Go for the widest frames, with as few verticals as possible, and the slimmest blades: anything very chunky eats up too much space.  

Unlike fabric window treatments, they don’t  need dry-cleaning, and they are easier to dust than venetians because of the generous space between the blades and the fact there are no strings. They are a building item, not just window dressing: permanent fixtures that add value to your home. And they never rattle in the wind.   

Here is an eclectic mix of shutter suppliers that will enable you to bring our your individual style.   

Blinds by Peter Meyer

Low maintenance, custom-made shutters that will fit, flatter and work for your architecture. You’ll see their practical, quality designs everywhere, in pretty cottages as well as harbour-side piles, not to mention magazine spreads. The A-list designer’s choice. www.petermeyerblind.com.au 

Blinds and Drape Store

The company knows style success is in the details- and that includes the beautifully detailed timber surrounds it designs for its ultra-wide timber shutters, which can be colour-matched to a textile thread. The stylish, fashion-forward owners will visit your house and come up with fastest ideas to style up your windows (including cutting into skirting boards so the shutters hang properly on the floor). It’s Australia’s #1 designer- Iain Halliday of BKH fame’s- choice. Ours too. It costs, but you won’t go wrong. www.blindanddrapestore.com.au 

Wynstan Blinds and Doors

In business since 1968, the company produces top-value western red cedar plantation shutters that can be colour-matched to your walls, with a three-week turnaround. Great value. www.wynstan.com.au 

Honourable mention goes to Shutters R Us – simply because it has no sticks. The company’s affordable range is controlled by its Louvre Mover blade-control. Mechanism, which is entirely internal: the blades are moved by a touch of the hand, rather than a central or side stick. The result is fewer verticals, and the mechanism can also withstand hig winds, can be motorized, and has no iron parts to rust. The other god thing is that the cedar, timber-composite, glass and aluminum shutters and louvres have identical profiles, allowing you to mix and match.