Shutters are an increasingly popular choice in residential design, often making the exterior more balanced and adding dimension. But these exterior home accents may not suit every property.
Installing shutters to your windows can provide many significant benefits, including hurricane protection, energy efficiency, light control and privacy. Here’s how you can decide if shutters should be added to your house.
Curb Appeal
With the right shade in mind, window shutters can make your home stand out among its neighbors on your street and increase curb appeal more than an additional coat of paint!
But shutters mustn’t just look great – you need them to fit perfectly with the size and color scheme of your windows and door to achieve harmony.
An excellent way to gain inspiration for house shutter colors is to take a walk around your neighborhood and observe other homes. Bring along a color swatch outside, remembering that colors tend to pop more when exposed to direct sunlight.
Insulation
Energy costs and living costs are ever on our minds, which makes insulating window shutters an affordable home upgrade that saves money over time. These slatted and paneled shutters block out sunrays to help keep your house warm during winter and cool during summer.
Shutters provide excellent privacy. Boasting thick panels and vanes that cover more of your windows than other window treatments, shutters shield against prying eyes while not offering strings or cords that kids could play with.
When choosing shutters, it is essential to select a national manufacturer with a strong track record in producing quality products. Inquire as to their method for curing, treating, and painting their wood products so you get only long-term durability from them.
Privacy
Shutters offer more privacy by obstructing views into your home than other window treatments do. Furthermore, there are no dangling cords that children could possibly play with and cause potential hazards to arise.
Half height cafe style shutters are popularly chosen to add privacy at the lower level while leaving more light into their space. Tier on tier shutters also offer more flexible solutions.
Before adding shutters to your home, be mindful of its shape and size as they could make it appear unbalanced. Also keep in mind that shutters are permanent fixtures so be prepared to commit for some time; this commitment becomes even more crucial if you plan to sell in the near future.
Light Control
Shutters offer one of the few window treatments that allows for precise control over how much light enters a room, making them especially beneficial in rooms that face busy streets or experience an abundance of sunshine.
Shutters feature movable louvres or “louvers,” enabling maximum sunlight into a room or to partially close and partially open for shade and privacy. Furthermore, these shutters provide excellent ventilation–helping keep homes cool in summertime while warm during wintertime.
Shutters can help your home increase curb appeal and energy efficiency affordably and for years after, adding value when selling or renting it out.
Security
Shutters offer more than aesthetic benefits; they also add an additional layer of security. As burglars often target homes that are easy to break into, having shutters on your windows makes it more difficult for opportunist thieves to see inside and assess whether you are home or not.
Shutters can be adjusted so that passersby cannot easily peer into your home from outside. Furthermore, they can be angled so as to only show the bottom half of each louvre when opened up.
Many window shutters come in a range of materials to meet the unique needs of your home, including hardwood, composite and UV-resistant Polysatin compound. You can even select from multiple shutter slat sizes so you can achieve the look that works for you!