The Differences Between Plantation Shutters, Window Blinds, And Window Shades In Charlotte

Shutters, shades, and blinds–oh my! The range of differing window treatments on the market will often become too much whenever you need to pick one for your Charlotte home. Knowing how to differentiate between each kind will assist you in deciding which ones will function and look best on the windows you have. Let’s explore the advantages, cons, and top locations for interior shutters, window shades, and window blinds in Charlotte.

The Pros And Cons Of Louvered Shutters

Interior shutters are constructed of real wood or a wood synthetic and go inside your home where they secure permanently to your window with the product’s frame positioned over the window framework. Movable panels inside the frame smoothly glide open for total sunshine and a clear view or close again to encompass your window for a darker and private space. Whenever the panels are secured, you can also tilt open the rows of louvers for the right amount light and shift them to redirect light where it needs to go.

The Pros

Louvered shutters are distinctive from other options thanks to their specialized design. They not only look quite different but provide many incredible bonuses for Charlotte homes:

• Give your home enticing architectural detail

• Come in neutral colors to complement your decor now and in the future if you redecorate

• Provide complete privacy and near-total darkness when closed

• Open quickly for sunlight and a view

• Accommodate any specialty shaped window like arches and angles

• Shift sun glare with the louvers

• A cinch to dust and clean

• Offer an amazing degree of energy efficiency

• An enduring fixture that adds to your Charlotte house’s value

• Many personalization options to craft the appearance you would like while meeting your unique needs

In addition to these pros, faux-wood Polywood® shutters feature their own noteworthy benefits: 

• Unmatched toughness with resistance to harm due to cold, heat, moisture, and the sun’s rays

• Last a lifetime without bending, splitting, or chipping

• Exclusive weatherstripping for noticeable energy efficiency and lower utility bills

Actually, Polywood shutters can do anything you require a window treatment to accomplish, from elevating your window’s beauty to blocking cold drafts and harmful UV rays. And they work and look just as nice decades later as the day you first got them.

The Cons

Louvered shutters’ lone downside is that they are only available in neutral tints. Even though their versatile hues match all types of decor, you’ll need to settle for window shades or blinds if you have your heart set on window treatments in vivid colors or patterns.

How To Use Interior Shutters

You can use louvered shutters on any window in your Charlotte home. Customized shutters work with any shape and size of window without losing their function. Put them on half-circle, triangular, and sliding glass door windows just as effortlessly as regular rectangular windows.

You are also able to position Polywood shutters in any area. Use them for their longevity and energy efficiency in wet bathrooms, cool attic dormers, or sun-splashed south-facing rooms. Shutters are even a great choice in heavily occupied places and children’s rooms since they don’t have cords that present a safety hazard.

The Pros And Cons Of Window Shades

Window shades are available in many contasting styles, but, in general, all feature a piece of fabric hung at the top of your window. You typically pull the material down or up to enclose and uncover your window using a cord or pull bar, but you can find motorized functionality too.

Window shades don’t feature slats to control light and privacy, but more transparent or less tightly woven fiber shades are able to permit light into lower-lit areas while blocking views into your home. Or you could consider top-down/bottom-up shades that give you the chance to reveal the top of your window for sunlight while preserving your privacy at the bottom.

The Pros

Charlotte homeowners prefer window shades mainly because they come in various colors, materials, and styles. You’ll find shades with common colors and vivid tones, one color or eye-catching patterns, sheer or blackout opacities, neatly folded fabric or natural fibers, and numerous additional possibilities. If you’re looking for a unique focal point while redecorating a room, window shades in the perfect color or fabric will boost your decor and encompass your windows.

The differing window shade kinds have their own advantages too. Roller shades have a restrained feel. Cellular shades are energy efficient. Tumble shades work well on glass doors. And sheer shades offer an agreeable mix of filtered light and privacy.

The Cons

Window shades don’t offer the resiliency of solid window coverings and are often challenging to clean. Their fabric materials will in time fade due to the sun or may pull apart, grow mold, or be tarnished with stains. You might plan on replacing window shades every few years as they get worn down or you change up your decor.

Window shades also have less capability in adjusting light and privacy than plantation shutters. Even opening them part-way means you lose your privacy on a portion of the window and you’re unable to modify how the sunlight streams in at the bottom. And various window shades will allow shadows to appear whenever your lights are on during the night. And rectangular window shades in Charlotte make you to decide between masking a specialty window’s distinctive shape or leaving the window uncovered permanently.

How To Utilize Window Shades

Numerous Charlotte homeowners choose window shades because they are looking for bold or patterned window treatments to go with their decor. They are perfect for less occupied spaces where they won’t wear as quickly from persistent use.

You can also use some types of window shades for their specific purposes. Go with cellular shades to help block outside drafts. Slim roller shades fit in spaces where you don’t want a bulkier window treatment. Blackout shades stop sunlight so you can sleep. Woven fiber shades add a feeling of nature to your decor. And remember, custom shades will without a doubt look and work better on your windows than off-the-rack options.

The Pros And Cons Of Window Blinds

Window blinds feature movable slats made of a firm material that you lower over your windows to shield them. Blinds can be used with cords or cordless lifting mechanisms. In addition to concealing windows with blinds, you can also tilt the slats with a bar for additional control over exterior light.

The Pros

The advantages of window blinds are dependent on their material. In principle, all blinds cover windows to block sunlight and sightlines into your Charlotte residence, but their material and quality play a big role how well they achieve this. You may see light and silhouettes with low-grade vinyl blinds. Vinyl and aluminum blinds also bend and break with ease, which creates unpleasant spaces that allow sunlight. For these blinds, their bargain pricing and lack of durability make them suitable primarily as interim window products.

Quality real wood and faux-wood blinds have stronger slats that cover windows more thoroughly. You won’t be able to look through them, and they don’t break easily. The natural wood and composite components, mixed with the pleasant horizontal edges of the slats, look more sophisticated too. Superior real wood and faux-wood blinds come in adaptable neutral shades that go with the decor of any room.

Blinds let you manage how much light comes through your windows. You may draw them up for an unrestricted view and full sunshine or guide them down for privacy and an absence of light. When the blinds are lowered, you may also rotate the slats for a partial view and a bit sunshine.

The Cons

Wood and faux-wood blinds have a similar appearance to interior shutters but aren’t as tough. The cords incorporated into the slats will fray in the long run, and wood slats can distort and crack from too much humidity or intense temperature fluctuations. Blinds also include a fair number of parts that can cause them to be tricky to clean, and the common pull cords may get twisted up as you attempt to manipulate them.

Despite the fact that custom blinds will suit your windows just right, they can’t give you the full protection along the borders that shutters offer because they aren’t built into a frame. You’ll also discover that both window blinds and shades in Charlotte are prone to swing and slap your window if run into or impacted by a wind gust. That motion opens a sightline to your interior and allows sunlight.

How To Incorporate Window Blinds

High-end blinds look great in any area for traditionally sized windows. Only use water-repellent faux-wood blinds in humid locations like bathrooms and kitchens. And motorized or cordless blinds provide safer choices if you have little ones or pets.

Sunburst Has Everything From Interior Shutters To Window Blinds And Shades In Charlotte

Need to know more about the differences between louvered shutters, window blinds, and window shades in Charlotte? Sunburst Shutters Charlotte boasts the best lineup of premium window treatments around and can answer all of your questions. We offer complimentary in-home consultations to demonstrate our options and let you determine which window treatments look best in your home. Arrange yours by calling 980-231-1116 or completing the form on this page.