Carmanah, I'm somewhat biased since we have plantation shutters pretty much throughout our home. Our slats are all 3 1/2" but you can get larger. Ours do have the center tilt bar that has a more traditional look IMO. No tilt bar is a little more contemporary but still nice. I love how easy they are to clean. They also add an airy-ness to the rooms that I love. We have no issues with blockage of views and light.

ETA - Just wanted to say my husband was also skeptical of plantation shutters. My mom had them installed and he was completely sold after seeing the results.

I too have the wide louver plantation shutters on almost every window. Absolutely love them. Such a simple and clean look. On the side of the house that gets full sun they block the heat beautifully. And they don't really block the view that much, my dog still looks out the lower windows. I find that windows with blinds only don't look finished, they look like they should also have side panels. But plantation shutters look beautiful on their own.

Ditto what Chloebud and Brown Dog said. Looove our plantation shutters. There are so many options for light filtration and privacy ,while still enabling one to enjoy the view. I like Roman shades too, but they are an all or nothing function - either the window is fully exposed or it is partially or fully obscured. Also, there are those pesky cords or , if cordless, hard to reach heights when adjusting he height of the blind.

The shutters can often add some value to your home, unlike most window treatments. I know opinions vary regarding shutters, but your windows are perfect for them...IMO.

I love plantation shutters. i would go with the more contemporary everywhere but the bath, that area you may want to be able to shut the bottom of the shutter for privacy.

I have 4 inch plantation shutters without the center rail. It makes cleaning so much quicker and the width of the blades, along with the absence of the center rail allow more light into the room. You can tighten them for more privacy. You can opt to have the top half open and close independently if you wish. These are the best shutters I have ever owned and I've owned 14 homes. They are made by Norman Shutters. When you add shutters, it's a capital improvement. When and if you sell, you can use that to lower your basis for capital gains.

Plantation shutters do block a lot of light, even when fully open. For your beautiful view in the bedroom, I would use the woven wood roman shades. Mount them at the dropped ceiling so you keep your full window when the shades are up. For the bath, you could use the roman shades, or a top-down bottom-up shade that would allow you to have privacy and light at the same time.

Hi, Carmanah--

From the looks of it, shutters could be great in your install. However, one watchout to be mindful of - wider-vaned shutters need more depth in the window box to function, so you may be looking at either having your shutter installer build out boxes to create the depth needed for a wide-vaned shutter or scoping your shutter blade width down from 3.5" to 2.5" or less. It looks like the lower set of your double-hung windows come pretty forward in the window casing, so just check that minimum operating depth there.

Either way, if you opt for a tilt bar-free install (Hunter Douglas calls this their "truVue" option), you'll still have similar view-through capabilities at the center of your windows to your current blinds in their down-but-open position. Just make sure you select the color that matches your trim and you'll be all set. Cheers!

Those are 2 great options and I don't think you can go wrong either way. Couple things to consider.

Shutters: 3 1/2'' louver is a great size, rear tilt will give better visibility and be less obstructive, they are usually in a home for 30+ years, super durable, easy to clean, down size is they are always there.

Woven Woods: Soft product so they feel warmer and more cozy, easy way to bring in color/texture, they can be pulled up for better visibility out, could considering doing top down bottom up so he can see out of the top but get privacy on lower.

If you all are used to having blinds and live with them down but tilt them open and close daily, then shutters will be a similar function but provide you with more view out than you currently have. You will be more likely to raise and lower the woven woods for the desired view out.

I would figure out what the biggest priorities in a window treatment because that's going to ultimately determine which route you go.