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How To Choose Between Plantation Shutters, Window Blinds, And Window Shades In San Antonio

August 12, 2022

Blinds, Shutters, and shades–oh my! All the distinct window treatments available might seem overwhelming when you are looking to pick one for your San Antonio property. Knowing the distinctions between each type will help you decide which products will look and work best on the windows you need to cover. We can help by exploring the advantages, disadvantages, and top locations for louvered shutters, window shades, and window blinds in San Antonio.

The Pros And Cons Of Louvered Shutters

White Polywood shutters in a living room

Plantation shutters are made of real wood or a wood synthetic and go inside your home where they affix permanently to your window with the shutter’s frame attached to the window frame. Hinged panels inside the frame smoothly glide open for complete light and a clear view or shut tightly to blanket your window for privacy and darkness. Whenever the panels are closed, you may also tilt open the rows of louvers for some sunshine and adjust them to angle the light where it needs to go.

The Pros

Interior shutters rise above other products due to their unique design. Along with their unmistakable look, they also supply many amazing advantages for San Antonio interiors:

  • Enhance your home with alluring architectural detail

  • Come in neutral tones to complement your decor at the moment and later if you redesign

  • Offer absolute privacy and near-total darkness when shut

  • Open quickly for sunlight and views to your property

  • Work with any uniquely shaped window like circles and sunbursts

  • Redirect glare with the slats

  • Simple to dust and clean

  • Deliver an amazing degree of energy efficiency

  • A permanent feature that adds to your San Antonio property’s value

  • A range of customization possibilities to craft the look you would like and meet all of your needs

In addition to these pros, faux-wood Polywood® shutters feature their own significant assets: 

  • Unsurpassed durability with resistance to distress from heat, cold, damp conditions, and the sun’s rays

  • Will never be impacted by warping, facturing, or chipping

  • Innovative weather sealing for exceptional energy efficiency and lower utility bills

Actually, Polywood shutters can do any job you need a window covering to accomplish, from upgrading your window’s style to obstructing cold breezes and harmful sun rays. They also work and look just as nice decades later as the moment you first got them.

 

The Cons

Plantation shutters’ one downside is that they are only available in neutral tones. Although their classic coloration goes with all types of decor, you’ll need to opt for window shades or blinds if you are determined to install colorful or patterned window treatments.

 

How To Use Louvered Shutters

You are able to utilize louvered shutters on any window in your San Antonio residence. Hand-tailored shutters fit any type, size, and shape of window without losing functionality. Put them on circular, angled, and patio door windows just as easily as standard rectangular windows.

You may also place Polywood shutters in any room. Pick them for their resilience and efficiency in damp bathrooms, cool attic dormers, or sun-filled rooms. Shutters even work great in heavily occupied spaces and children’s rooms since they are made without cords that create a safety risk.

 

The Pros And Cons Of Window Shades

White shades in a corner of a living room.

Window shades can be found in various contasting styles, but, in general, all have a piece of fabric positioned over your window. You generally pull the material up or down to enclose and uncover your window using a built-in pull bar or cord, but you are able to discover motorized options as well.

Window shades don’t have slats to control light and privacy, but more transparent or less tightly woven natural fiber shades are able to let light into darkened areas while obscuring the sightline into your property. Or you could use top-down/bottom-up shades that give you the chance to uncover the upper part of your window for light while preserving your privacy at the bottom.

 

The Pros

San Antonio property owners prefer window shades because they can be found in a range of styles, colors, and materials. You’ll discover shades with standard colors and vibrant tones, single color or bold patterns, sheer or blackout opacities, fabric with pleats or natural fibers, and many other options. If you want a special accent while overhauling a room, window shades in just the right color or material will enhance your decor and cover your windows.

Distinct window shade kinds have their own perks too. Roller shades have a restrained appearance. Cellular shades offer energy efficiency. Tumble shades work well on door windows. And sheer shades provide a pleasant combination of filtered light and privacy.

 

The Cons

Window shades don’t offer the resiliency of rigid window treatments and can be a chore to clean. Their fabric materials will eventually blemish on account of the sun or can tear, grow mold, or get stained. You might plan on replacing window shades every three or four years as they break down or you change up your home’s style.

Window shades also offer less flexibility in adjusting exterior light and privacy than plantation shutters. Even pulling them up a bit means you give up your privacy on some of the window and you’re not able to modify how sunshine floods in. And many window shades will display shadows if you have the lights on inside at night. And square window shades in San Antonio make you to choose between hiding a specialty window’s uncommon shape or leaving the window exposed at all times.

 

How To Incorporate Window Shades

Numerous San Antonio residents choose window shades if they are looking for bold or patterned window treatments to go with their decor. They are best suited for less occupied areas where they won’t get damaged by persistent usage.

You are also able to utilize various kinds of window shades for their particular purposes. Select cellular shades to aid in halting exterior airflow. Slim roller shades work in spots where you can’t use a bulky window treatment. Blackout shades keep bedrooms dark so you can sleep. Woven fiber shades bring a natural element to your property. And don’t forget, custom shades will always look and work better on your windows than store-bought products.

 

The Pros And Cons Of Window Blinds

Wood blinds in a small dining room area.

Window blinds consist of long, connected slats built from a solid material that you lower over your windows to conceal them. Blinds function with pull cords or cordless functionality. In addition to shielding windows with blinds, you are also able to tilt the slats with a bar for more control over exterior light.

 

The Pros

The advantages of window blinds largely depend on on the materials they’re fabricated with. In principle, all blinds conceal windows to impede outside light and sightlines into your San Antonio home, but their substance and quality of manufacturing determine how successfully they achieve this. You could notice sunshine and silhouettes with cheap vinyl blinds. Metal and vinyl blinds also bend and break with ease, which creates unpleasant spaces that allow sunlight. For these blinds, their low price and short lifespan make them advantageous mostly as temporary window coverings.

More resilient natural wood and faux-wood blinds use sturdier slats that envelop windows more completely. You won’t have to worry about seeing past them, and they don’t fall apart quickly. The wood or synthetic construction, joined with the appealing defined lines of the slats, provide a more elegant appearance as well. Premium wood and faux-wood blinds come in classic neutral shades that look lovely in any room.

Blinds let you control the quantity of light that comes through your windows. You may pull them up for an unfettered view and complete light or close them for privacy and an absence of light. With the blinds closed, you may also rotate the slats for a restricted view and some natural light.

 

The Cons

Wood and faux-wood blinds look similar to interior shutters but aren’t nearly as durable. The cords that hold the slats together may unravel over time, and wood slats could warp and crack from an abundance of humid air or drastic temperature changes. Blinds also come with a fair number of components that might result in them being tricky to clean, and blinds with pull cords might get twisted up as you make an effort to manipulate them.

Even though made-to-order blinds will suit your windows just right, they don’t have the complete coverage around the perimeter that shutters can since they aren’t built into a frame. You’ll also discover that both window blinds and shades in San Antonio can sway and smack your window if jostled or impacted by a wind gust. This moving around provides a view to outsiders and permits sunlight.

 

How To Utilize Window Blinds

Premium blinds make sense in any room on rectangular or square windows. Only use water-resistant faux-wood blinds in humid spaces like bathrooms and kitchens. And automated or cord-free blinds are safer choices in the event you have little ones or animals.

 

Sunburst Has An Incredible Selection From Interior Shutters To Window Blinds And Shades In San Antonio

Need to know more about the the variances between interior shutters, window shades, and window blinds in San Antonio? Sunburst Shutters San Antonio boasts the best assortment of premium window treatments around and will is pleased to answer whatever questions you have. We provide complimentary in-home consultations to display our products and show you which window treatments make the most sense for your property. Arrange yours by placing a call to 210-876-0377 or filling out the form on this page.