Can you show a picture of the window? Seeing it would help regarding the operation aspects.

Do you need light control and/or privacy? What do you have on nearby windows?

I’ve had both and liked both (currently have wood blinds in every room) … I haven’t really found much difference in the operation, cleaning, etc between them, other than if I want to see a full view out the window. That just entails raising the blinds vs opening the shutters.

A lot would depend on where they are located. I have seen some behind the kitchen sink which reduces the ease of cleaning along with opening and closing any covering.. Is the window easy to reach? If it is then it is personal taste and either one or heavy curtains would work.

All of the above, and what is the function of the window covering? Light? Privacy? Looks? Thermal?

Our last house had a large bow window in the living room, facing the street and due west. We had a triple treatment:

3M film to reduce heat and glare.

Sheers, one on each window column in the bay, for looks, and a bit of privacy during the day sometimes.

Drapes, drawn for privacy at night.

We have a bay window in our nook and went with inside mounted silhouettes that are cordless. They are very insulating and do a great job keeping out the cold. They are also light filtering so can soften the light and shade the windows without making the room dark. They get quite compact when raised so don't obstruct the view. We got Hunter Douglas but there are other less expensive versions too.

My experience with slatted blinds is that they are dust-collectors, invented by the Devil. I have those honeycomb blinds in one of our rooms, and it's easier to run the vacuum upholstery brush over them. Maybe shutters with fabric inserts instead of louvers? I am not good at windows coverings and not hip to what's out there.

This is the window, which currently has no coverings of any type.

I'm not concerned with people looking in, as I'm about 100' from a concession road with rather fast moving traffic. I have been happy enough with it uncovered, until I realized I shouldn't leave it bare when I leave the house unoccupied when I'm on vacation. Looking at the photo, it looks more bare than I think about it when I'm actually in the room.

Though clearly not a bay window, something like these cellular blinds might work. I like how minimal they are when up and not obstructing the view. That might be nice for your particular bay window.

Your window is pretty. A friend used cafe curtains that she set 1/2-3/4 high on the windows. It looked very nice and offered many options to change it up from time to time. During the day she enjoyed pushing the panels to the sides to expose the window. Low maintenance and inexpensive compared to good blinds or shades.

Exactly what Happy2b said!

The space is pretty tight in there with the woodwork, so I'd do the honeycomb shades hung from the ceiling of the bay window which will essentially disappear when folded up.

Quick question: do you find any kind of bird splatter on the inside of your windows? If so, I would avoid honeycomb shades.

Good point, graywings. We don't pull our kitchen window shades down until bedtime so they don't accidentally get splattered from the sink....

Thanks for all your input. No bird splatter on the windows, but I had not thought about dusting horizontal shades!

I prefer fabric covers over blinds or shutters. My large bow window has 2 layers: sheers and heavy fabric curtains. The sheer layer can be tied up as shown or hang freely to reduce morning sun intensity and provides some privacy when needed. The heavy curtains are closed at night or during extreme cold/hot weather.

FWIW, I'd treat it as a window, ignoring the bow. I'd mount a straight curtain rod halfway between the window opening and the ceiling, and extend the rod 8 to 12 inches out on either side. Then I'd get a nice pair of drapes, backed with white fabric. Most of the time I'd keep the drapes pulled all the way to the sides, so you and the birds can enjoy seeing out. At night or when you're away, I'd pull the drapes closed. Important!!!: when the drapes are closed, I don't know which side your birds need to be on. I imagine on cold nights if they were closed off from the room, they could get maybe too cold; or if the sun were shining in they could easily get too hot.

Rollup shades or cellular blinds at each of the 3 windows would also be nice but then you'd have to mount three things, not just one.