Plantation Shutters

We had these when I was growing up and I love the things. However, my new quote on putting them in my huge picture window was pretty outrageous. As we are selling this house in four or five years are these a selling feature? Would you care if they were installed enough for it to be worth me installing them. I know I'd enjoy them. I just don't want to spend over a thousand dollars on one window only to move in a few years. Can blinds be as attractive? What I love about shutters is that they are fixed so you don't have the bottom flopping around and there's no cords to get mucked up. VERY easy to use and always look attractive.

I don't know if they are a selling point, but I have plantation shutters in most of my house and I love them. They are so much nicer than having drapes.

Agreed! Drapes can be a pita. You can dress shutters up or down very easily. I will likely end up getting them anyway as they are so attractive in that room. I'll just call round and see what the best quotes are. The dealers told me that the new composite shutters *not pvc* keep the sun out better than either the wood or pvc. I prefer the wood but, may compromise and do the composites since we will move in a few years. My sisters home has them on every window, the heavy wood ones, she says it was a selling feature to her. I just wondered if it was only her who felt that way.

Plantation Shutters are usually built-to-order, in essence they are hand-made pieces. Always expensive, they look very custom and very nice. I don't think you get your money back out of them when you sell the house per se, but they give your home good 'curb appeal' to a buyer - but the selling price of your home lives and dies by the neighborhood comps in most instances. In my neighborhood of (80) homes, we had the least options on our house when we built it in 2000 - in fact the builder even commented that they wouldn't have sold us the lot if they knew we were going bare bones. Most the homes were 30% to 40% higher in purchase price because they checked all the fancy option boxes. Now, 12 years later when you look at Zillow they're all worth the same or within 5% of one another. I did that by design when we built the house for resale value because I knew they would all level out to the same market price when they got older.

This is also similar to the built-in bookcase decisions. They always look great, but they cost as much as handmade stand-alone ones and they don't add money value to your home when you sell it. Your home looks just as nice with matching corner cupboards that you can take with you when you move. But if you're going to be in the house for a long time, then it doesn't really matter as much.

Thanks Duane! Part of the reason we bought in this neighborhood is that the market has not affected the house prices in this area for the two hundred years the neighborhood has been here. No fluctuations in prices in relation to the market. Bidding wars over the asking prices, it's quite ridiculous at times. As the neighborhood is so old, and small and everybody wants to buy in here we had a hard time getting in to begin with! It's about fifteen blocks square and some families have been in here for generation after generation. They don't sell their homes. I just want to get all I can out of this one as selling in a area like this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

In fact our house was an estate sale that wasn't on the market yet. Our agent called us in the middle of the night and said "This house is going on the market in the a.m. You'd better get down here." Two hours drive one way, with a nine year old on a school night, at midnight!. But we'd been trying to buy into this area for over a year! lol. I HATED this house but, I knew renovated we'd never lose a dime on it...and I knew an opportunity to get in here at that price wasn't going to come along again. After a ton of work it looks very nice now.. I know the house will sell, and we've put a scary amount of money into it. And a scary amount of back breaking labor ourselves. I just don't want to invest in things that will not bring me any return right now. I still have a big basement to reno and one bathroom. Whoever buys this is going to get a house they don't have to do a single thing to for a long, long time and be in an area that will pay them back. The only reason we are moving is due to the property taxes here. They are OUTRAGEOUS. They are higher than my mortgage. We moved here for the schools and are glad we did but, son is graduated now. We don't need to pay five thousand something a year to the city of Kingston for the "schools" I wish I had some before and after photos of this house. YIKES! You all would die laughing at what we took on to reno. I'm proud of our work though. After all the "divorce dust" *Plaster dust* and months of work we lived through it. haha!

As for the bookshelves...I had some stand alone solid oak book shelves made rather than do the build ins. I want to take them with me!

I think I'll do the one big window that faces the street for the curb appeal and use wood blinds with curtains on the rest. That room only has the one big window and a garden door at the back leading to my deck. Next house will be the forever house and I'll put them in every room! They last forever, look great with all decor and are easy to use. Next house will be new though, this is our third reno. I'm too old for this now. No more reno's for me. But next house, I'll be picking what *I* like on all counts and not worrying about sale value, thank goodness. We made a big mistake with this house in one sense, we lived in it during the reno. Never, ever again.

I started out with a reno budget and I've not gone over it. But it's getting squeaker close. I have to make careful choices now even down to shutters. If some of you are thinking about Plantation shutters and are not moving, I'd go for it.