Why we chose DIY shutters from California Shutters

Post in paid partnership with California Shutters 

When it comes to window’s our must-have is always shutters. We had them in our previous house and I was so sad to leave them when we moved out! When we saw our new living room, it wasn’t to our taste at all – it had awful thick beige curtains and carpets, but I knew if we could fit shutters it would totally change the look of the room. I personally think shutters look so stylish, chic and they are so easy to maintain too. There is no dusty curtains to wash, no blinds with strings to untangle, they are so easy. I also love that shutters give you so much light in a room, yet also privacy.

In our first house, we used a company that came out and fitted our shutters for us. This was convenient and easy, but it comes with quite a large price tag. In our new house, we had quite a few more windows to fit so we simply couldn’t afford this option. We had to look for a cheaper solution without sacrificing the quality we loved. After looking around for shutters in Brighton, we decided to try DIY shutters from California Shutters,  which you measure and fit yourself. So, in this post, I wanted to share our thoughts and experience of going the DIY shutters route!

WHY DIY SHUTTERS?

We decided to go down the DIY shutters route mainly to save on cost. You can save up to half the price of professionally fitted shutters, just by measuring them and fitting them yourself. There are so many styles, colours and finishes to choose from, I liked this option as we were able to order some samples and choose the look we wanted in our own time without a salesman coming to our home.

THE PROCESS OF DIY SHUTTERS

At first glance, the process of DIY shutters can look daunting, especially to someone like me who has little to no DIY experience. The California Shutters website is packed with handy guides which take you through absolutely everything you could need. They have guides for measuring your windows, choosing your styles, installation guides, plus if you get stuck you can also call and they’ll help you over the phone too!

The most daunting task was actually measuring the shutters. I was so worried we’d get a measurement wrong and the entire product would be wrong, but I took the time to read the guides and watched a couple of videos before getting started. We measured the windows, double-checked them and then submitted our order online. As well as submitting the measurements you also need to submit a photo of the window so they can also check the specifications. Before our order was accepted I had a call from an expert at California Shutters who triple checked it all for me, they suggested taking off a couple of millimetres just to ensure a snug fit. So, after a triple check – I felt confident that we’d ordered the right size!

The shutters are all bespoke so they take a few weeks to be made by California shutters. Our order was delivered around 6-8 weeks later.

 

FITTING OUR SHUTTERS

I’ll hold my hands up and say I’m not the most technical when it comes to DIY, so V took the lead when it came to fitting the shutters. We found the videos and guides on the website so helpful, but the fit was relatively easy. All the shutters fitted perfectly to the windows and we just followed the step-by-step fitting guide to install each one carefully.

The installation of 3 large windows took just over a day.

CALIFORNIA SHUTTERS RANGE

When it comes to shutters, there are plenty of styles and colours to choose from. If you aren’t sure of the look you are after I’d suggest ordering a couple of samples so you can see how the colour and finish will look in your home.

You can opt for plantation shutters, cafe style shutters, tier-on-tier shutters or even solid wood shutters in all different colours to suit the style you are looking for. Once you’ve decided on your style you can choose the slat size and mount of your shutters, they truly are a bespoke product.

We absolutely love simple, white shutters which are so stylish and brighten the room, so we opted for full length in the ‘affordable hybrawood’ option, which helped save some of the cost too. The finish is brilliant and you’d never know it was any different to the hardwood style we had in our old property.

OUR THOUGHTS

We couldn’t fault our experience with California Shutters. We are so pleased with the finished result and having owned shutters previously fitted professionally, I see absolutely no difference between the two products, the only difference is you save a HUGE amount of money and it takes a little more time to fit, that’s all!  The team were great and there to help us at every step of the way, so give it a go!

If you are looking to install shutters in your home, please do check out California shutters now! 

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