Half height, or café shutters as they are known in the trade, are a popular option to keep costs down while still getting the privacy and style you want for your home.

Some of the benefits of this style of shutter include:

• Light – as the top half of the window isn’t obscured light is still able to enter the room easily
• Privacy – as the lower half of a room is obscured passers-by can’t easily see into your room, these are often ideal for a bedroom if you don’t want to have net curtains
• Cost – as you are only covering half the window the cost is obviously less than a full height shutter panel
• Obscuring a dismal outlook – I recently supplied a café who have a car park outside, by adjusting the louvers to allow light in but partially obscure the outlook it improved the cosy feel of the café
• Space – because café-shutters are fitted close to the window frame and inside the window recess they create a feeling of space, as they don’t protrude into your room beyond the window opening
• Style – any shutter is eye-catching and will add style to your room
• Half height or café style are usually fitted in a three-sided frame, so that if you do choose to open them there isn’t a bar running across the middle of the window. However, I find most customers rarely open the shutter doors other than to clean the window but adjust the louvers to gain the level of light/privacy they need.

I’ve supplied this style of shutter to a range of customers, including café’s, for bedrooms to create privacy, for a lounge that opens onto a busy street and for a bathroom to protect modesty!

Several customers have returned asking to add a ‘top half’ to fully cover their window, so it’s worth being sure you only want half height before going ahead. While it is possible, and we do retain orders so will always have your original details, it can be less straightforward adding a ‘top’ than fitting full height panels at the outset. However, lately, I have also had a number of customers who have opted for café shutters as it has provided them with a window feature but kept costs down at a time when we are all watching costs.