Shutter BoysUpdated
The short answer: “faux wood” isn’t a material. It’s a label for shutters that look like painted wood but aren’t. Before comparing prices, find out what’s inside each one.
What sellers mean by faux wood
The same words cover very different products. A few examples, in the sellers’ own words:
- Blinds.com describes its economy faux wood shutter as “made of a hollow PVC”, with a “polyresin composition”[1].
- Bloomin’ Blinds describes composite shutters as made from “engineered wood, PVC, or polymer materials rather than solid hardwood”, and says most are “hollow or foam-filled”[2].
- Sunburst describes its Polywood shutters as a “durable and recyclable solid wood substitute”[3].
- The Shutter Store’s vinyl range is “100% solid polyvinyl with aluminum core”[4].
Hollow plastic, foam-filled composite, solid substitute, and solid vinyl around a metal core will hang, wear and age differently. Two quotes for “faux wood shutters” can be for completely different products.
| Feature | Real wood (poplar) | Hollow PVC | Foam-filled composite | Solid vinyl, metal core |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inside | Solid hardwood | Air | Foam or fibre | Vinyl and aluminum |
| Sand to fit | Yes | No | No | No |
| Repaint later | Yes | Ask the maker | Depends on the skin | Not recommended |
| Colours | Any paint or stain | Factory colours | Factory colours | Factory colours |
| Grain | Real, under paint or stain | A surface finish, if any | A surface finish, if any | A surface finish, if any |
How to tell what you’re buying
- Ask what’s inside the louvers and stiles. “Composite” and “poly” don’t answer that. Hollow, foam, fibreboard and solid are the real answers.
- Ask for the weight of one panel and the widest panel they’ll make. Both tell you how the panel is built and how it will hang.
- Ask how many colours there are. Sunburst lists Polywood “in three paint colors”[3]. Real wood takes any paint or stain.
- Read the warranty’s exclusions. Moisture, sun and heat exclusions say more about a material than the brochure does.
Energy claims
Sunburst says Polywood is “Up to 70% more energy-efficient than traditional wood shutters”[3]. The page doesn’t say how that was measured or against which wood shutter, so we can’t check it. We don’t make an energy-saving claim for our shutters either: a louvered shutter is a light and privacy control, not insulation.
When faux wood makes sense
A window that gets wet, a rental where the lowest durable price matters most, or a room where you’re certain you’ll never want a different colour. For the rest of the house, real wood costs more up front and gives you more: it can be sanded to fit, repainted when you redecorate, and stained if you want to see the grain. Purdue University’s guide to yellow-poplar notes that it “is easily painted and tends to hold paint well”[5]. Our wood shutters
Common questions
What are faux wood shutters made of?
It varies by seller: hollow PVC, polyresin, foam-filled composites, or a solid wood substitute. The name tells you what it isn’t, not what it is, so ask what’s inside.
Is Polywood real wood?
No. Polywood is a Sunburst Shutters brand that the company describes as a “solid wood substitute”. Its wood-grain look is a surface finish.
Do faux wood shutters look fake?
Painted white from across a room, a good faux wood shutter is hard to tell from painted wood. Up close the difference is the edges, the weight in your hand, and that faux wood usually comes in a few factory colours rather than any paint or stain.
Are faux wood shutters better for humid rooms?
Plastic shutters don’t take on moisture the way wood does, which is why sellers recommend them for bathrooms. Hollow or composite cores vary, so check what the warranty says about moisture.
Sources
- Economy faux wood shutter, Blinds.com (retailer’s own claim)
- Composite shutters, Bloomin’ Blinds (retailer’s own claim)
- Polywood shutters, Sunburst Shutters (manufacturer’s own claim)
- Real vs vinyl shutters: which is best?, The Shutter Store (retailer’s own claim)
- Yellow-poplar (FNR-293-W), Purdue University Extension (university extension)