This is a horrible picture, I had just finished painting and I took it with my phone. I also bought silk curtains with 14" rods that I will hang as high as possible on each side of the windows. I think you can dress them up or down. Mine are white. I also have them in MB without curtains. If I could, I would do the whole house. For now I have 2" wood blinds.

I can't recall whether plantation shutters come in cream (as you said you have for your trim), but here's an older picture of white PS using 3" size. I prefer the wider slats myself, but they come in all sizes. Netshutters.com is one site that will provide a piece of the shutter slats as samples of their products ahead so you can see them. There are also many places that you can check out like jcpenney and others. There are several GW'ers who put them in their homes and I was surprised that you could add drapery panels at the end, but theirs looked great. Maybe some of the them will post theirs also.

{{!gwi}}

I have them on every window in the house. The only half ones are here in the breakfast area. The company that made mine had me paint some of my trim color (vanilla bean) onto a piece of wood and they color matched the shutters to it so they match perfectly and you can't really tell what's shutter and what's window trim, it all just blends together. These are 3 1/2 inch slats. I prefer wider also so that more light comes in and less view is blocked.

We just ordered plantation shutters for the first time from Shutter Classic (online). We received the shutters yesterday, and we hope to install them tomorrow. The shutter quality is great, and Shutter Classic does custom paint matching for FREE with their basswood shutters. So, we were able to get the shutters matched exactly (color and sheen) to our existing woodwork, which is a creamy white. They also are one of the few places that offer oil-rubbed bronze hinges. Our other fixtures are ORB, so we're really pleased about that. Since the shutters are only for two bathroom windows, we opted for the cafe style to allow more light into the rooms, however, the full size are beautiful too. Ours are 1 3/4" wide slats, which seems to work well, because the one bathroom window is fairly small. Anyway, I'll post pictures after we get them installed.

Jan

Does anyone have shutters that are wood tone?

I really love the look, though I noticed no one has any window treatments along with the shutters. Is it a no no in decorating to have draperies as well?
mimi, can I ask where you purchased your's from?
I am looking for good quality (don't want warping) and color matching wood be important as I just painted all my woodwork.(should have decided about shutters beforehand!)
But I am on a tight budget and need to find the most economical. I probably would have to have them installed as no one here is too handy and I want them to look professional.
Any opinions on companies? one's to go with, or avoid?

I also started looking into interior shutters. My concern is the replacement windows that open in to clean. Will the shutters give enough clearance?

cateyanne - I got mine at a local place called The Custom Shutter Store just outside Memphis. I found local to be the best price for me since I also wanted them installed by professionals. Check out your local places and you might be surprised at their competitive pricing, I know I was here.

I do plan to put top window treatment where the cafe shutters are. It's been a year and I'm still trying to decide exactly what :-)

scudk2 - I had that question also and with my shutters (outside mount) I can tilt the window in for cleaning with no problem.

Thanks mimi, I too have double hung windows that tilt in for cleaning. I was really wanting inside mount so the window moldings are not covered up, is that not a possibility with my type of windows?

I just posted these on another topic. Usually, any shutter distributor can match your trim paint. Plantation shutters are, I think, more formal. Most people do not do draperies too, because it is difficult to open your shutters (to clean your windows or if you like to open windows). THat is not to say you cant add drapes, you definately can. The Plantation shutters usually dress up the window that you dont need anything else. If you think you want to add drapes to your windows with plantation shutters I would do two shutters that open in the middle. If you dont plan on adding drapes, I like the view of one big shutter that opens on one side. Realize, they can only do one shutter to a certain width, then you compromise integrity of the wood...it could warp. I have both 3inch and 4 inch. They were so expensive I did them in stages....I wish I had done all 4 inch. My dining room is 3 inch, the bonus and bedroom are 4 inch.

All these photos are great! Just joined on here as I am building a house and am interested in putting in these shutters. Not quite at this stage yet but collecting information. Just posted to another message on here about picture frame moulding, etc. in dining room. A little off the shutter subject for one moment - This is for gk5040 - love that dining room color...is it red (hard to tell exact color on computer)! Thinking of painting my dining room red with a warm white chair rail and below, etc. Hoping it will look okay!

To those who asked about the tilt in windows (for cleaning) and Plantation Shutters...

We have inside mount Plantation Shutters (with the "Z" frame).

For us, the window frame was larger enough so the windows still tilt in.

You do need to check the measurement of your frames, because they don't always work. In our case, the man who measured for the shutters was able to tell us the tilt-ins had enough clearance before we ordered them.

Here are mine, sorry for posting the same picture again.

2 Q's:
1) Can you still tilt-out your double-hung windows for cleaning if you have inside mount shutters?

2) For Mimi (or anyone) you say your shutters are matched to your trim, do you mean they sold you a color CLOSE to yours or did they actually special order them to match EXACTLY?

Thanks!
Susan

I can't answer about double hung windows because all of ours are casements. But the color match I can answer - our shutters were matched exactly. The shop owner visited our new house and matched both the trim paint color (most of ours were painted) and the mahogany stain (for dh's study and a double door.) The finish is flawless and the color match is perfect. After years of almost-but-not-quite off the shelf window treatments, I am very happy with these plantation shutters. I hope you'll be as pleased with yours, too.