If you’ve read my blog for any amount of time, you know that my mom does quite a lot for me. She’s a huge part of how my business even got off the ground (not to mention all of the mom stuff she’s done through the years like diapering, feeding, and sending me to school.) So, when I have a chance to do something nice for her, I like to do it.
And this just happened to fall in my lap.
I was asked to review blinds or plantation shutters from Blindster and it works out that I knew someone who really wanted plantation shutters for her guest room – my mom.
So, we started the process of ordering the shutters.
I have to insert that, even as a seasoned DIYer, I was a little intimidated at the thought of measuring and installing plantation shutters. We found that Blindster has extensive instructions on measuring for shutters in all kinds of scenarios and, when we weren’t sure, my mom called their customer service number. They put her in touch with their resident shutter expert, James, and he talked her through the process to make sure everything was properly measured and communicated to them, so the blinds could be custom-made correctly.
James and my mom are buddies now. Seriously. James might get a Christmas card.
I do sometimes wonder if companies roll out the red carpet for bloggers who are writing reviews, but I noticed outstanding customer service was a common theme in reviews on the Blindster website.
When the shutters arrived, Jeff and I went over to install them. I’ll be honest in saying that we set aside about two hours for the process, because we both were expecting it to be tricky. I don’t know why I assumed that, but I did. I’ve always heard of people having plantation shutter professionally installed, so I figured it was challenging.
My dad already had all of the pieces out of the boxes and he and my mom made sure all of the parts were accounted for and that the shutters looked like the correct size.
The shutters connect to a frame that can be installed inside the window trim, outside of the trim or, in the case of my parent’s guest room, on the trim. The frame literally slides together at the corners with L brackets.
We assembled the frame first and made sure the corners were tight and the frame was positioned correctly on the trim.
My dad and Jeff then connected the two outer shutters to the frame. They did this before screwing it into the trim in order to make sure the frame was square. The shutters hooked on by lining up the hinges and dropping a pin in to secure them. When it was clear everything was fitting properly, they screwed the frame to the window trim through pre-drilled holes in the frame.
The kit came with little plugs for those holes, so the finished product looked nice and sharp.
We then attached the inside shutters to the hinge on the outside shutters in the same manner – lining up the hinges and inserting a pin that secured them.
I think the entire process took about 20 minutes. We were all very surprised with how quickly and easily they went up and that the fit was perfect. Now, I know that isn’t always the case, because human error can happen, but Blindster offers a “fit-or-free” guarantee, which means they will remake your blinds within 60 days for free to account for mis-measurements.
And they look really sharp. The room is very dark when the louvers are closed, but it lets in a surprising amount of light when they are open, even if the shutters are closed.
Of course, you can open the shutters to let the light fully stream in as well.
They add a nice finishing touch to the room and I like how easy they are to clean compared to some other window coverings.
In fact, my mom loved them so much (and she can be a tough sell), she e-mailed her buddy James and ordered them for my dad’s office, too. Not only was she pleased with the quality and how easy they were to install, but they were about 1/2 the cost of other plantation shutters she had researched for the same window.
If you’re interested in upgrading to plantation shutters or you just need some blinds for your home, use coupon code “MMS40” through September 18, 2016, to receive 40% off your Blindster order. That’s a pretty huge discount!
On a side note, you can see I’m rubbing off a bit on my mom. She has one of my landscape dressers in the room along with a couple of antique nightstands I picked out for her last week. Her style is very traditional, but shopping with me is expanding her decorating horizons a bit!
We’re going to add a few other finishing touches to the room, but the addition of the plantation shutters made a huge difference.
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Blindster. I received the shutters for my mom’s guest room as well as payment in exchange for this post. All words and opinions are my own and, as always, I only partner with brands I think my readers will want to know about.
The shutters look great. It sure seems like it was an easy process. Will have to check out their website. Tell us about the lady in that lovely painting above the rocking chair. Is this a family portrait or just art you admire? It fits so well with the decor. I am always intrigued by paintings like that. The whole room is lovely and the diffused light through the shutters makes everything seem so soft and feminine, but not so much that a guy’s guy wouldn’t feel comfy visiting in that nice room. Looking forward to your next project.
It’s actually my mom’s mom, who is the Marian I was named after. I used to have her in my house, but we moved her to my mom’s house when she moved here. It does work nicely in that room. 🙂
Beautiful room. I want to come stay there. Could you tell me the paint color used on the walls?
I’m in love with that nightstand….
I’m also a big fan of plantation shutters. Wish we’d ordered them for all our windows but we did splurge for our front office/bedroom window. It’s curved at the top which was a little tricky but it turned out to be the perfect choice, even though it was several hundred dollars. But X14 – yikes! We couldn’t afford them for the whole house!
Yes, that nightstand is awesome – love the curves at the top and bottom! And the painting of your grandmother, too!!
We have white plantation shutters in our living room and bathroom and love them. They are classic, easy to clean and go with any kind of decorating style. Our fireplace is flanked by two large windows, very close to the hearth and shutters were a great solution. I didn’t want billowy fabric next to the fire!
Wow, the shutters look great! We are moving and considering plantation shutters so this is great. I just have to add i love that picture of the woman next to the window and your mom’s fabric headboard. What a cozy room.
I just had plantation shutters installed in my master bathroom. I always wanted them and am so glad I did it. You are right, they are very easy to clean. Now I want them in other rooms too! I will have to check out Blindster because I as intimidated about installing them myself but this looks doable.
You probably didn’t hear me squeal from there BUT I am so excited for this coupon!! I am RIGHT in the middle of a bedroom remodel and this is exactly what I want! They look gorgeous in Mom’s room! Thanks for the timely post and coupon <3
Love the shutters and wonder how about how much light they let in when they’re closed. We prefer a dark room for sleeping and I’m not sure this would be dark enough.
Also, love the crown molding and would love to know how tall your mom’s ceilings are. Have you ever done a post about how to choose crown molding based on the ceiling’s height?
Our ceilings are 9 feet. The shutters are 3 1/2 inch slats. They block out the light much better than the blinds we paid extra for that were in our bedroom. We love them and now have them in all our rooms once we get the one we ordered for my husband’s office. Marian’s Mom
Do you know if they offer Plantation Shutters for Anderson crank style windows that can accommodate the lever at the bottom center?
That would be a question for James! I would suggest calling their customer service to ask that specific question. there are different installation options, so there might be a way you can install them to accommodate that. If the crank doesn’t stick out beyond the sill, I would think that wouldn’t be a problem.
There is a low profile crank lever that you can buy to replace the one that sticks out – just did this at my parents house. I got them at Lowe’s I think.
I love the shutters. I do have a questions though. How would I match the color of the shutters with my existing trim color? Thanks for sharing! I love your posts!
So these aren’t real wood blinds, correct?
Correct. These are faux wood blinds.
Since she had them installed over the Window trim, dId she have “tilt-out” Windows, those that tilt for cleanings? They look very clean and cozy in that beautiful room. JudyC
Yes, that’s exactly why they had to be installed on the trim, so the windows could still tilt in for cleaning.
Ah now I’m a little sad.. We are building a house(November) that won’t be done before the coupon expires and we have over 30 windows we need to outfit with something. Don’t like peepers lol. Are they real wood or some wood looking material like an engraved vinyl.
I noticed that they have ads on conservative talk radio stations where you can get 30% off with a code so while it’s not 40% you could get a big discount
WOW!! Those are just beautiful. Would love to have 17 pair!! 🙂 Ha! Yah, right – probably won’t happen. I have faux wood blinds and boy cleaning them is a chore – wonder how shutters would be to clean?
I L❤VE plantation shutters! Congrats to your Mom. They look awesome!
Two more years on the Dave Ramsey plan, then I will start looking at plantation shutters and the house to go with them:-) Looks beautiful, Marian. I really like that your mom answers questions, too…what a wonderful family you have!
Yep, we’re on the Dave plan, too! 🙂 It’s all about the budget!
They look lovely, I just heard a ad on the radio for blindster.com and wanted to check them out. I will now! The room is sooo pretty. Landscape dresser looks so nice, I love the wall color too. I think I should book the quest room at ur moms!
Wow, this post couldn’t have come at a better time! I have two front bedroom windows that I need to replace the shades on and this sounds like a great deal and from what I can tell from their web-site, and your post, a great company to do business with. I am definitely going to order some shades! Have already ordered color samples.
Your mom’s shutters look very nice. And the little bed-side commode is beautiful.
Thanks for the this most useful post, Marian!
Hello….I noticed a few people mentioned concern if the blinds were real wood. When I got mine the
dealer told me NOT to get real wood. Wood…. bends, warps, fades, cracks and peels. Real wood is more expensive and just doesn’t last. I went with their recommendation and have been really happy.
They look great!!!!
I had plantation shutters throughout our home in the desert of California. They kept the house cool and were such a great look to our interior. I will check the link out for their shutters. Your Mom’s guest room looks so nice and the fact that it was that easy to install is awesome!
I love PS,we had them installed during our remodel 12 years ago. I will always have PS, love the traditional look and cleaning is awesome. Blindster is in Houston where I live! The prices are reasonable, we’re going to istall one in my friends bedroom, 10 minutes away from the location! I’m thrilled, thanks.
Great timing and thanks for the discount, Marian! This weekend I’m painting the master bedroom a gorgeous color (Sherwin Williams Sea Salt) and it’s so fresh and clean looking I did not want to cover it up using curtains & hardware again. Your post gave me the push and I ordered shutters for the bedroom and also for the master bath (next weekend’s paint project!).
I have never in my life painted an entire room by myself, and with that done I should be able to hang the shutters myself as well, after looking at the videos on Blindster and reading your post.
The shutters look amazing! I’ve been eying the same kind from blindster. Do you mind telling me what size your window is? I am trying to determine if I should get a bi-fold shutter or just two large shutters for the windows in my living room, and I love how yours turned out. Thanks!
In regards to wood versus vinyl: The concerns leveled about wood just really aren’t founded with a quality shutter. We have manufactured wood, and only wood shutters for two decades and we have no issues with warping, cracking or whatever. The fact is, wood is very sturdy in all spaces except for showers. In fact we guarantee our work for life to back it up. Beyond that… wood looks 10x better than vinyl or faux wood.
I love the shutters. I do have a questions though. How would I match the color of the shutters with my existing trim color? Thanks for sharing! I love your posts!
I love the look of plantation shutters. I’m sure your Mom loves hers. Great job!