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If you are looking for beautiful white wooden shutters for your home, then please get in touch. Read on for more information and inspiration on how we used tier on tier window shutters in two different types of box bays for this beautifully modernised Victorian home.
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This property has lovely large windows, so a key consideration was how to keep the desired look contemporary yet classic at the windows. It feels sometimes as if there are infinite choices in window coverings, let alone all of the other décor decisions that had to be made by this client. The client called us on a recommendation from another customer.
The Great Shutter Co. supply and installs high quality wooden window shutters, but we also supply a large range of other window coverings, and in particular, automated remote controlled blinds.
This beautiful and lovingly restored home in Twyford, is made up of two well – proportioned rooms to the double front of the property – one used as a dining room and the other a living room, with a further 5 bedrooms upstairs. Two of the bedrooms were also located on the top floor in the eaves of the attic space. The reception rooms had especially large windows and unusual construct in the number of window panes.
The dining room had a huge street facing box bay window, so as you would expect, our customer needed to have a window covering solution that allowed full light control (the property aspect is south facing, so gets lots of light), so for lunchtime, being able to mute the light levels on a sunny day to control both light and heat levels), as well as being able to benefit from privacy whilst dining.
Our owner Mike recommended a tier on tier shutter solution. These were anything but standard, as not only did they folding set of shutters need to fold back over a large expanse, but they also needed to clear an internal beam.
In this case, we crafted a bespoke frame which allowed the shutters panels to remain 5mm clear of the beam when opened out of the frame. The other complication was the client needed 5 panels.
In general shutters need to bi-fold as magnets at the back hold the shutters together, but when you have an odd number – e.g. 3 and 2 panels, this leaves a single panel without a magnet, so the challenge is to get that magnet free panel able to stay in place back out of the frame when the panels are opened out.
Careful work on the shutter’s hinges allowed us to achieve the desired solution. This type of installation is a real challenge, and just demonstrates how important it is to use a shutter company who fully employ and train their own installers. Many shutter retailers sub-contract their fitting work, and this is often evident in the quality of the workmanship.
The lounge box bay window was a much easier process as it was configured with 4 panels rather than 5. We still think the choice of a larger 76mm louvre lent itself to the size of the windows and ensured that even without the top tier folded back the room benefited from large amounts of natural light which we think the pictures taken show very well. This louvre size also creates a nice contemporary and classic feel without starting to look industrial and modern. This suits our client’s taste and home perfectly.
In the bedrooms, the solution chosen for the wooden shutters configuration were generally straightforward left right opening shutter pairs with a mid-rail (a fixed solid horizontal rail) that allows for independent louvre operation top and bottom. We did though make some amends to the designs.
In the bedrooms simple shutters that mirrored the windows provided a great solution and being able to control the top louvers independently meant you could shade your laptop, while still having a lovely view to the outside. Our beautiful hardwood shutters were fitted inside the framing around the windows and give a really pleasing visual effect.
Shutters are not the only solution for window coverings, and although we love shutters, we acknowledge they are not necessarily the right covering for every single window. So, for this client, sleep was a key consideration and a fully automated remote-controlled roller blind was chosen. This gives the client a lovely dark room for sleep, and no need to even get out of bed to control the level of light coming into the room.
The blind selected for the master bedroom was a high-end Q-Motion remote blind. Noted for being amongst the very best automated blinds available in the market, these blinds are incredibly smart. They can be controlled via Alexa and the clients voice command, and they also benefit from a unique energy recovery system which utilises really clever spring based tech, which means hardly any energy is used to move the blind.
No hard wiring required (a huge bonus!), so no cost of further tradespeople to be involved (think electricians, plasterers, decorators). The battery life on a Q-Motion blind can last up to 18 months without replacement.
In the bathrooms, we also installed our 100% waterproof shutters which have A4 marine grade stainless steel hinges and don’t absorb moisture, swell or become mouldy (which happens with fabric blinds) and remain super easy to clean. Waterproof really is the ultimate window covering for the bathroom and also provide privacy without the need for nasty frosted glass.
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