We have two windows with bifolding louvered wooden interior shutters that probably date back to the 70s. They're fine. They don't get out of the way as well as blinds, but they don't have the hassle of breaking all the time.

PO installed, so I can't comment on price, but having these real wood interior shutters on pretty much all of our windows is a huge plus for us. Looks good, keeps the heat out, privacy, etc. Way better than blinds or curtains, IMO.

Thanks, guys. I believe you both live in even sunnier climates than mine (generic suburbia, Denver). My window faces kinda SW; one thing I've been cautioned about with real wood is the sun can give them trouble over time. Apparently fake wood withstands sunlight better?

Worth a concern? Seems like people were saying that real wood might warp and/or get brittle.

I'm in SoCal. Window faces West, but doesn't get sun for many hours due to shading. I checked with my wife (who grew up in the house) on the date and they are from the early or mid-80s.

golddog,
curious about your interest in the shutter/blinds
do you desire visual privacy, light control, appearance, and/or temperature regulation?
how would you prioritize each of those functions on a scale of 1-10?
which way do the side windows vent? is it safe to assume the lower half lifts up?
do you want to screen neighbor views while simultaneously letting in top light while able to see blue sky?

I've been thinking about wooden shutters inside. My priorities would be light control-10 and ease of use vs the crappy cloth blinds that are there now.

Red:

Privacy: 0
Light control: 10 (but also have room-darkening curtains mounted on that window)
Appearance: 7 (want to stay within the light-wood look the current blinds have, but other than that, not important)
Temperature regulation: 7

Side windows vent side-to-side; each end slides in toward the middle, fixed pane.

Don't care whether the neighbors can see in or not, but letting in light (and thus heat, in the cool weather) is important. Figure I'll open the shutters on sunny, cold days, open the slats in spring/fall, and just let enough light in to see on hot days.

More than anything, thinking about shutters because it seems like a more permanent solution, rather than having blinds fail every several years. Am willing to consider another blind solution, but would want to go 3 seperate blinds instead of 3 blinds on one huge headrail. Some of the "design consultants" actually listen to that and have spun up estimates going that way too.

ok, now we're starting to share some information
i've got lots of questions

happen to know which solar direction the window wall faces?
plan on keeping the blackout curtains?

when you say 'blinds', are you referring to painted blades of thin metal strung from twine?
do you consider 'shutters' to be thicker planks of wood hung by a rope?
first time?

do you keep a home office located in your primary bedroom?
should we know about any particular affinity for the godfather movie franchise?

Red's giving me a workout It's an honor, I kind of feel like I'm in a Redeyes movie review.

Window more or less SW. Yes, planning on keeping the curtains over the window.

In this case, blinds are the fake-wood type, what you're calling 'shutters' in the next line. Not first time, that's what's in there now. Shutters would be the hinged, wood-framed elements that have tilting slats in the middle.

No home office, but nice reference! The Godfather I & II a couple of my favorites. III meh. None of the designers has made me an offer I can't refuse, though.

BTW, it bothers me that none of the companies have a online tool to preview colors and looks. I'm thinking something like the tools when you're looking at cars or whatever and can switch the colors.

I've been using blackout curtains from curtarra for my living room and could not be happier. They are super thick theater grade triple sheet material and fully lined. It also helps tremendously with sound absorption and echo control for my 2 channel stereo set up.

Man Las Vegas hiuses are pretty ugly and kind of expensive. Also no yards.

gold,
'first time' is a reference to The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
it's a Coen Brother movie, if you haven't seen it i highly recommend if only for the meme.

have you considered or thought about up-down honeycomb shear blinds?
i'll be the first to admit i don't think they're the best solution for your one on each side sliding windows because there's no easy way to let the breeze come through with that configuration, but if you think about it there may be more benefit than you originally contemplated.

comrade red, you are needed by the propaganda bureau

Thanks for the idea on blinds, and recommendation on themovie.

When I bought the place, it had the sheer honeycomb blinds like you mention. Didn't like them. Kept very little light and heat out. Though they did have the positive of being much lighter for such a large window.

No matter, got another shutter person coming out this wekk, then will review the quotes and see what I like.

Kind of funny thing. Realized one designer didn't show me examples of the hinge options. The quote came in an email from someone else (not sure what happened there), so I replied, asking about that, so I could judge the colors.

Sent me a two pictures: one of the example slats on a keyring sorta thing, and a picture of a list of the hinge options. Not helpful.

I'm hoping to buy my first house in a few months. Besides the obvious furniture items are they're any hidden expenses I might not be thinking of? Thank you.

Tools and lawn equipment (if applicable).

Expect an early issue with at least one item that was missed during the inspection. Water heater, AC/heating unit, built-in appliance, area of the roof, etc. It just always seems to happen, so keep a little cash in reserve.

It's an exciting time. Enjoy!

Well, we don't know what you have to judge what you might need.

I used to advise people that were buying their first house to have at least $5K extra for such expenses, just in case.

Obviously it depends on the circumstances, but $5k seems really low.

you get what you pay for... I like mine, single story 7500' lot... plenty of space... nearly 3x what I paid for it in 2010

amazing how many times something(water tank, H&A unit, built in appliance, etc.) that was fine before the purchase ends up going out when the new owners move in.

You're right, I left out the important point that it's probably been close to a decade since anyone asked my input.

None of your furniture will fit the way you want. You will need new stuff.

If there is an HOA and you aren't responsible for certain things (like a roof) and even if you buy all new appliances before moving in... just an HVAC problem will kill the budget.

And I definitely didn't think about that the first time I bought a house.

Sure, that can happen, but that seems as if it's a few standard deviations from normal. For the huge majority of home purchases, I'd guess $10K is plenty emergency money nowdays. Maybe even a bit less.

Assuming, as you say, you've got working appliances and good enough furniture for now. And don't crash the car moving in. Or have a coronary.

the person in your spoiled image is Jerzy Kosiński in his first acting role
just a couple years after his screenplay based upon his novel Being There contributed to many movie awards