So, it’s that tough choice again. Blinds vs shutters. Which should you get for this year’s home redo? Well, the answer is never that simple. There are many contributing factors that will ultimately play a role in your final decision. Of course, both blinds and shutters offer their specific advantages for interiors of different kinds. Depending your interior’s particular requirements, only one of the two will suit best.
It is easy to say blinds cost less and are thus the better choice. However, shutters will offer unique benefits that will make people see past their initial larger investments. Then there is that personal preference thing. You will most likely get what suits your personal preference. Here are some key points that should make it easy for you to select the right window coverings:
Temperature Control Considerations
Some places are cold, some are too warm. Homes and interiors are designed in a way to maintain certain preferred temperatures. Windows are of course the biggest inlets of outside factors including temperature. You need to put something that can help regulate your selected temperatures for indoors at all times. Controlling temperature with window coverings can help with reducing energy spend.
When temperature control is the preference, shutters provide better results that blinds. Shutters are made from hard thick woods or composite plastic materials. These are both great temperature insulators in their own right. Blinds are designed for different purposes. Although, some blinds offer temperature insulation, none reach the levels of quality shutters.
When Design Customizations Are Top Priorities!
It is surprising how almost all the times design preference wins over all other functional advantages for interior items. These include window dressing. Of course, you have greater design choices with windows blinds of different kinds. Typical roller blinds are available in such a variety of designs that shutters just fail to match. Then you have different blinds materials, textures and finishes to choose from.
Venetians in wooden or metallic materials, vertical blinds, integral blinds and many others are available. Shutters on the other hand are typically available in single color tones. However, your blinds can be self-designed as well to match or contrast any interior themes. From colors to textures and material choices, blinds just lead the way in customizations. You will get far more customizations with blinds than shutter.
Privacy and Filtered Daylight
No all interiors will either need to shut the windows for daylight and fresh air or have them fully opened at all times. Some domestic and commercial interiors will need privacy and filtered daylight combined as well. This is where specific daylight filtering blinds win the race as well. You can get daylight filtering with typical wooden window blinds as well. Many blinds offer this functionality.
With blinds with slats, you can change their angles to let in filtered daylight while keeping privacy. There are typical light filtering blinds available as well. With shutters on the other hand, you can either have them fully shut or fully opened. When you want filtered daylight with privacy combined, blinds will come off best. Offices and sun facing rooms in houses do well with such light filtering functionality.
Maintenance and Costing
Maintenance and costing will always play a vital role in your window dressing choices. Now, with these, you have two different answers. Blinds cost much less than shutters. The price difference is actually great as well. For the price of one set of quality shutters, you can get several window blinds. Vertical window blinds and rollers typically have offers on them as well for bulk purchases too.
However, when it comes to maintenance and longevity, shutters are better. Of course, repairing shutters is not as easy as it is with blinds. However, shutters are much more rugged and made from durable materials. You will very seldom get damaged shutters. Also, repainting them is very easy compared to blinds of different kinds. When treated right, shutters can last several years typically.
Final Verdict
Still not convinced on either of the two. The blinds vs shutters debate has been going on for quite a while. However, keeping in view your typical requirements, it should be easy to decide on one. If you need something affordable and are somewhat of a seasonal interior redo person, blinds are your thing. If you want your one-time investment to last for years, shutters will suit best from the two.
Also, if your interior needs something basic in design and aesthetics, shutters can work pretty well. For interiors that need something vibrant, blinds of different styles might be the better choices. However, either one of the two is not a bad choice at all. You should almost always consider blinds or shutters over traditional curtains or drapes. Blinds and shutters look and feel modern in newer interiors.
