Bali shutters compared: DIY composite, Premium wood, and a DIY poplar alternative

Updated October 30, 2026

The short version: Bali sells shutters two ways. Its DIY Composite Shutters are sold through big retailers for you to measure and install; its Premium Shutters, in hardwood or composite, come with an in-home consultation and installation. Ours sit between the two: real wood like Bali’s Premium line, bought and fitted the DIY way, with the price shown before you order.

Who Bali is

Bali calls itself a maker of “custom blinds, shades, shutters & drapery”, and its footer says Bali “is a brand and registered trademark of Springs Window Fashions”^[1]. Most of what it sells is shades and blinds: cellular, roller and solar shades, faux wood, wood and vertical blinds, drapery and motorization^[1]. Bali doesn’t sell from its own site; it says you can “order from your favorite retailer online or in a store near you” and names Home Depot, Lowe’s, Menards, Costco, JC Penney and Blinds.com^[1].

Bali’s two shutter routes

DIY Composite Shutters

Made from “humidity-tolerant, composite materials”, in 2½ and 3½ in louvers, in three classic colours, and described as “easy to measure and install”^[2]. Bali’s Costco site lists a DIY Shutters line built from “specially designed, made-to-last polymer”^[4]. Neither page shows a price; you get one from the retailer’s configurator once you enter your size.

Premium Shutters

“Choose the warmth of 100% North American hardwood or the modern engineering of composite shutters”, in 3½ and 4½ in louvers, in “a variety of colors, styles, and specialty shapes”^[3]. These aren’t sold online: they “come with an in-home design consultation and professional measuring and installation”, booked through Bali’s customer service^[3].

The split matters when you compare prices. A DIY composite shutter and an installed hardwood shutter are different products at different prices, both under the Bali name.

Bali and Shutter Boys, side by side

Bali details from its shutter, home and warranty pages^[2][3][1][5], checked October 30, 2026. Our prices are for poplar, flat moulding, paint stage 1 and 3½ in louvers, before tax and shipping.

DIY against DIY: Bali’s composite and our poplar

If you’re going to measure and fit shutters yourself either way, the choice between Bali’s DIY line and ours comes down to four things.

• Material. Composite tolerates humidity better^[2]; wood is lighter and can be sanded and repainted. For a window inside a shower, composite or vinyl is the safer choice, and we’ll say so. Composite vs wood
• Louvers. Bali’s DIY line comes in 2½ and 3½ in^[2]. We also make 4½ in, the wide louver that suits big windows and a clearer view out. Louver sizes
• Colour. Three colours for Bali DIY^[2]; white as standard from us, or any paint colour or stain matched to your trim.
• Where you buy. Bali DIY is bought through a retailer, so the price, returns and shipping follow that retailer’s rules. Ours come from us, priced window by window in the designer.

Premium against DIY: what you pay for

Bali’s Premium line includes a design consultation, professional measuring and installation^[3]. That’s a real service: someone else takes responsibility for the measurements and the fit. If you don’t want that, you’re paying for it anyway in an installed price. Our measuring guide and install guide are what replace the visit, and a free video or phone consult covers the design questions.

The warranty, read closely

Bali’s warranty page covers its custom window treatments against original defects in materials or workmanship “for as long as the original purchaser owns the product”, provided it “was properly installed”^[5]. Shutters aren’t named in a tier of their own, so it’s worth confirming which terms apply to the line you buy. The exclusions that matter most for shutters:

• “Shipping or labor costs incurred by taking product down, re-measuring, or re-installation”^[5].
• Fading or cracking “caused by long exposure to direct sunlight”^[5].
• “Slight warping of wood blinds or shutters” and “excessive warping caused by moisture or high humidity”^[5].

Claims go to Springs Window Fashions customer service with the original sales receipt^[5]. Keep your receipt, whoever you buy from.

Bali in Canada

Bali runs a Costco Canada site, and its warranty page there mentions shutters among the exclusions^[6]. We couldn’t find a shutter line listed in that site’s menu, so check with Costco Canada before planning on one. We ship across Canada except Quebec, priced in Canadian dollars: a 36 × 48 in window is $460 – $570 CAD, before tax and shipping. Shutter prices in Canada

Where Bali is stronger

• Two ways to buy under one name: DIY through a store, or installed through Bali’s specialists^[2][3].
• A humidity-tolerant DIY shutter for bathrooms and laundry rooms^[2].
• In stores you already shop at, so you can see swatches and buy alongside other things^[1].

Where we’re different

• Real wood without the appointment. Solid poplar on every window, ordered and fitted by you.
• The 4½ in louver and any colour, on the DIY route.
• One seller from design to delivery: the price, the order and the questions all come to us.

Our shutters are one product: solid American poplar, made to the measurements you take, priced online window by window, and fitted by you. Price your windows

Which suits you

How to compare a Bali quote with ours

1. Price the same window size on both, inside mount or outside mount on both.
2. Match the louver size; Bali DIY stops at 3½ in^[2].
3. Check what’s included: a Premium quote includes installation^[3]; ours and Bali DIY don’t.
4. Add tax and shipping, and check the retailer’s return policy for custom sizes.
5. Compare the warranty’s exclusions, not just its length.

Bali shutters or Bali faux wood blinds?

The two get confused, partly because they share materials and colours. A faux wood blind is a stack of slats on cords or a cordless lift that you raise to clear the window; a shutter is a rigid panel of louvers in a frame, hinged so it swings open. Bali sells both^[1]. Blinds cost less and disappear when raised; shutters cost more, stay put, tilt for light and privacy, and become part of the trim. If you’re comparing a shutter quote with a blind quote, you’re comparing two different products. Shutters vs blinds

Measuring for a DIY shutter, whichever brand you buy

A DIY shutter is made to the numbers you send, so the measurement is the part to get right. Three habits prevent most remakes:

• Measure in three places. Width at the top, middle and bottom; height at the left and right. Old and new openings are rarely square.
• Check the depth. For an inside mount, the frame and the tilting louvers need room in front of the glass and any window crank. Not enough depth means an outside mount on the trim.
• Write down what you measured. Inside or outside mount, and whether the numbers are the opening or the finished size you want. Retailers’ configurators and our designer ask for this differently.

Our measuring guide has the detail, and the designer flags sizes that look wrong before you order.

When a shade suits better

A shutter isn’t the answer for every opening. For sliding doors, very wide windows or a room you want fully dimmed, a shade usually works better, and Bali sells plenty of those^[1]. Our sister company Shade Boys makes them to measure too: cellular shades, Roman shades, wood blinds and patio door blinds, shipped for you to fit. Plenty of homes use shutters in the bedrooms and shades on the big glass.

Bali and its product names are trademarks of their owners. Shutter Boys isn’t affiliated with Bali Blinds or Springs Window Fashions, and this page isn’t endorsed by them. What we say about Bali comes from its own pages, checked October 30, 2026; products, prices and terms change, so check before you buy.