We've used Budget Blinds and USA Blinds (both on line stores) and have had great success with all of our faux 2 inch blinds. They were significantly cheaper than HD or any other brand that we'd looked at for the most part. We've had them in our home for about 4 years now (with 2 small children) and they've held up just fine.

You can get a sample of the color of the faux wood from most stores I believe, if you are concerned about matching the color to your window trim.

I don't know about your last question, but what you said made sense, hanging all 3 blinds on one rail, so that they are even. That would make me nuts if they weren't!! LOL

Hope this helps some...

I have Hunter D, Comfortex and Bali in my home. All faux blinds.

Comfortex had the best price for the 2 1/2 shutter-blinds I wanted, along with the best color match for my trim. Yourblinds.com has a charge for their color samples, but they will credit it toward your order.

Bali had a cherrywood color that was a match for my office desk, and a Home Depot brand matched my hickory cabinets in a GB.
As you can see, I went with brands that were a best match for a certain color in each room.

All my blinds are 8 yrs old and I haven't had any problems.

Be sure to check the cords/rods options that are on the brand you're considering.

Thank you both for your suggestions. This decision is giving more anxiety than I thought it would. Maybe it would be a good idea just to do the upstairs bedrooms first and then it wouldn't bother me as much if it didn't turn out as well as I hoped. It would make me absolutely nuts to spend a lot of money in the great room and then not be happy with what I did.

annz, what is a shutter-blind? Is it a blend of shutter and blind characteristics? If so it sounds like an interesting idea.

Does anyone else have an opinion?

I dither a lot longer than six months about things. :)

In a bedroom where the blinds are being opened and closed daily, for my own house, I would lean towards using Hunter Douglas. They have wonderful customer service for repairs.

However, there is no need to use the same window treatment on every window in the house. For a seldom used room, you could use a cheaper brand of faux wood blinds or even a pull shade or cellular shade. (I would add mini blind, but they may not be to your taste.) You could use cotton sheers on windows in secondary rooms that don't need extreme light control.

I shopped for faux wood blinds a while back (am still dithering). Each company offers several shades of white, so you should be able to get pretty close to your shade of white. And they will send you samples of the product.

The fact that no one is posting here with tremendously negative comments about any product is a good sign.

Thank you, graywings. We are in Florida so all of our rooms really are an extreme light control situation. Also, we have a very nice view from most rooms so I'm trying to combine the ability to control light while still maintaining the view during the day and having privacy at night. The only 2 options that have seemed to make sense for this are plantation shutters or blinds (I ruled out verticals b/c pets and small children always seem to get tangled in them). I love woven wood shades but the ones I've seen either are solidly woven enough to hide the view completely unless pulled up or so loosely woven that they wouldn't provide privacy or light control. My brain is so tired of trying to figure out what to do. I really appreciate your input. The Hunter Douglas for high use areas does sound like a good idea because I don't want to deal with breakdowns for window treatments since I'm getting to the age where I'll have to be dealing with my own breakdowns. LOL.

Sorry I'm late responding.

The shutter blinds have a wider & thicker slat when compared to the standard 2" blinds. My Hunter D brand has a little more angle on the edges than the confortex, but it's not something I notice unless I inspect them closely.

Here is a link that might be useful: shutter blinds

Thank you, everyone. I'm sorry I haven't responded sooner as I have been in another round of looking at products. Right now i think I'm returning to dithering. This is so hard for me. I'm hoping that someone will devise some sort of space age technology that will give privacy and light control all at the touch of a "beam me up Scotty button" sometime soon. Of course it will also have to be within my budget. LOL.

I too am meeting with companies for window treatments and want shutters too! Call this guy and ask away. 877-671-7307 (PWT,professianl window treatments) I do not work for this company! He was just very helpful to me with all the choices out there. He is very knowleadgeable. He actually told me he wanted my business but that I should live in the house a while and then chose what I want. He recommended temporary paper blinds for most privacy needs. He also says 40% business is referrals. He explains Hunter douglass versus no name shutters.

Which brand/type of blinds did you ultimately get? How have they held up? We are trying to decide between 2 1/2" blinds by Comfortex (Aria, corded) or by Nelson (cordless) and would be interested in your expereince.