.  Make sure you check the quality and workmanship before committing yourself to a cheap plantation shutter or diy plantation shutter.  It’s always better to spend a little more and get a quality product that actually works as intended.  When purchasing from overseas there is also the risk of having no redress if the product or workmanship is faulty, so buyer beware.

Building plantation shutters is a job best left for those with a high level of wood working skills.  Any error in measurement or cutting of the various components could result in a wood plantation shutter that does not open and close effectively.  If you have those prerequisite skills, then it may be a lovely way for a handyman or woman to add some personal touches to their home or apartment.  It might however be difficult to put a lot of time and energy into building plantation shutters and then having to sell a property.  It may be worth considering not including them in the contract of sale, so that you can take them to your next home.

To buy plantation shutters, it is a good idea to search the local paper or look for plantations shutters online, because many companies will do a 2 for 1 deal or discount the plantation shutters cost.  Get a couple of these companies to give you an in home quote and then compare this to wholesale plantation shutter or diy plantation shutters prices. Depending on the savings, it may be worth the time and inconvenience of putting your own wood plantation shutters together or installing plantation shutters yourself.