Either will look nice on the windows. One thing to consider is how the treatments will look from the outside of the house. Do you have other windows facing the street? How are they covered?

I like the idea of shutters as you can leave the transom uncovered.

Light and breezy curtains won't provide you with much privacy when closed in the evening. How about curtains and blinds?

If you like the light and the view then forget plantation shutters complletely they block lihg and view look veery heaving on most windows and IMO your could easily be done with drapes that close for night time and allow the light and view during the rest of the time I think you could do romans blind too but I find they are a hassle to move up and down all the time I would do three sets of drapes nice and full and if you want really easy do grommets

but that might depend on your style.

top-down sheer or semi-sheer shades, flanked with curtains. you can lower the tops down a little or a lot depending on your needs. the sheerness and open tops will help let light in and you can see out, but people won't be able to easily see in during the day. at night, close the curtain panels when you need total privacy.

I agree with Ida. We have them throughout our Florida home. Our living/ dining room have different windows and it was a way to unify the space.

For those with a view you would need enough room on each side to swing them open.

For the rest of us, it is a nice clean look. We just open the slates for light/ privacy control.

The updated versions no longer have the stick. We chose those.

I like that you can clean them easily. How would you clean the shades above?

I like deegw's first example with the shutters. We also have shutters throughout the entire house. I love the way they look and how easy they are to clean. Ours have the tilt rods which, IMO, give them a more traditional look. They look more contemporary without the rod. Shutters can also add value to your home, unlike other window treatments.

Another vote for shutters!

Chloe, good point about the rod being traditional. I like the sleek look without because I have three entirely different style windows in my small main area!

My favorite is my front door.

We also have plantation shutters throughout our townhouse, except in our family room, and love them! We chose the type without the tilt rod.

The family room is in the back of the house and is completely private and north facing, so we don’t need window coverings in that room.

Btw, plantation shutters are great for blocking outside light, making bedrooms nice and dark for sleeping :)

eld, I don't think I've seen them done on a door like that...nice! Our shutters were all here when we bought the house, so the choice had been made. They even had them installed on the garage window since it faces the street. We like the continuity. I naively told my husband I was glad WE didn't have to pay to have that many shutters installed. He said, "Trust me, WE definitely paid something for them."

Another vote for shutters. I think they’d look classic and lovely in there (going by some other details I see). And this may not be a consideration, but when I lived in an apt on a busy street, there was the issue of headlights and street lights at night (even on the upstairs level).

I vote against. We have shutters throughout our house (we bought it that way) and they do block out a significant portion of the light. If you're concerned about privacy, I'd go with the sheers.

@kmachart@Jilly @eld6161 @chloebud @Carolae @rustynail @User @User @Patricia Colwell Consulting @deegw thank you all so much for your feedback! I’ll post the final pic when completed! I have not updated this room in 20 years so it was due for an update! 90’s dark wall paint is gone!

We are in a city condo and have similar windows. I was initially going to go with sheer shades (similar to HD Silhouette), but got a test one for the powder room and it actually blocks a lot more light than I thought and it would be a shame to pay that much and have them completely up or completely down/shut all the time. We love light, so anything with a sizable stack like Romans was out of the question, and no room for curtain rods (plus my husband HATES fabric curtains, the one thing he feels strongly about), so it was basically down to roller vs cellular. I think I’m going to do a simple inside mount reverse roll roller in a woven light filtering fabric (kind of like the HD Alustra line), that way when they are fully open they will pretty much disappear, but when they are closed there will be a bit of texture so it’s not just one big swath of wall.

Those of you who rave about shutters, would you recommend them for smaller windows? We have 3 windows in our MBR with the same requirements— light blocking for sleeping and privacy during the day. But they are small windows (34x72) so I thought the shutters wouldn’t work. Thoughts?

Sure! We have a small one in our master bath bathroom. It’s down now because we are renovating otherwise I’d show you.

These are our 32 x 72 windows in one hallway. Shutters work great for that size and smaller.

Amy, 34x72 is not that small. Shutters can be installed on windows much smaller than that. Without seeing your windows and space, I would say definitely check into having shutters installed. You won't be sorry!

One thing I'd advise if you go with shutters is to get the wider slats. Ours are all 3 1/2". Had it been my choice, I'd go with at least 4".

I, too, was very concerned about white plantation shutters blocking my great light into my home, but I love the unifying look and honestly if you get quality made shutters, mine are wood (but that's my preference, there's other nice material options), the shutters are an investment that will add value to the home. In my neighborhood, several homes on my street have the shutters, so it's 'a thing' in my area. I didn't purchase them to copy anyone, but I did admire them on other homes, so I decided to go for it. I have the 4-1/2 inch wide slats which seem to let in more light and are somewhat more contemporary. I will have them on all 20 windows in my home. Like I said, this is an investment, and statement in a way. Between the shutters and a couple nice pendant lights, the house is beautifully upgraded IMO. I hope to add pics shortly.