Shutter Design Advice
Rule 2 Panels all the way? Tier on Tier, Full Height, or cafe style shutters?
While we’ve talked on other parts of the website about the different shutters designs or shutter panel configurations you can choose, it’s worth revisiting again exactly which option you have open to you.
Cafe Style Shutters
Cafe Style Shutters are designed to cover the lower section of your windows only. These are typically purchased by shutter customers looking to prevent people peering directly into their windows therefore privacy is generally only an issue on the lower half of the window. The top half or portion of the window is often left with nothing at all covering it or perhaps just a roman blind or curtain for evenings.
Take a step back and look at the window and the room you are considering this design for. Do you really want to put very small, narrow panels onto this window with this design as you are concerned where the shutter panels will fold when you open? Are you really going to fold the panels back? More often than not, you will be choosing cafe style shutters for privacy therefore the shutter panels will be closed most of the time, with the slats tilted at a very slight angle for privacy. So, we suggest, go for fewer, wider panels on the window, negating the need for so many vertical pieces of wood, and creating a more open, spacious look to the room.
Tier on Tier shutters
Tier on Tier shutters (also known as double hung shutters) are designed to allow you to open the top section of shutter panels independently from the lower section of shutter panels. California Shutter Company customers choosing this shutters option, are generally concerned about privacy but wish to maintain maximum light into the room. A typical window would be a lounge window overlooking a busy road where tier on tier shutters allow the customer to have the lower tier of panels closed with slats tilted, (giving privacy but retaining flow of light between the slats) and fold back the top shutter panels to allow maximum light to enter the room)
For customers desiring tier on tier shutters we typically advice having more, narrower width panels that are hinged together. This means that when the panels are opened, the will ‘concertina’ or bi-fold onto each other. This makes them less intrusive within the room. Also this design is very popular on Victorian / Edwardian style 135° angled bay windows (sash window type bays). Such windows are effectively treated as 3 separate windows and having shutters panels that are too wide, results in the centre shutter panels opening and covering with windows either side. We recommend a shutter design where the panels on this centre section can fold onto each other and not obscure the light or view through the side windows.
This design works well if you are going to fold the top panels open on a fairly regular basis. If however you end up leaving the top shutters panels closed over as well as the lower shutter panels, tier on tier is not our recommended design. You would end up having an over abundance of solid vertical wood sections and very narrow width slats which ends up blocking light and creating a ‘prison bar’ effect on your windows with so many vertical lines.
Full height shutters
Full height shutters give coverage of the whole window. The panel open as one unit from top to bottom. At this point forget about how many shutter panels you may have across the width of the window opening, as you can choose to have either 1 or 2 wide panels or 6 or 7 narrower shutters hinged together.
With full height, this means that when you open the panel the whole shutter unit opens, unlike tier on tier. Full height shutters create an open simple clear lined look if designed to take into account the window framing and colours used.
Another shutter design feature often incorporated in full height shutters is a shutter mid rail, or divide rail as it is often known. This is a thin horizontal piece of wood which breaks the run of slats on the plantation shutter from bottom to top. You can then tilt the slats on the lower portion of the shutter panels at one angle, and tilt the slats on the top section fully open, giving a clear view through the top section of slats.
Proceed to the Window Type advice page.