A couple measure up their front room, fall for a shutter in a showroom photo, and order it in the colour they liked. Six months on, they find it lets in too little light at four in the afternoon and too much view in at ten at night. The shutter was fine. Nobody had asked what the window needed to do.
Choosing interior shutters is easier when you decide things in the right order. This guide goes through louvre width, panel layout, frame, then material and finish, with the reasoning for each room.
Start with what the window has to do, not what the shutter looks like
Every shutter does three jobs: privacy, light control, and some help with insulation and draughts. Rooms rank those jobs differently. A street-facing bedroom puts privacy and darkness first. A south-facing living room wants light control and a good view out. A bathroom mostly needs privacy and something that copes with damp air.
Before you look at a single sample, answer three questions:
- When do you use the room? A bedroom used at night and slept in until late (or by someone on shifts) needs a very different closed shutter from a study used only in daylight.
- Who can see in? A ground-floor window on the pavement is a different brief from a first-floor window overlooking a garden.
- How much daylight do you want to keep when the shutters are closed? Some people want a bright, filtered room with the louvres tilted shut. Others want it as dark as possible.
Write the answers down for each room. They will do more to narrow your choices than any brochure.
Starting with colour does the opposite. Dozens of options stay open, and the one you pick may sit on a layout that does not suit the window. Starting with function usually leaves you with a handful of sensible combinations, and colour becomes the last, enjoyable decision.
The rest of this guide follows that order: louvre width first, then panel layout, then frame, then material and finish.
What louvre width really changes in a room
Louvres are the angled slats in the shutter panel. Three widths cover most of what UK makers offer: 2.5 inch (63mm), 3.5 inch (89mm) and 4.5 inch (114mm). Some makers add sizes either side, but these three are the ones you will compare.
Smaller louvres
At 2.5 inch, a panel holds more slats. That gives a busier, more traditional look, closer to the shutters you see on period houses. It also means more overlaps when the louvres are closed, so the panel shuts a little tighter and blocks more light. If darkness or privacy is your priority, this is the width to look at first.
Larger louvres
At 4.5 inch, there are fewer slats and more open space between them. When tilted open you get a wider, clearer view out, and the look is cleaner and more modern. Fewer slats also means less to wipe down. It is a small saving, but you will notice it if you dust shutters often. The full-height panel looks calmer too, which is why larger louvres suit contemporary rooms.
The middle size
3.5 inch (89mm) is the best-selling size across UK suppliers, and it is easy to see why. It suits most window sizes and most styles, and it sits between the traditional and modern looks without leaning hard either way. If you are unsure, it is a safe starting point, though not automatically the right answer.
Plantation shutters also go by different names in different countries, so overseas guides can describe the same louvre sizes in unfamiliar terms. The inch measurements above are the ones UK makers use.
The easiest way to judge width is to picture the shutter with the louvres tilted open. Ask how much of the view you want to see through them. If you want to see the garden, the sky and the trees, go wider. If you would rather the view be softened and the room feel enclosed, go narrower. A small window with 4.5 inch louvres can end up with only three or four slats, which looks odd, so scale matters too.
Matching louvre size to bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens and bathrooms
Bedrooms
Go for 2.5 or 3.5 inch louvres. The smaller sizes give better darkness when closed and better privacy at night. If someone sleeps in the day, or a child naps in a bright room, consider solid panel shutters or a blackout-friendly build, since louvres of any width will leak some light at the edges.
Living rooms
3.5 or 4.5 inch louvres make sense here. This is where you want daylight and an open feel, and the wider slats let you see out when tilted. If the windows are big and tall, 4.5 inch looks balanced. On narrower panels, such as the sides of a bay, 3.5 inch often looks less chunky.
Kitchens
3.5 inch is a sensible balance of light and privacy. The bigger question is where the window sits. Shutters near a hob or sink will meet steam, grease and splashes, so choose a moisture-resistant material and expect to wipe the louvres down. Wider louvres are slightly quicker to clean, but material matters more than width here.
Bathrooms
2.5 inch louvres give the best privacy, because the slats close tightly. Use a moisture-resistant material rather than raw MDF, which swells when damp air gets into it. A properly sealed faux wood or polymer shutter copes far better with showers and condensation.
A worked example: the Victorian terrace
Take a typical Victorian terrace with three different rooms to dress:
- Front living room (bay window): 3.5 inch louvres. The bay panels are fairly narrow, so 4.5 inch can look heavy, and the street-facing aspect still benefits from a bit more privacy than the widest slats give.
- Kitchen extension: 3.5 inch louvres in a moisture-resistant material. The window may look onto the garden, so light matters, but the sink and hob below it mean the shutter has to cope with steam.
- Upstairs bedroom: 2.5 inch louvres, or solid panels on the lower section, for darker mornings and more privacy at night.
Three rooms, three different choices, each following from what the window has to do.
Full height, café style, tier-on-tier and solid: choosing the panel layout
Once you know the louvre width, the next decision is how the panels are arranged on the window. There are five main layouts, and each answers a slightly different question about privacy and light.
Full height shutters cover the whole window from sill to head. They give the strongest privacy and the most control over light, and they look balanced and uncluttered. That makes them the usual choice for living rooms and bedrooms, where you want the option of closing the whole window down in the evening.
Café style shutters cover only the lower half, leaving the top of the window open to daylight. They suit ground floor rooms that face the street, where you want to stop passers-by looking in without losing the light from above. If that sounds like your front room or kitchen, our page on café style shutters shows how they sit on the window.
Tier-on-tier shutters use two separate sets of panels, one above the other, and each set opens independently. They are ideal for tall windows, such as Victorian sashes or stairwell windows. You can fold the top tier back for daylight while the bottom tier stays closed for privacy, which a single full-height panel cannot do.
Solid panel shutters have a flat, unbroken face with no louvres. People choose them for darkness, privacy and a traditional panelled look, so they work well in period bedrooms and snugs. You lose the fine daytime light adjustment that louvres give, so they suit rooms where that matters less. This interior shutters guide has a good example of traditional shutters in a den.
Tracked shutters slide on top and bottom tracks rather than swinging on hinges. They are made for patio doors, sliding doors and wide openings where hinged panels would hit furniture or need too much floor space to open.
A simple rule for choosing
Ask yourself how often you will want the top and bottom of the window open separately. If the answer is "rarely, I either want it all open or all closed", go full height. If it is "almost always", go café style or tier-on-tier. If it is "sometimes", the divider rail in the next section is probably the cheaper compromise.
Divider rails, tilt rods and the small details that affect how shutters feel to use
A divider rail is a horizontal bar that splits a tall panel in two, so the top and bottom louvres can be tilted separately. It is the cheaper route to some of the flexibility of tier-on-tier, because the panels still open as one door. The catch is that the top half cannot be folded away on its own.
Where the rail sits matters. Placing it at about eye level when you are seated or standing gives privacy below while the louvres above can be opened for sky. Setting it higher gives a better view out through the lower section, which suits a window overlooking a garden. Think about where you actually sit in the room, then stand there and picture the line.
Tilt rods and catches
A visible tilt rod runs down the centre of the panel and gives a classic look. A hidden rod moves the operating mechanism to the back edge, which gives a cleaner face with no bar across the louvres. Louvres on a hidden-rod panel line up more tidily when closed, but some people like the traditional rod because it is easy to see and grip.
Hinge and catch choice affects daily use too. Magnet catches hold panels shut quietly and positively, while simple mechanical catches are fine but can rattle in a draught. Ask to open and close a sample panel before you decide.
How many panels?
How a window is split into panels decides how heavy each door feels. Very wide panels can sag over time, because the weight hangs off the hinges and pulls the outer edge down, which leads to rubbing and uneven gaps. As a rough guide, it is better to add a hinge and split a wide window into two or three manageable panels than to build one broad door. You get a sturdier shutter that opens in less floor space.
Frame styles and how they sit in the recess or on the wall
The frame is what turns a set of panels into a fitted shutter, and how it sits on the window changes the finish more than most people expect.
Inside mount places the shutter within the reveal, so it sits flush with the wall for a neat, built-in look. It needs enough depth in the recess for the frame and louvres to turn without hitting the glass or handles, and it needs a recess that is reasonably square.
Outside mount fixes the shutter to the wall or window surround instead. It helps where the reveal is uneven or too shallow, and because the frame overlaps the opening, it can improve light blocking around the edges. It does project further into the room, so check how it looks against curtains, radiators or furniture.
Frame profiles
Names vary slightly between makers, so ask to see a corner sample, but the common shapes work like this:
- Z-frame: a stepped profile with a lip that overlaps the edge of the opening. It tidies up the join to the wall and can hide a small gap where the plaster is not straight.
- L-frame: a simple L-shaped section whose return sits against the wall face or reveal. It is often used for outside mounting and gives a clean edge.
- Flat or box frame: a plain flat frame, or a deeper boxed one that builds out the surround. Box frames add depth and a more substantial look.
Covering gaps and old fixings
A deeper frame can cover a gap or the marks left by an old curtain rail or blind fixing. If the wall around the window has been damaged by removed brackets, a frame wide enough to sit over those holes can save you from redecorating first.
That is why the surveyor checks plumb and level before deciding on the frame, not after. Few Victorian or 1930s windows are truly square, and a frame chosen from a photo may not cope with a recess that leans by several millimetres. Measuring first tells you whether an inside mount will sit cleanly or whether a Z-frame, deeper return or outside mount is the honest answer.
Bay windows, arches, skylights and other awkward shapes
Non-standard windows are where made-to-measure shutters earn their keep, because nothing off the shelf will fit them. The choices are the same ones you have already made for a flat window (louvre size, layout, frame), but each shape adds a practical question about how the panels will move, or whether they move at all.
Bay windows
A bay is split into separate sections, one per face, each hinged so the panels fold back without hitting the neighbouring face. Where two faces meet at an angle, the shutters use either a T-post (a fixed upright that panels on both sides hinge from) or a hinged corner that lets the two sets fold flat together. The T-post gives a cleaner, sturdier line, while the hinged corner leaves you with a more open view when folded.
Bows and square bays are not the same job. A square bay has crisp 90 degree corners and usually three flat faces. A bow curves gently, so it needs more, narrower sections set at shallow angles to follow the curve. If you are planning one, our guide to bay window panel layouts is worth a read, though I'd say the point to remember is that the corner details matter as much as the panels.
Arches, circles and gables
Arches, circles, triangles and raked gable windows can't use a normal rectangular panel. They take fixed or specially cut panels, often with fixed louvres, because a louvre that has to tilt inside a curved or sloping frame needs a mechanism that rarely works well. You still get the shape of a shutter and some privacy, but you lose the tilt. For sloping tops, gable window shutters are cut to follow the slope of your frame.
Roof windows, conservatories and stairwells
Roof windows and conservatory glazing can take special-shaped shutters fixed directly to the frame. They add a layer of insulation and give you light control in rooms that otherwise cook in July and chill in January.
Tall stairwell windows are a reach problem. Standing on a stair to tilt louvres six feet up is not much fun, so these usually work best as tier-on-tier, or with a high divider rail so the upper section can be operated separately or left fixed.
Why this isn't a DIY job
Shaped windows are measured with templates and photographs, not just a tape. A card or paper template traces the true outline, and photographs record how the frame sits against the wall. Arches are rarely a perfect semicircle, old walls are rarely square, and a few millimetres out on a curve shows as a visible gap. For most people this is a job for someone who measures and fits for a living.
The honest trade-off is that complexity costs. Shaped and multi-angle shutters cost more per square metre than a plain rectangle and take longer to make, so allow extra lead time if you need them by a certain date.
Wood, faux wood, MDF and moisture-proof materials: choosing for the room's conditions
Material is the choice that decides how your shutters look in five years, not just on fitting day. Match it to the room's humidity and sunlight, not just to your budget.
- Faux wood is the best everyday UK choice. It resists moisture, holds its shape and is good value, so it suits most living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens.
- Hardwood suits dry feature rooms and stained finishes, where the grain is the point. You pay more for it.
- MDF is cheaper but best kept to rooms without damp. If water gets into the edges it swells.
- Moisture-proof synthetics, such as ABS, are the choice for wet bathrooms and shower rooms, where steam is daily.
What it costs
Market sources put fitted prices at roughly £150 to £350 per standard window in faux wood, with hardwood higher. Those are indicative figures, not a quote. Price per square metre moves with louvre size, shape and layout: larger louvres can be cheaper to make because there are fewer of them, while shaped windows, tier-on-tier layouts and extra divider rails push the price up. Our price calculator gives a rough per-window figure before anyone visits.
Ask about warranties
Material problems show up slowly, so ask what the warranty actually covers. The three things to raise are warping (especially on wide panels), yellowing of white finishes and fade from strong sunlight on south-facing windows. Ask how long cover lasts, whether it covers the finish as well as the structure, and who you call if something goes wrong. Also be careful reading guides from other countries: shutters go by different names depending where in the world you are, and materials and climates differ too.
Paint and stain finishes that suit the room, light and your walls
White and off-white remain the most popular because they reflect light and suit most rooms. A warm off-white softens against cream or stone walls, while a crisp white looks sharper against cool or modern schemes. If in doubt, go for the one that sits closest to your window frames and skirting.
Greys and custom colours work best in rooms with strong architectural detail or darker palettes. A deep grey shutter looks deliberate against a dark wall, but in a small north-facing room it can make things gloomy. Colour options vary by range, so check which colours and stains come with the one you like.
Stains show the wood grain and pair with hardwood in studies and traditional rooms. They're less forgiving than paint, because the grain is visible and the colour varies slightly from one panel to another, which is part of the charm.
Sheen and sampling
Sheen affects daily life more than people expect. A satin finish hides marks and fingerprints better than gloss, which shows every smudge around the tilt rod and handles. Gloss can look sharp, but it works harder to stay clean.
Always order samples and view them at the window, in morning and evening light, not under shop lighting. A white that looks clean in the showroom can turn blue or yellow at home, and a grey can change character completely between 8am and 7pm. Prop the sample against the glass for a full day before deciding.
How measuring and fitting decide whether the choice works
You can pick the perfect louvre width and frame style and still end up disappointed if the measuring is out by a few millimetres. Made-to-measure shutters have very little give. A panel that is 4mm too wide will not close, and one that is 4mm too narrow leaves a gap that lets light and draughts through.
That is why a proper survey takes width at three points (top, middle and bottom of the opening) and height at three points (left, centre and right). Walls, sills and window openings are rarely square, especially in older Yorkshire stone cottages and Victorian terraces. The smallest of each set of readings is the one used, so the shutter will always go in, with the gaps tidied by the frame design.
What the surveyor checks besides size
For an inside-mounted shutter, reveal depth matters a great deal. The frame needs enough depth to sit flush, and the louvres need room to tilt without catching on the glass or a handle. A shallow reveal may mean an outside-mounted frame is the better choice.
The surveyor will also look at what gets in the way:
- Window handles and espagnolette bars that stick out into the room
- Cills that are deep, sloping or uneven
- Radiators beneath the window, which can limit how far a bottom panel opens
- Curtain poles, architraves and beading that affect where the frame can sit
These are the things you cannot see on a plan and often will not notice until the shutters arrive. When the company measures every window itself, the person who surveys is accountable for the build and the fit. There is no handover of figures between you, a salesperson and a workshop, which is where errors usually creep in.
From survey to fitting day
The usual process runs in four steps. A survey at your home, a written quote based on those measurements, the build in the workshop, then a fitting day with the company's own installers. Fitting usually takes a few hours per room, depending on how many windows and how awkward they are.
On the day, check each window before the installers pack up:
- Gaps: they should look even around the frame and between panels, with no tapering from top to bottom.
- Tilt action: louvres should move smoothly and stay where you leave them, with no sticking or rattling.
- Hinges: panels should swing freely and the fixings should feel solid, with no wobble when you open and close them.
- Light leaks: close the louvres and look for daylight around the frame edges.
A note on DIY measuring guides: they are handy for budgeting, because a rough width and height gets you a ballpark price. They are not a substitute for a professional survey, and an order placed from your own tape-measure figures puts any error on your side of the fence.
A simple checklist to bring to your quote, plus mistakes worth avoiding
Having your answers ready makes a quote visit quicker and the result more accurate. Note down these eight points for each room before the surveyor arrives:
- Room use: who uses it, when, and how much moisture or direct sun it gets
- Louvre width: the size you are leaning towards, and why
- Panel layout: full height, café style, tier-on-tier or solid
- Divider rail height: where you want it, if you are using one
- Frame style: inside or outside mount, and any frame depth limits
- Material: chosen for the room's conditions
- Finish: paint or stain, ideally seen as a physical sample
- Fitting date: any deadlines, such as a move-in or a decorating schedule
Mistakes that come up again and again
Choosing 2.5 inch louvres for a room where the view is the point is a common one. The slimmer slats and extra rails break up what you see even when open. Using a material that cannot cope with steam in a bathroom is another, and so is ignoring reveal depth until the survey flags it. Ordering a colour from a screen alone is the fourth. White in particular varies a lot between a phone display and a north-facing wall.
Comparing quotes fairly
Two quotes only compare if they cover the same things. Ask for the price per window and per square metre, and check what the fitting price includes: survey, delivery, installation, and removal of packaging. Check the warranty length and what it covers, such as frames, hinges, finish and tilt mechanism. Terms vary between suppliers (some people use different names for similar styles), so ask them to describe the product rather than relying on labels.
Questions worth asking any supplier
- Who measures, and who fits? Are they employees or subcontractors?
- What is the lead time from survey to fitting?
- What happens if a panel does not fit or is damaged?
- What aftercare is offered if a louvre sticks or a hinge loosens?
Take your time over all of this. A good company will not rush you, and it should be happy to send paint or stain samples and a sample louvre so you can judge them in your own light. Live with the samples for a few days, then decide.
