If you love the look of plantation shutters, but really aren’t sure if you could ever afford them, you may be surprised. It is possible to find cheap plantation shutters, though not that easy.  Plantation shutters, are in general, not the cheapest shutters–in fact they can be some of the more expensive window treatments around but having said that if you are prepared to pay more than you would for other types of blinds, you can find something fairly reasonable.

Of course the cheapest option when it comes to plantation shutters is to forego the idea of buying wood plantation shutters and to instead invest in some white PVC plantation shutters. These cheap plantation blinds can look really good in a room, and they add a real bright and cheery appearance to a room. They look great in kitchens, of course, but can also look really nice in a bedroom and even in living rooms providing that your décor matches the style of shutter you are hanging.

Next in line comes the faux-wood plantation shutters. There is a huge difference here in the costs of different faux wood shutters. Difference in the design and the craftsman ship employed to build them can sometimes result in differences of $100′s when buying plantation shutters.  While you do want to save, you don’t want to buy such cheap shutters that they don’t last, so be judicial in your decision when it comes to how cheap you are going to go with faux wood plantation shutters. While they may be cheap plantation shutters, you may find they are all together too cheap!

I would never really consider wood shutters to be cheap plantation blinds. Having said that though, it is possible to find discounted plantation shutters which do end up being fairly cheap.  For example, most larger stores like Lowes or Home Depot have resale lists where builders and contractors have had to return unopened blinds to the store due to mistakes they make when measuring for the blinds!  As they are returned goods, the store is forced to sell them at a huge discount. Great idea to check that out when looking for cheap plantation shutters.

Of course the cheapest is to order your plantation shutters online. The cheap plantation shutters offered online are just as good quality as store-bought ones, and the only real con to buying on line is that you have to measure very carefully and put the plantation shutters up yourself. If you are sure you can measure accurately and if you are confident that either you or someone you know can install the shutters for you, I would highly recommend going this route.  Many places will even offer free shipping!

A popular form of shutters, that is no long limited to homes in the Southern US, is plantation shutters. These shutters have been a long time favourite in the US, but they are now gaining in popularity in other parts of the world, particularly the UK and also in the warmer parts of Australia as well.

Part of their rise in popularity is of course due to the ease with which people from all over the world can check out shutter styles on line.  This makes styles that were once peculiar to a certain region or country suddenly becoming in vogue worldwide.  But that’s not the only reason that plantation shutters are popular.

They offer many benefits to homeowners.  First of all, the type of plantation shutters I am talking about are the interior shutters, usually made from either wood or faux wood, or occasionally you can find cheap plantation shutters made from a harder plastic.  Traditionally, though, I think that plantation shutters should be at least wood or composite wood in order for them to look realistic although these are not the cheapest shutters you can buy.

Plantation shutters these days are made up of individual shutters that are sent into panels that are usually one to one and a half feet high.  While originally used to shelter homeowners from hurricanes and other weather conditions, or to protect a house from being looted and robbed by passersby by adding additional security to their oftentimes isolated homesteads, now days they are mainly used to add to a home or rooms décor.

There is not really much value in installing faux-wood plantation shutters over real hardwood shutters, aside from the fact that faux wood shutters generally are quite a bit cheaper than traditional wood shutters.  They are also usually quite a bit heavier, which is something you may want to take into consideration if you are planning on hanging them over large windowed areas.  Wood shutters are easier to manage, to open and close, due to the fact that the real wood shutters are usually lighter weight-wise.

Faux wood plantation shutters are a bit easier to care for. They don’t fade in the sun as much (although some finishes used on faux-wood shutters can yellow if exposed to bright sunlight) and they don’t warp when exposed to dampness or humidity as much as wood shutters do.

Few people are able to tell the difference, from a distance at least, between real wood and faux wood shutters, and in general the faux wood shutters look just as nice in a home as the real wood shutters.  Deciding on what type of plantation shutters to buy will really depend on your deciding first of all what you can afford, and secondly on what is of the most importance to you — their weight, whether you live in a humid climate, etc.

On a final note , if you do live in an area that is exposed to very bright sunlight, and you are planning on opting for wood plantation shutters, you may want to consider purchasing light colored wood shutters as these show a lot less fading from being exposed to the sun.  Thus, they will last longer without needing to be re-finished.