Shutters
Hinged panels framed into the window opening, so they read as part of the house rather than something hung in front of it. Three materials, and which one you need depends mostly on the room.
A shutter is a rigid panel of louvers, framed into the window opening and hung on hinges. Most people call the wide-louver interior version plantation shutters, and that is what this page covers. That is what separates it from a blind, which hangs in front of the window on a headrail, and from a shade, which is a single piece of fabric that rolls or folds away.
Two consequences follow, and they are the reason people pay more for shutters. First, you get two independent controls: tilt the louvers to steer the light, or swing the entire panel open to clear the window completely. Second, they stay with the house. Buyers treat shutters as part of the property in a way they never do a blind, which is also why they are the window covering most likely to still be there in twenty years.
The choice below is a material choice, and it is decided more by which room the window is in than by how it looks.
Wood Shutters
Genuine hardwood, Heritance. The only one that shows real grain and takes a stain, and the only one you can custom color match to your trim. Not for wet rooms.
Composite Shutters
NewStyle hybrid. A painted finish with dovetail joints and a laminated core, for less than hardwood. Contains wood, so also not for wet rooms.
Vinyl Shutters
Palm Beach Polysatin. No wood in it at all, guaranteed never to warp, crack or fade. This is the bathroom and laundry answer.
The One Thing Most Shutter Websites Get Wrong
Search for shutters and you will repeatedly be told that composite is the moisture-proof choice for bathrooms. It is not.
Composite, which Hunter Douglas sells as NewStyle hybrid, is a wood composite core with a polymer coating. The operative word is wood. Because it contains wood, Hunter Douglas does not recommend it for bathrooms or any wet or high humidity room, exactly as it does not recommend genuine hardwood there.
The material with no wood in it is vinyl, sold as Palm Beach Polysatin, and it is the only one of the three we will put in a bathroom or a laundry. It also carries a written guarantee that it will never warp, crack, fade, chip, peel or discolor.
We corrected this page after reading the Hunter Douglas specification properly, because it previously said what everyone else says. Getting it wrong costs somebody a shutter that stops closing in a few years.
Pick by the Room
A bathroom, a laundry, or the window over a kitchen sink. Vinyl, without exception.
A room with wood you want to match. Hardwood. It is the only one that shows grain, takes a stain, and can be custom color matched to your existing trim or cabinetry.
A dry room where you want a painted white shutter. Composite. If the panel is going to be painted anyway, you are not buying hardwood for the grain, and the saving covers more windows.
A west-facing window taking hard summer sun. Vinyl again, because the color runs through the material rather than sitting on the surface, so there is nothing to fade off.
A whole-house job. Usually a mix. Vinyl in the wet rooms, composite through the dry ones, hardwood where the trim deserves it. The profile stays consistent across all three, which is the point of buying them from one dealer.
What All Three Share
Louver size. Two and a half inch for smaller windows, three and a half inch as the popular default, four and a half inch for the most open view when tilted.
How you tilt. Front tilt puts a visible rod down the middle of the panel, which is the traditional look. HiddenTilt moves the mechanism into the side so nothing crosses the glass. If the window has a view, take HiddenTilt.
How the panels move. Hinged as standard, bi-fold for a patio door so nothing swings into the walkway, or bypass on a track for very wide openings. Bypass systems come with SoftClose so panels never slam, which also matters with small children around.
Specialty shapes. Arches, circles, angled gable tops. Because every panel is built to your opening, shutters handle awkward windows better than almost anything else.
Mechanics. SoftClose with Quick Align closes the louvers smoothly across five preset positions, and Staytite tension pins hold them wherever you leave them without ever needing adjustment.
What No Shutter Does
They are not blackout. Hunter Douglas states this for all three materials. Gaps have to exist so the louvers can rotate and the panels can swing, so a closed shutter cuts most of the light and never all of it. Frames carry a built-in light stop and an astragal covers the seam where two panels meet, which helps, but if a bedroom has to be genuinely dark, pair the shutters with a room-darkening roller shade or use a cellular shade.
They do not insulate the way a cellular shade does. Closed louvers slow heat transfer at the glass, and that is worth something on a west-facing window, but a shutter is a rigid panel with air gaps, not a honeycomb designed to trap air.
Unframed shutters pass more light than framed ones, and the light stop trim strip that reduces it has to be specified at order time rather than arriving automatically. Worth asking whoever is quoting your job whether theirs includes it.
Questions People Ask About Shutters
What Is the Difference Between Wood, Composite and Vinyl Shutters?
Material, and it decides which rooms each can go in. Hardwood shows real grain and takes a stain, and can be custom color matched to your trim. Composite, sold as NewStyle hybrid, is a wood composite core with a polymer coating and a painted finish, at a lower price. Vinyl, sold as Palm Beach Polysatin, contains no wood at all. Both hardwood and composite contain wood, so neither is recommended for bathrooms. Vinyl is.
Which Shutter Goes in a Bathroom?
Vinyl, and only vinyl. A lot of websites will tell you composite is the moisture-proof option. It is not, because it is a hybrid material that still contains wood, and Hunter Douglas does not recommend it for wet or high humidity rooms. Palm Beach Polysatin has no wood in it and carries a written guarantee against warping.
Are Shutters Worth the Extra Money Over Blinds?
They are a different purchase. A blind is equipment you hang in front of a window; a shutter is framed into the opening and stays with the house, which is why buyers treat them as part of the property. They also give you two controls rather than one: tilt the louvers for light, or swing the whole panel open to clear the window entirely.
Do Shutters Make a Room Dark?
They cut most of the light and give real privacy, but no shutter is a blackout product. Gaps are necessary so the louvers can rotate and the panels can swing. Frames carry a built-in light stop and an astragal covers the seam between panels, but some light always passes. For a genuinely dark bedroom, pair shutters with a room-darkening shade.
Can Shutters Fit an Arched or Unusual Window?
Yes, and it is one of the few things shutters do better than almost anything else. Because every panel is built to your exact opening, arches, circles, angled gable tops and other awkward shapes can all be fitted. On some specialty shapes the material differs from the standard panel, which we will explain at the measure.
A Precise Fit Starts With Accurate Measurements
Panels are built to your exact opening, and almost no window in an older Boise house is square. Justin measures every opening himself, decides the framing, the louver size and how each panel swings at the window rather than from a form, and tells you which rooms should get which material. He brings hardwood, composite and vinyl samples so you can compare them in your own light. Our showroom at 2615 W Main St in Boise is open too if you would rather come to us. Call ahead so we can be sure to be there.
Or call (208) 808-8676
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