Are you searching the internet for information on shutters vs venetian blinds? Struggling to to get a sense of which would truly suit your home? If so we are here to help.
We will discuss all the factors that will help you answer the question as to which is best for you.
There are a number of key areas that will help you make the right choice for you and your home.
Cost, window shape, window size, room darkening, privacy and even how sunny your rooms are will all have an impact.
So lets dive in…..
Shutters vs Venetian Blinds… Cost
This is the biggest reason we see as to why our client’s choose venetian blinds over shutters.
You should expect to pay 3 to 4 times as much for a shutter when comparing them with a wooden venetian blind. They may look similar from a distance but there is a lot more work in both manufacturing and installing shutters.
Most venetian blinds supplied and installed in the UK are what I would call ‘trim to fit’. They are made in bulk overseas at set sizes and UK suppliers trim them to the size of your windows.
Shutters on the other hand are truly made to measure. There are simply too many variations to be able to mass produce them.
I would expect my installers to take around 20 minutes to install a venetian blind, for the same size shutter we would allow an hour and a half.
Shutters vs Venetian Blinds… Window Shape.
Shutters and blinds are both suitable for traditional (flat) windows, the real difference comes when you have bay windows.
Venetian blinds in a bay will have a number of blinds fitted next to each other, with 1 blind per window panel.
As you can see in the image above a five window bay will have 5 blinds. The main thing you will notice is the gaps between the blinds. This is perfectly normal with venetian blinds.
The image above is a similar shaped bay window with shutters installed. Notice… No gaps.
This is because a bay shutters installed as one unit with posts where the gaps would be on the venetian blinds. Great choice for a bedroom as this will make your room darker on the sunny mornings.
For more information on bay windows….https://www.barlowblinds.com/window-shutters-for-bay-windows
Our mobile shutter showroom has working examples of a right angle shutter for square bays and a 3 sided bay window shutter.
Shutters vs Venetian Blinds… Window Size.
As with the window shape shutters or venetian blinds are suitable for most windows.
Most venetian blinds have a maximum width of 2400mm, whereas shutters can be made up to 4000mm wide. So if you have large windows you may need several venetian blinds fitted side by side where 1 single shutter could cover the whole window.
The other area where shutters are more suitable are doors.
There are a number of issues with venetian blinds installed in front of your doors. Firstly the weight of the blind. To be able to use the door you will need to raise the blind which give its size will be heavy.
Another issue is when the blind is pulled all the way to the top, the stack will measure between 300mm-400mm depending on the depth of your door. This could make it difficult to walk underneath.
Shutters in front of your doors will work differently. Your shutters will slide from side to side on a track system, so there is no heavy lifting involved but you will have the shutters sticking into the room when they are folded back.
For more information on shutters for your doors…https://www.barlowblinds.com/window-shutters-for-bifold-doors
We also have a fully operating track shutters in our Shutter Van.
Shutters vs Venetian Blinds… Room darkening.
Venetian blinds and standard shutters could never be classed as blackout blinds.
The image above is a standard shutter and as you can see there are a number of areas where light comes in. A venetian blind would look very similar.
Shutters do have an option of having a blackout blind fitted into the frame of the shutter providing an almost total blackout.
The blackout blind is installed behind the shutter so the blind will be hidden when your shutter is closed. As you can see in the photo the shutter is open and the part of the window with the blind down is in total darkness.
Shutters vs Venetian Blinds… Privacy.
When it comes to your privacy shutters do give you a few more options that are not available with venetian blinds.
Cafe Style shutters are shutters that only cover part of the window. A great option to give you privacy at the bottom where you need it, whilst still allowing light in at the top.
Tier on Tier shutters cover the full height of the window but with separate panels at the top and the bottom giving you the cafe style effect but with the option of fully closing off the window went needed.
The third privacy option for your shutters is what is called a split tilt. Unlike tier on tier these are single panels with the option of opening the top whilst the bottom remains closed.
Shutters vs Venetian Blinds… Sunny rooms
This one might seem a strange one. Both shutters and venetian blinds work very well for filtering the light in sunny rooms.
When it comes to rooms that are not so sunny the shutters will make your room much darker when compared to venetian blinds.
This is down to how the shutters are made. Each shutter fits inside a frame and the is split into panels with each panel having its own frame.
This is a lot of frame work that will block light entering the room. If you have large windows it is not so much of an issue. If you have dark rooms with small windows then venetian blinds would be the better option.
We believe in total honesty and there are some common problem with shutters that you should know before spending your money…..https://www.barlowblinds.com/6-most-common-problems-with-window-shutters
Even wondered what is involved in getting shutters fitted in your home…..https://www.barlowblinds.com/getting-shutters-fitted-how-does-it-work
I really hope this helps answer some of your question, but if you are in Leicester and would like to arrange a home visit with our mobile shutter showroom please give us a call on 0116 2769771 or leave your details and we will call you back https://www.barlowblinds.com/contact.
