Shutters, blinds or curtains, judged over fifteen years

How each option ages

Shutters are joinery. Once they are hung and adjusted, routine care is straightforward, and selected ranges carry a lifetime product guarantee.

Blinds are excellent value and can be replaced room by room as taste changes. Curtains need cleaning, poles, linings and space either side of the window, although we do not sell them.

• Shutters: higher initial cost, with a lifetime product guarantee on selected ranges.
• Blinds: lower initial cost and a wide choice of finishes.
• Curtains: require cleaning, poles and space beside the window; we do not sell them.

The bits people forget to count

Fading is the quiet cost. Coastal light in Hythe, Dymchurch and Folkestone is brighter than inland Kent, and a cheap fabric on a seafront elevation can look tired inside three summers. A painted or ABS shutter simply does not do that.

Then there is heat. A closed shutter or a thermal lined blind slows heat loss on a cold night and cuts solar gain on a hot afternoon, which shows up on the bills rather than the invoice.

Where we would spend the money

Front elevation and living room: shutters, because they are seen from the street and used every day. Bedrooms: blackout blinds or shutters, depending on whether you want the light gone or the room dressed. Kitchen, utility and rentals: blinds, every time.

That mix is what most of our Kent customers end up with once the samples are on the sill, and it is the advice we give at the free home consultation whether it suits our order book or not.