As someone with a naturally maximalist instinct who can’t live with a look once it teeters just the wrong side of curated clutter there are some things that I am decidedly minimalist about. Window dressing is one such thing, we have only ever had roman blinds, roller blinds, and shutters in our homes. Whilst the full length drape of curtain can look incredibly alluring and glamorous, I know that I want something more sleek and streamlined.
I tend to buy plain blinds so that they recede as much as possible from view, rollers are now my new favourites as I hate how much light a Roman blind in a recess can steal. When we first moved in to our current home one of the three best decisions the previous owners made was to install shutters in the bay window. I love the versatility of shutters, that they can be altered for privacy or light and even opened in full on a beautiful day! Sadly the shutters we’ve inherited are white and like the windows they conceal they are also plastic. I have an absolute disdain of plastic, whilst I understand the practicalities of them, they are ugly, completely untactile, and these days technology has moved forward with double glazed wooden sashes. Whilst I like to keep window dressing simple that doesn’t mean I necessarily feel they have to be clinical and white. I love woodwork that uses colour, in my own home I’ve painted skirting boards black to match the floor, door frames in the same colour as walls, even upvc doors have been painted (in both the places we have them). But I’m wary of painting our plastic shutters, they are used so often that I fear the paint would start to crack all too quickly.
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So, hooray for Shutterly Fabulous who have stepped into the breach with an amazing array of eye-wateringly gorgeous alternatives to the common or garden white or plain wood shutters. The company started in Brighton in 2001 and specialise in shutters, no awnings, blinds or MDF, purely shutters of which they are specialists of good quality, well crafted premium grade timber. And as a huge colour lover, one of the things I love most about them is their palette of thousands of shades. Using their custom colour service one can colour match almost any shade to their product. Which means that you could order a tone of shutter which will naturally blend in to its surroundings, or you could play things bold and create a gorgeous statement of colour. As the style of shutters are so un-fussy, I really like the scope that this affords to do something more dramatic with the colour, and I would be pretty tempted to go for a deep green or grey in our bedroom once we’ve finished decorating the rest of the room. How beautiful is this green window treatment above? I think I’d go for something a touch darker in our own space, but I love the statement of this.
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I love this versatility, in a space where you have been playing it safe in the design for practical reasons, in the kitchen or bathroom for example, a set of shutters in a bold hue could be just the statement in a room to complete the look. Or, if you are feeling really adventurous, and remember the mantra beauty favours the bold, you could get your shutters painted in an ombré palette as in the image above, or in pastel shades of sorbet tones as in the image at the top of piece.
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I love shutters as a practical solution, you can buy many varieties to fit your particular needs. Shutterly Fabulous supply privacy fit or solid panelled shutters which are perfect for a Victorian or Georgian home with character (as shown in that gorgeous shot of the bedroom with pink shutters above), slatted shutters, in tier or cafe style options, with the ability to allow light in when required but also allow full privacy when shut. If you want to let light in at the top, but have the bottom closed for privacy (as we do in the living room) you can, they really are a very practical and versatile solution.
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What would you choose from the range? I absolutely adore the ombré and rainbow of pastel examples, but the bright dark green ones also look incredibly chic. I’m glad to have been introduced to Shutterly Fabulous as I can see so many of these options working in our home. Let me know your favourites and thoughts in the comments below.
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This is Post is a collaboration with Shutterly Fabulous, as ever all opinions are honest and my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support me.
