Interior window shutters add enduring value to your home while complementing a full spectrum of decorating styles from traditional to contemporary and city to country.
In addition to enhancing architectural details at the window, shutters offer homeowners a number of significant advantages—they help insulate your home; they control light, view and air flow at the window or door; and also provide significant privacy.
Kimberly Scott of Dove Interiors explained, “Custom crafted wood shutters act as fine furniture for windows, adding significant value to a home. With so many shutters on the market, knowing which to buy can be challenging.”
Scott offered some tips on what to look for when in the market for shutters.
Shutters come in wood, plastic, foam and various combinations. The time-honored material is 100 percent solid wood. Real, natural wood possesses aesthetic qualities that make it the natural choice.
It is important to look for a custom shutter with a dovetail construction, which interlocks panel components for the strongest bond and ensures that they won’t separate over time and create light gaps.
A high-quality wood finish is smooth, hard to the touch and lustrous and rich to the eye. It will not chip, crack or peel over time. A product like Heritance hardwood shutters from Hunter Douglas delivers a multicoat finish that is far superior to the industry standard.
Shutters should not only look good, but also be energy efficient and offer UV ray protection. There are three ratings which indicate performance:
• R-Value tells you how well the shutter resists heat loss.
• The summer shading coefficient rating shows the shutters’ ability to reduce heat gain.
• The UV blockage rating reveals how much of the sun’s ultraviolet rays the shutter prevents from entering the home.
Quality shutter manufacturers will publish this type of efficiency information in their product brochures. Heritage shutters score high points in all three ratings.
Concerning the cost of shutters, Scott said, “As with fine furniture, which you expect to last a long time, you get what you pay for.”
Scott advised only dealing with professionals when ordering shutters because they provide custom attention from start to finish. Hunter Douglas allows only authorized dealers and installers to work with its shutters to ensure the best service.
For more information, contact Scott at 645-8660 or visit www.doveinteriorscarpetone.com.
