I remember them being in style maybe 30 odd years ago and they were a pain to dust and keep clean. They do look nice, though.
I have wooden blinds in my rooms. Most of the wood in my living room is a dark cherry or walnut, so I went with dark cherry blinds in both the living room and adjacent dining room. My floors are oak stained in a mid-value cherry, my woodwork is a warm white. I selected the wide slats, have them under swags and jabots when not in use am very pleased with the look, whether they are up or down.
For my family room I went with white, wide slatted wood blinds. I have dark colored walls and a triple window and another single one. We changed the trim in there from a warm white to a yellowish-cream and I'm still very happy with the blinds on the windows. (I get very picky-picky)

In my last home (not an old home) we had solid oak plantation shutters on every window. They had wide (3 - 3 1/2") slats, and I absolutely LOVED them! They were custom made by Sherwood Shutters -- I can't recommend them highly enough if your budget is liberal. They worked with us to mix a custom stain that matched the wood in the rest of the house. I didn't think they were difficult to clean at all. Couple times a year I washed them with a damp cloth, and the rest of them time I dusted them when I dusted the furniture. I could do the large windows in our living room in less than 10 minutes, although I did have to bring in a step stool to reach them. I would think shutters with narrow slats would be a nightmare to clean because the slats are so close together. But the wide slats make it so easy.

Now we live in a 1916 bungalow. We have two rooms with wood blinds with 2 1/2" slats. They are working out very well, but I would get the same plantation shutters again if my budget would allow it now. I am definitely getting the wood blinds for the rest of the windows, doing a room at a time. The ones I like are by Levolor or Graber, and they come in so many colors you could easily match just about any wood color.

We have plantaton shutters and love them. Many of the old homes in our part of town (the only part of town that has old homes) have plantation shutters although many of them have the narrower slats (1", 2" max). Ours are 3 and a half so let a lot of light in. I was against doing them downstairs for my more formal rooms, so we just did the entire upstairs. I will say that it really provides a "finished" look. They were expensive, however. For our molding though we did have to go with shutters that came slightly out from the interior molding on the windows so that the slats would still be able to open. We could have gone with 2 and a half inch slats and had them mount flush on the inside but with the shutters painted cream, the walls painted cream and the trim painted semi-gloss cream, it's not really noticeable. I'll try to take some pics tomorrow.

I currently have them in our new home we are living in (while we restore the old!) I have always wanted them, but now that I have them.. I don't like them! They are dust collectors, but the main reason I did like them is how dark they made our home. I have the 2-1/2" slats, but they still darkened the rooms a lot!

Paneled or louvered multifold shutters are what's most appropriate for old houses. The wide-louvered wood blinds were hung outside, people.
Sometimes the shutters were fitted into the window jambs with such excruciating care that you would not realize they were there unless someone showed them to you. A combination of raised panels and louvers was a typical feature. Sometimes all raised panels. They were so well fitted that when closed were basically draught-excluders for winter nights.
Casey

Hooray to Casey for mentioning the proper uses of these things! This is NOT the only option for darkening rooms--my house has --shades--which I can pull down to shut out glare and unwanted drafts. They can fit either inside the window opening, or mount to the trim beneath the curtains. AND they can come with fancy trims at the bottom and a variety of materials to allow for different light levels. IF you have the skill, it was even popular to paint scenes on them if the view outside lacks appeal.

And best of all, they are far cheaper than plantation shutters! :)

I am seriously considering getting plantation shutters in our living room. We have cream horizontal painted wood with pine wooden windows. Would it look ok to have cream shutters on the wooden windows? I am just not sure with the natural wood around them.
I am also wanting the separation between the top 1/2 and the bottom 1/2 of the shutter so if furniture is blocking the shutter we can still open the top. Does anyone have this type and can give light to this topic?

I am seriously considering getting plantation shutters in our living room. We have cream horizontal painted wood with pine wooden windows. Would it look ok to have cream shutters on the wooden windows? I am just not sure with the natural wood around them.
I am also wanting the separation between the top 1/2 and the bottom 1/2 of the shutter so if furniture is blocking the shutter we can still open the top. Does anyone have this type and can give light to this topic?

After seeing holes where the originals used to hang, we got plantation shutters for our library. It took us two years to find them and we got super lucky to find not only the correct dimensions but also the correct age, as they were original to a house built just two years after our 1857 home. The only bad part is that they were painted long ago and now I have to strip each panel and louver.

Incidentally, does anyone know if plantation blinds were commonly painted in the 1850s and 1860s, or were they stained? The woodwork throughout my home is and always has been painted except for the library, which is the room the shutters are going into. I don't WANT to paint the shutters, but I sure as heck don't want to strip them, either...

Grain-painting (faux bois) was popular, decorated to match whatever wood trim was in the room.
Casey

Ha, I think faux bois would be more complicated than stripping and re-painting put together! Stripping and staining it is, then...

Made Better in America

Date: October 28, 2012 Author: Santos Comments: Leave a reply

Products that are made in the USA, like all of the products made in our Plantation Shutters Florida workshop, aren't just good for the economy, very often they are the only safe option for the health of you and your family.

So often when we hear or see the "Made in America" slogan, we think about jobs and the economy. And these are certainly important considerations when buying products of any kind.

Good for our Economy, Better for Your Health

And even more important than the economic consequences of a product's country of origin, is the risk to the health of you and your family that foreign-made products so often carry.

Scarier still, is that the #1 catagory of product recalls is home goods and the hazards cited for the recalls include:
• lead
• poisoning
• and even cadmium

China has proven itself to be the worst offender but other countries cited on a list published by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, include:
• Taiwan
• Mexico
• Hong Kong
• Thailand
• India
• and Pakistan

Plantation Shutters Made Better in America

Plantation Shutters Florida handcrafts all of our products right here in the USA (please visit our workshop in Stuart, Florida) using only safe and reliable components.

Support the health and well-being of your family while you support your country. Make sure the products you buy are made in the USA and which use only America-based components.

I have used several plantation shutters in the past for both home and at work (restaurant business) and “Plantation Shutters Florida” were the best I have used. Reasonable, Beautiful Plantation Shutters professional and they followed through. the owner came out with his installers the day of my install to make sure that everything looks good and fit perfect since i have odds windows and doors arch windows and ovals many ovals (a small thing but it made an impression that the owner not only make all his shutters here in Florida but he makes everything perfect to my satisfactions my husband and I). Highly recommended. and thank you so much “Plantation Shutters Florida” and make sure you do what we suggest about this impostor who claim to be (plantation shutters Florida) and advertising in Florida. as far as we know you are the only plantation shutters manufacturer in Florida who deliver shutters less then two weeks again don’t let this guy bring you down. emotionally because you are far way better then him using somebody else name to do business is a crime. as a business owner please get your attorney if you need my help or reference we are here for you Santos and all your team at Plantation Shutters Florida Inc. Thank You so much. PlantationShuttersFLA.com.

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