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How To Choose Between Plantation Shutters, Window Shades, And Window Blinds In Fort Myers

August 12, 2022

Shutters, shades, and blinds–oh my! The many distinct window treatments available might seem overwhelming whenever you have to select one for your Fort Myers interior. Understanding how to differentiate between each kind will assist you in deciding which styles will function and look best on the windows you have. Let’s explore the advantages, drawbacks, and best uses of interior shutters, window shades, and window blinds in Fort Myers.

The Pros And Cons Of Interior Shutters

White Polywood shutters in a living room

Louvered shutters are constructed of hardwood or faux wood and go inside your home where they secure permanently to your window with the shutter’s frame positioned over the window frame. Movable panels inside the frame open up for total sunshine and an unobstructed view or fasten securely to blanket your window for a darker and private space. Whenever the panels are secured, you can also turn the rows of louvers for the right amount sunshine and shift them to angle the light where it needs to go.

The Pros

Interior shutters rise above other options due to their unique design. Aside from looking quite different, they also supply many incredible benefits for Fort Myers properties:

  • Give your home enticing architectural style

  • Come in neutral tones to match your design in the present and later if you redesign

  • Offer absolute privacy and near-total darkness when closed

  • Open quickly for sunshine and a view

  • Accommodate any specialty shaped window like half-circles and hexagons

  • Move sun glare with the louvers

  • A cinch to dust and clean

  • Provide an amazing degree of energy efficiency

  • A permanent feature that adds to your Fort Myers property’s value

  • Various customization options to design the style you would like and meet all of your needs

On top of these advantages, faux-wood Polywood® shutters come with their own noteworthy assets: 

  • Unsurpassed toughness with resistance to distress that comes with extreme temps, moisture, and UV rays

  • Last a lifetime without distorting, facturing, or nicking

  • Exclusive weather sealing for exceptional efficiency and lower utility bills

Actually, Polywood shutters are able to do anything you require a window treatment to do, from upgrading your window’s appearance to obstructing cold breezes and harmful ultraviolet rays. They’ll even work and look just as superb decades later as the day you first got them.

 

The Cons

Interior shutters’ single drawback is that they can only be found in neutral colors. Even though their classic coloration goes with all sorts of decor, you’ll be required to settle for window shades or blinds if you have your heart set on colorful or patterned window treatments.

 

How To Incorporate Interior Shutters

You are able to use louvered shutters on any window within your Fort Myers property. Hand-tailored shutters accommodate any type, size, and shape of window without forgoing their function. Put them on circular, rake angle, and French door windows just as effortlessly as normal square or rectangular windows.

You can also place Polywood shutters in any area. Use them for their longevity and efficiency in damp bathrooms, chilly attic dormers, or sun-filled south-pointing rooms. Shutters also make sense in heavily occupied areas and little ones’ rooms because they don’t have cords that create a safety hazard.

 

The Pros And Cons Of Window Shades

White shades in a corner of a living room.

Window shades can be found in a range of contasting styles, but, by and large, all consist of a sheet of fabric positioned above your window. You generally pull the shade in the direction you want to uncover and cover your window using a built-in pull bar or cord, although you are able to discover motorized functionality as well.

Window shades don’t use slats to manage sunlight and privacy, but sheer or more freely woven natural fiber shades can allow light into dark spaces while blocking views into your home. Or you might use top-down/bottom-up shades that allow you to uncover the upper region of your window for light while preserving your privacy on the lower half.

 

The Pros

Fort Myers homeowners enjoy window shades because they can be found in a range of materials, styles, and colors. You’ll see shades with common colors and vibrant hues, one color or dramatic patterns, see-through or non-transparent opacities, pleated fabric or fibrous materials, and many additional possibilities. If you would like a unique design element while redesigning a space, window shades in the perfect color or pattern can boost your ambience and cover your windows.

Individual window shade styles have their own benefits too. Roller shades have a restrained appearance. Cellular shades offer energy efficiency. Tumble shades are nice additions to glass doors. And sheer shades offer a nice combination of light and privacy.

 

The Cons

Window shades aren’t as durable as rigid window coverings and are often a chore to clean. Their materials will eventually fade on account of the sun or may pull apart, develop mold, or get stained. You should expect to replace window shades every three or four years as they wear out or you change up your home’s style.

Window shades also offer less versatility in adjusting light and privacy than interior shutters. Even drawing them up a bit means you give up your privacy on half of the window and you’re unable to adjust how sunshine floods in at the bottom. And many window shades will allow shadows to appear whenever your lights are on at night. And rectangular window shades in Fort Myers compel you to decide between concealing a non-traditional window’s distinctive dimensions or keeping the window uncovered permanently.

 

How To Utilize Window Shades

Many Fort Myers residents choose window shades because they prefer bold or patterned window treatments to go with their interior. They work best in less occupied spaces where they won’t wear as quickly from persistent use.

You might also use certain window shades for their particular purposes. Select cellular shades to help block outside drafts. Slim roller shades fit in places where you can’t use a bulkier window treatment. Blackout shades stop sunlight so you can sleep. Woven fiber shades bring an element of nature to your property. And of course, custom shades will always look and work better on your windows than store-bought options.

 

The Pros And Cons Of Window Blinds

Wood blinds in a small dining room area.

Window blinds have movable slats built from a rigid material that you bring down over your windows to shield them. Blinds function with a cord or cordless functionality. As well as shielding windows with blinds, you can also tilt the slats toward or away from you with a wand for more control over sunlight.

 

The Pros

The virtues of window blinds largely depend on on what they’re made of. In principle, all blinds cover windows to obstruct outside light and the view into your Fort Myers home, but their substance and quality of manufacturing are essential in how successfully they accomplish this. You may notice sunshine and silhouettes with cheap vinyl blinds. Vinyl and aluminum blinds also curve and snap easily, leaving unattractive gaps that allow outside light. For these blinds, their bargain pricing and short lifespan make them beneficial chiefly as temporary window coverings.

Quality natural wood and faux-wood blinds use sturdier slats that envelop windows much better. You won’t see through them, and they don’t fall apart easily. These materials, joined with the pleasant straight lines of the slats, provide a more elegant appearance too. Superior real wood and faux-wood blinds come in classic neutral shades that work well in any space.

Blinds let you control the quantity of light that enters through your windows. You can draw them up for an unhindered view and total light or lower them for privacy and a dark room. When the blinds are lowered, you can also turn the slats for a limited view and a bit natural light.

 

The Cons

Wood and faux-wood blinds have a similar appearance to louvered shutters but aren’t nearly as durable. The cords intertwined with the slats may unravel in the long run, and wood slats might distort and splinter from too much moisture or extreme temperature variations. Blinds also include a fair number of parts that can make them difficult to clean, and corded blinds may stick or get tangled if you attempt to manipulate them.

Despite the fact that made-to-order blinds will accommodate your windows perfectly, they can’t give you the complete coverage along the edges that shutters can because they don’t have a frame. You’ll also discover that both window blinds and shades in Fort Myers are prone to sway and smack your window if run into or caught in a gust of air. That moving around provides a view to outsiders and permits sunlight.

 

How To Use Window Blinds

Custom blinds look great in any space for traditionally sized windows. Make sure you only use water-repellent faux-wood blinds in moist areas like bathrooms and kitchens. And automated or cord-free blinds offer safer choices if you have children or animals.

 

Sunburst Has An Incredible Selection From Plantation Shutters To Window Blinds And Shades In Fort Myers

Need to know more about the differences between interior shutters, window shades, and window blinds in Fort Myers? Sunburst Shutters Fort Myers has the best assortment of premium window treatments in town and can answer any questions you might have. We conduct no-charge in-home consultations to demonstrate our products and give you a chance to decide which window treatments look best in your residence. Request yours by calling 239-208-6577 or filling out the form below.