Conjure an image of a Parisian café from a film you once watched, and we’re willing to bet you get a picture of small wooden tables and chairs sitting outside an enticing and charming building, perhaps with red and white or green tablecloths and painted woodwork. And the windows of that building? Covered by half-height curtains or shutters that block the bottom part of the window but leave the top untouched.
The origin of ‘café-style’ lives in us all, a romanticised image of somewhere inviting and delightful. The beautiful image of those windows isn’t just stylish – it’s also functional – and you can get the same combination of style and function in your own home with some café-style shutters for your kitchen.
The Form and Function of Café-Style Shutters
Café-style shutters are half-height shutters that cover the bottom half of the window, but leave the top open. Combine them with some featured mouldings to give your kitchen a unique touch, and you’ll delight in a bright room that provides light and privacy in equal measure.
How do café shutters work, though, and why would you choose them?
Protect from Prying Eyes
One of the great things about shutters is that they’re excellent at providing privacy. Let’s step back to our Parisian café (or, indeed, any other beautiful European city). In a busy street, customers want to sit by the window without feeling they are being stared at. Passers by (and there are many!) would naturally want to gaze into the building to see if the ambience is enticing – but if you were the person enjoying a croissant and a coffee right there, you wouldn’t want someone staring at you from the other side of the glass.
But neither do you want to sit in the gloom.
The half-height café-style shutter blocks the part of the window that threatens your privacy, while letting the sunlight stream in above you. It offers warmth and light, without compromising personal space.
Now, unless you live on the Royal Mile, perhaps you don’t have quite that many people passing your kitchen every day. Nonetheless, even though the foot traffic may be less frequent, that doesn’t make it any less intrusive when it does occur. With café-style shutters, you can enjoy your home without ever worrying that someone is peeping in.
Letting in the Light
Unless very cleverly designed, dark kitchens in the daytime are miserable. Natural light streaming in your beautiful windows is the single best solution to kitchen dullness that there is – so why block it? Other window coverings, such as curtains, blinds, or even full-height shutters, will all make you face an all-or-nothing choice when it comes to letting in the sun. Café-style meets that perfect (and literal) middle ground.
You get all the advantages of being able to see your view and enjoy the energising light, without sacrificing privacy.
Looking Great
Let’s not mess around – café-style shutters in the kitchen look amazing. There’s a timeless, luxury aesthetic to shutters that comes into its own when you see a half-height café-style configuration. Don’t believe us? Download our brochure to see some wonderful examples.
Modern… Rustic… Minimalist… Continental… No matter your choice of home decor, installing kitchen café-style shutters is going to complement it far more than any other option available.
A Few Considerations
It’s worth taking a few potential downsides into account – after all, we’re here to advise you on the best option for you, not push café-style shutters where they’d be a bad fit.
- Less insulation than full-height – The great advantages of shutters as a whole are their superior insulation and soundproofing capabilities, but fitting them only to the halfway mark reduces these significantly. So, if you want to lower your energy bills or keep out the noise, café-style may not be the best choice.
- Too much light – We’re recommending café-style for kitchens and not for bedrooms for a reason: when it comes to wanting a dark room, your half-height shutters are not going to perform. If you do need to block out the outside fully at night, you may have to consider twinning your café-style shutters with additional window coverings.
- Proportions are important – If poorly designed or ill-considered, the proportions of your café-style shutters can look a little off, with some appearing stunted if the room’s shape and the overall height of the windows are not considered. Café-style shutters don’t have to cover exactly half of your window, with one-third and two-third configurations a strong option. Our expert consultants will make sure you don’t suffer from proportion problems; just avoid rushing ahead without thinking!
- Getting the fit right – Café-style shutters should absolutely be fitted by an expert. They need to be properly measured and custom-fitted to meet the space.
- Waterproofing concerns – Not all materials will work for a kitchen shutter. With lots of moisture in the air, it’s important you choose a shutter that’s water-resistant and properly sealed.
Café-Style Shutters with The Scottish Shutter Company
At SSC, we have an exciting range of beautiful café-style shutters to suit your needs. With a selection of materials and styles and the ability to match your existing colour palette, we can install shutters to bring out the very best in your kitchen.
Contact us today to arrange a personal consultation at our showroom, or download a brochure for some inspirational ideas. Soon, you’ll be enjoying your kitchen as much as a weekend getaway to the city of love!
