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?

@Jan Moyer the colors I like are white, cream, warm greys and greiges, light beige, light blue, and soft pinks and yellows. I don’t like orange, red, bright yellow, navy blue, or black. So that’s why I think the cream walls or trim *might* work? I did break down and paint my bathroom cream walls to match the cream trim and cabinets. It looks great! I added pale turqoise bath mats, and a white shower curtain, and some artwork with pastels. But, it’s just a guest bathroom. I’m nervous about duplicating it in the larger areas, that will be more costly to paint. It’s very outside the box for me to not have white trim, and so much cream everywhere…I could get annoyed with it.

How much do you use these rooms? I also have dining room with a window on the north wall, but the room is rarely used. When it is used, it is usually at night, or if during the day, I open the blinds. However, DH and I spend a lot of time in the living room - I would not like to be cutting back the light in a north facing room frequently occupied unless it's used for watching TV. I think plantation shutters look strange open as shown in your second picture unless you're able to fold them all the way back against the wall. If you think you'll want to have them open all day, every day then I would consider other window treatments.

I think whatever you choose needs to be the same for all the windows in the room. Don't mix styles. Like @Hallett & Co above, I don't love shutters, for exactly the same reasons. I prefer honeycomb shades with bottom-up/top-down option. I have used the Hunter Douglas Duette shades in 3 homes. You can have it all open, all closed or partially closed from the bottom for some privacy. They come in light filtering, opaque and room darkening fabrics, in lots of color, but I prefer to use a white that matches the trim color. Here they are in my bathrooms. One story house with neighbors not too far away, so we keep the bathroom Duettes in this position, open from the top. Gives us privacy, but we can still see what the weather is doing outside! I have them throughout the house and in some rooms also add drapes for color/pattern/softness.