Most of the on line companies you have to install yourself or hire someone local to do it. I just know I have been looking for several months. I have a 4,200sq' home to put shutters, wood blinds, valances, curtains, area rugs etc, and I have to cut somewhere. I have installed blinds myself at our cabin, but DH will do the house. It really isn't that hard. We are doing the hinge attached to the window frame. It is really quite simple and as another poster said all he used was an electric screwdriver.

sarschlos, If you google Normandy shutters brochure, some PDF links will show pictures of some outside mounted shutters in case you want to replace your shutters. The outside mounted shutters look really nice from the PDF pics. I canÂt post PDF links on these forum boards. Not sure if it's possible. snookums, I love your room! DonÂt you love how shutters complement furnishings so beautifully? IÂm getting 3-1/2 inch louvers too. Sunburst does have a 4-1/2 inch louver option, just not 4 inch. IÂve found that many shutter brands donÂt offer sizes in whole numbers, only half sizes. KB Homes is a reputable builder. ItÂs good to hear the builder came through for you regarding its warranty. My house didnÂt come with frames or casings either. It worked out well for you anyway since you now have a gorgeous decorative frame surrounding your windows. The frame looked like it came with the house. I like it. What does Sunburst call that frame style? I canÂt remember from when the Sunburst rep last visited my house. I wish Sunburst was more competitively priced, otherwise I would have went with Sunburst. If you donÂt mind me asking, what type and brand of window was installed? I donÂt know how you got your window panel replaced with just removing the shutter closure magnets. How was that possible? skatiero, If your shutters fade just slightly from the sun and normal aging, at least they will match closer to your trim. The difference between the composite shutter sample color and my french door was pretty obvious to me. Did you notice any fading in your shutters? What type and brand of shutter do you have? How old are they? Just curious. I was also wondering if fading does occur, would the entire shutter fade? Or would there be any obvious lines of demarcation with one part of the shutter more faded than the other part if only one part gets more sun? If IÂm going overboard, let me know. I tend to pepper people with questions. :) A sales rep at JCPenney told me her shutters get the strong western sun. She said her real wood Avalon shutters are 4 years old and they're doing fine with no fading and warping. She chose Avalon because she needed an outside mount for her 2 inch sill and Avalon Shutters have a thinner profile. SheÂs very happy with them. I didn't choose Avalon because I wanted to put an end to my research and get the process started.

Funny that you should post asking what I did, since I JUST made up my mind and ordered something! Takes me a while on this stuff lol! As much as I love shutters, I ended up ordering blinds. I got real wood since the natural stone and high graining of the wood floors in my house just did not mesh - in my mind anyhow - with white shutters or blinds and the faux woods I looked at did not hold a candle to the real wood ones I found. They are very unique - Levelor 2 1/2 inch slats in a collection they call the "Estate Collection". I got the color they call "Estate Oak". They are the right tone of stain but what they bring to the mix that is unusual is that they look distressed - flecks of black and lots of variation in the stain so it looks like old wood. LOVE them. Now I cannot say how well they will hold up regarding warpage and such, but have come to the conclusion that NOTHING is a perfect choice in spite of my deep desire for that to be. I got them through StevesBlindsandWallpaper.com. First I ordered the smallest blind for this room with the idea that if I didnt care for it, I could use it on window of the same size in the back room. I did like them, however, so ordered the rest and they will be here in about a week. Steves was really good to deal with. There were some slats that had a tiny amount of sway to them - not at all noticable when the blind was closed but slightlly noticable when it was open - probably only to someone like me. Anyhow, I told them about it - not really complaining but just sort of asking if that was to be expected as I knew I had to order four more blinds that were much larger. They contacted Levelor and Levelor is sending me an entire new blind and not even requiring that I send this one back! I will move this one to the back room, and order one more like it for the other window back there! Excellent experience with them! The other online source that had a good price was Blindsexpress.com. I ordered from Steves instead as they seemed able to get the order to me sooner. After the experience with customer service at Steves, I am glad I did, altho I cannot say that BlindsExpress would have done less. They very well may have been just as helpful, and to be fair, they had the best price up front. Steves just matched them when I brought that to their attention. If you are open to doing a DIY installation of Shutters, I found great prices on shutters online at a store called Theshutterstore.com. They offer all sorts of shutters - stained, painted, real wood and faux. Before I finally ordered my blinds I was leaning very hard toward doing stained shutters in here and the price was not that much more than the blinds. I did blinds mostly because I already had white trim, crown molding and such in here and could not 'see' the stained shutters knitting easily with that. If I could have come up with a design solution, I might have done the shutters as that was the main thing I was struggling with. Given that I found blinds with such character, I think I will be happy. Plus, with blinds, I can pull them all the way up to see my very pretty view. The wall space around my windows would have been tight if I had wanted to open the shutters. I am considering doing the shutters in my bedroom, however, since a white of some shade will go well in there. Plus, TheShutterStore.com offeres a privacy slat that would really block out light. I do question the idea of having shutters only in that room, however. Is it odd to have blinds in the other rooms and shutters in that one? Anyone have an opinion on that to share? I hope you are able to make a choice that brings you peace. I really like the blinds I chose, but as I said, cannot be sure that they wont sway or warp eventually. I got the 'no holes' option - meaning that the slats just are lying in there and not with strings running through them. I figure if a slat gets a sway in it, I will flip it over and let it 'sway' back the other way lol! I think I made the right choice for me.

I love plantation shutters (softened with curtains, not standing alone, please!) and intend to install them in our new house -- we don't have the right windows for them in our current house. Yes to white shutters and white trim. These things aren't cheap, and white will see you through any changes in color scheme you may make later. Also, most people go with wooden floors -- your room can only take so much wood tone. Break it up with white. I'm confused about details though: - Wood, vinyl, or composite -- which will last and be the best value? - Is a plantation shutter in the bathroom (obviously not in the stream of the water) doomed to water damage? - I'm assuming it's cheaper to install the shutters AFTER the build is over -- not the builder himself?