If you’re starting to see shutters appear in Scottish homes, you might wonder what all the fuss is about. Shutters have certainly grown more popular in the colder parts of Europe in recent years, but why are homeowners installing them?
Because they are so much more than pretty panels that go over your windows. The benefits of shutters are numerous – if a little unexpected! Here are a few of those unexpected benefits of shutters…
1. Shutters Are Easy To Clean
Have you ever had to scrub fly droppings out of your blinds? Hate the hassle of taking your curtains down to wash them before craning your neck to put them back up again?
You’d expect a more expensive window covering to be high maintenance, but shutters have the opposite effect. In fact, one of the unexpected benefits of shutters is that they are super easy to clean.
Good quality shutters don’t accrue moisture, and wet stains like curtains or fabric blinds do. If you’ve got shutters and they are in need of a clean, it’s usually no more than a quick wipe with a microfibre cloth or duster – so your windows gleam with very little effort on your part! And if you want to make this process even simpler, you can use a microfibre brush with an extendable pole to reach those really high louvres.
We’ve actually written a handy guide on how to clean your shutters. It’s easier than you think…
2. Shutters Are Great At Reducing Noise In Your Home
Now this one, you may not have known!
One of our favourite benefits of shutters is that they are specially designed to reduce noise pollution in your home.
The short version? Wood is a natural insulator of sound, which means you can block out nuisance noise and light simultaneously.
The sciencey bit? Let’s go back to the roots… literally!
Trees have a molecular structure that insulates the majority of types of energy. Right down to the microscopic level, wood contains tiny hollow pockets reflecting sound waves back on themselves. This stops the noise from travelling any further, making wood a perfect material for reducing unwanted sound from your noisy neighbours or the road next to your house!
One of the other benefits of shutters when it comes to sound is that wood also softens the noise inside your home. Quite often, it’s not the volume of a sound but rather its sharpness that can make you flinch. Those microscopic pockets inside the wood of your shutters come in handy here, softening the sound as it passes through the material and creating a much more calming acoustic for you and your family.
Check out this blog post if you’re curious about how shutters reduce different frequencies of noise!
3. Shutters Are Extremely Versatile
When choosing window coverings in your home, there are plenty of things to consider. Will these curtains be too thin when I’m trying to sleep? Will those blinds withstand the moisture of a bathroom? Does that fabric go with the colour scheme for the rest of this space?
Versatility is one of the biggest benefits of shutters in your home. Because they are so durable, you really can have them fitted in any room of the house.
Need control over the light filtering through a conservatory? Shutters are the way to go. Want an elegant addition to your bedroom or living room? You guessed it – shutters are perfect for showing off your space! Got a cat or dog that bolts outside at the first opportunity? Shutters will allow you to let airflow through your home without giving your furry friends the window of opportunity to escape!
What’s more, shutters are easier to match to your home’s decor than curtains or blinds. Whilst many designs, materials and colours are available, you may not find an exact match. One of the benefits of shutters is that they can be custom painted in addition to the wide array of standard colours. 
4. Shutters Add Value To Your Home
When you invest in shutters, you’re investing in your property. Because shutters are built to last, they retain their chic and elegant look for years to come. We’re not saying you should buy shutters to sell your house, but they can certainly help add that edge to your property if you’re planning to move in the near future…
Even if you plan to stay exactly where you are, who wouldn’t want their home to look incredible? When you encase your windows with hand-crafted wooden shutters, they do much more than let in light. They can help you create the exact lighting, style, hue and temperature you want in your home! But more on that last one next…
5. Shutters Are Very Energy Efficient
The last of the unexpected benefits of shutters applies all year round – whether you’re bundling up in the middle of a cold winter or sweating buckets in a heatwave.
With the cost of energy rising, homeowners everywhere are scrambling to find ways to save on their electricity bills. If you have shutters for your home, this could be a problem of the past for you!
A high percentage of the energy used in your home is lost through your windows. So by covering them with solid wood panel shutters (or even louvred shutters), you’re preventing any hot or cold air from coming in or going out. In winter, this means switching on the heating less; in summer, it means not having to rely on temporary solutions like electric fans – which eventually heat the room even more!
Expect The Unexpected
When you opt for shutters in any room of your house, you’re bound to find countless other benefits of shutters that you didn’t know about when you first had them installed. These are just some of the many reasons why now is the time to make the switch and turn your entire house into the home of your dreams…
The Scottish Shutter Company has been turning windows into beautiful centrepieces for over 35 years now. No matter the size and shape of the window, we can help you experience the benefits of shutters for yourself!
If you’re inspired, why not download our brochure and give it a read?
There are more pictures of our Shutters in our Gallery – CLICK HERE, and we’ll take you right there.
