Shutter BoysGuides
Compare before you buy
Wood vs vinyl shutters: which is better, room by room
Wood wins in almost every room. Vinyl wins where the window gets wet. The evidence, item by item.
Faux wood vs real wood shutters: what “faux wood” really is
An umbrella name for several different plastics and composites. How to tell what you’re actually buying.
Composite vs wood shutters, and what to ask about MDF
Composite can mean almost anything. Here’s how to find out what’s inside, and why it matters for water.
Are plantation shutters worth it? Cost, lifespan and style
What they cost, what you get for it, whether they date, and the situations where we’d tell you not to buy them.
Shutters vs blinds: wood blinds, zebra blinds and plantation shutters
Light, privacy, cords, cleaning and cost, with wood blinds and zebra blinds compared side by side.
Choosing, measuring and fitting
How to measure for shutters
Five measurements per window, and the one mistake to avoid.
How to install your shutters
Six steps and the tools you need.
Plantation shutters vs California shutters
Mostly two names for one product. What actually differs is the louver width, so ask for that.
How to choose a louver size
Bigger louvers, bigger view, but they need a deeper opening.
Why our shutters are made of American poplar
A hardwood that paints smoothly and holds it. What that means room by room.
Shutters in condos and HOA homes
Check the rules on what shows from outside before you order, send drawings with your request, and measure each pane.
Shutters for older homes: crooked openings, original windows and lead paint
How to measure openings that were never square, when to choose a frame, and what to know about old paint before you drill.
Prices and the market
What shutters cost
Price ranges by window size, in US and Canadian dollars.
What California shutters cost in Canada: 2027 prices in CAD
Real CAD ranges by window and by home, what moves the number, and the sales tax in each province.
Shutters in 2027: where the market is going and what buyers are choosing
Spending, housing, what people are buying, and the cord rules coming, from the forecasts, with our read on what it means.
Mattamy Homes upgrades: what the Design Studio covers, and what to add after closing
What you choose at the Design Studio, what’s hard to change later, and what’s better added once you have the keys.
Shutter brands compared
Other companies’ shutters, from their own published information, and where ours differ.
Hunter Douglas shutters: Heritance, NewStyle and Palm Beach compared
The three Hunter Douglas shutter lines in their own words, how you buy them, and where a DIY wood shutter fits.
The Shutter Store vs Shutter Boys: DIY plantation shutters compared
Two DIY shutter sellers: what each makes, what it costs, where it ships and how long it’s covered.
Blinds.com shutters vs Shutter Boys: wood, composite and SureFit
The wood and faux shutters Blinds.com sells, what its guarantees cover, and how a solid poplar shutter compares.
SelectBlinds shutters vs Shutter Boys: faux wood, poplar and warranties
What SelectBlinds sells in the US and in Canada, its warranty options, and how a solid poplar DIY shutter compares.
Home Depot and Lowe’s shutters vs made-to-measure wood shutters
Big-box custom shutters: what’s composite, what’s wood, what’s installed, and where a DIY poplar shutter fits.
Norman shutters compared: Woodlore, Normandy, Brightwood and DIY wood
What each Norman line is made of, how Norman sells them, and how a made-to-measure DIY poplar shutter compares.
Polywood shutters vs wood shutters: Sunburst’s claims and a DIY alternative
What Polywood is, what Sunburst says about it, which claims are tested, and where a solid wood DIY shutter fits.
Louver Shop shutters vs Shutter Boys: poplar shutters, installed or DIY
Two poplar shutters, two ways to buy: installed by a local dealer, or made to your measurements and fitted by you.
Budget Blinds and 3 Day Blinds shutters vs ordering online
How the two big in-home companies sell shutters, what their warranties cover, and when ordering online makes more sense.
Blinds To Go shutters vs Shutter Boys: PVC or poplar, in store or online
A showroom chain’s PVC shutter and an online poplar shutter: what each is, how you buy it, and what it costs.
California shutters in Toronto: GTA shutter companies compared
Eight GTA shutter companies in their own words, what they have in common, and the online alternative.
Living with shutters
How to clean and look after wood shutters
Dust weekly, wash rarely, keep water and heat off the wood, and understand why it moves with the seasons.
Do interior shutters save energy? What the research says, and what it doesn’t
The honest answer: they help, nobody has rated how much, and how you use them matters more than what you buy.
Cordless window coverings and child safety: the rules in Canada and the US
What the law requires in each country, what changed in the US since 2022, and what to check in your own home.