The Kirtz Difference Practical Elegance Galleries Customer Service Where to Buy Contact Us

Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Newer Entries »

Italian Rustic- Tuscan Style Shutters

Friday, October 16th, 2009
Tuscan interiors are very popular in the US right now.  A new book, Italian Rustic, written by Elizabeth Minchilli, details a variety of authentic Tuscan homes.    From wall finishes, to flooring, to windows and even shutters, she discusses the construction methods and how you can replicate this look in your home.

On my recent trip to Italy, I was intrigued with the shutters that are so common on the inside and outside of a Tuscan home.   According to Elizabeth, Italians have an intricate system for setting windows and shutters.     Interior shutters, called Scuri’s, are primarily designed to provide darkness.  Notice how in the photo from her book, the shutter itself is designed to fit snugly in the jamb area of the glass with a bit of overlap, insuring maximum darkness when closed.

Interior Tuscan Style Shutters

Interior Tuscan Style Shutters

If you are looking to bring a little Tuscany to your home, consider customizing your plantation shutter to be reminiscent of the style of a Tuscan shutter.   For instance, by adding a raised panel to the bottom of a shutter you can maintain the functionality and light control of a plantation shutter, while attaining the charm associated with a Tuscan home.

Tuscan inspired shutter by Kirtz Shutters

Tuscan inspired shutter by Kirtz Shutters

Choosing rustic materials, such as knotty alder or reclaimed wood for your shutters is another way to incorporate the feeling of age and permanence found in Tuscan farm homes.
Bring your shutter ideas to Kirtz Shutters, and we help you add a little Tuscany to your home.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Plantation Shutter Design, Plantation Shutter Styles, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Plantation Shutters for Sunrooms

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

Sunrooms are great, but in many parts of the country they are down right unbearable during the intense summer and winter months.

Have you ever thought about Plantation Shutters for your sunroom?

Plantation Shutters will:

  • Add greater energy efficency, saving you money
  • Allow greater control of intense sunlight that can fade furnishings
  • Add beauty and charm to your sunroom

In order to maximize the original purpose of the room (openness to the outside) there are a few design tips to keep in mind.

  • Order a large louver size (the larger the better)
  • Consider adding hidden tilt, to keep the least amount of obstruction to your view
  • Order your shutter panels as large as is reasonable with your window configuration.  This will minize the presence of too many stiles (vertical piece of the shutter) taking up more space than necessary.  Kirtz will build custom shutters with warranty up to 38″ wide.  We’ve often successfully built larger than 38″ wide panels, consult a sales rep for more details if you are interested.

Customization for Your Needs

The standard plantation shutter in a sunroom is typically set in a frame, and the shutter panel is hinged to the frame.

Another option is to place your shutters on a sliding track.  The benefit of this configuration is that one shutter panel will slide over another, fully opening up 1/2 of the window without swinging into the room.   This makes furniture placement much easier.  However, determining if this application will work for your sunroom is important, as a slider shutter frame is typically 5 1/2″ deep, compared to a standard shutter frame that is only 2- 2 1/2″ deep.

sunroom before shutters

sunroom before shutters

plantation shutter panels closed, louver open

plantation shutter panels closed, louver open

shutter panels slid open, louvers closed

shutter panels slid open, louvers closed

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Cool Projects, Plantation Shutter Design, Plantation Shutter Installation, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Hidden Tilt ~ The Best Way to Maximize Your View

Monday, March 9th, 2009

Hidden tilt, one of the newer custom options available with Kirtz Shutters, has become increasing popular since its introduction.

How it works

On a traditional plantation shutter louvers are fastened to the tilt rod with staples and you use the tilt rod to contol the position of the louvers.   With a hidden tilt rod, a narrow metal rod is attached to the backside of the panel at the end of the louver on the hinge side.   We then finish the hidden rod a similar color to the panels.

hiddentilt2

Although we can build shutter panels to our standard height of 120″ with hidden tilt, the rod must be broken at a certain point so that the weight of the louvers does not prohibit the mechanism from working appropriately.

The standard cut off points for each louver size are as follows:

  • 2 1/2″ at 36″ or 18 louvers
  • 3 1/2″ at 48″ or 16 louvers
  • 4 1/2″ at 60″ or 15 louvers

These break points can be modified to less than the stated split, if it is a better compliment to your windows.  That’s something that you can request during your onsite consultation.

If you favor clean lines, perhaphs a more contemporary look, or just want to insure you have the maximum amount of view, then hidden tilt may be the option for you.

hidden tilt in bath

shutters-mc-009

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Plantation Shutter Styles, Uncategorized, Why Kirtz?, design | No Comments »

Company Lunch at Kirtz

Friday, February 20th, 2009
Last Thursday, Feb 12th, we had a company lunch at Kirtz.    It was a special lunch because everyone was treated to steak by Click’s Steakhouse in Pawnee.   If you live in the area and you haven’t been to Click’s, you are missing out.  Between the homemade rolls, steaks marinated to perfection and awesome desserts (I recommend the tollhouse pie) you will be amazed.    However, I digress.

The reason for this meal is workplace safety.  Every month The Shutter Mill is accident free, all employees are treated to a lunch.    That’s always great, but when we go 3 or more months with out an accident everyone is treated to steak for lunch.  Not bad, huh?

After the lunch we have a safety meeting, and also an update on what’s going on with the company.  This month we recognized two employees for five years of service at Kirtz.   We have an every increasing maturity in our work force.  More employees have been with us 5+ years than we can ever remember.    This seasoned group of employees greatly helps contribute to maintaining, and continually increasing, our quality standards and efficiency.    You can see it in every shutter that leaves here.

I guess that’s why we get the opportunity to install our shutters all over.  Last year we went to St. Lucia,  and the Bahamas for shutter jobs.  Right now I have jobs in process for Frisco TX, and Kansas City, MO — all because these people want the quality that Kirtz has to offer.

If you have a project, give us a call.  Have car (or plane ticket) —will travel.

Guys from stain, specialty shapes and shipping

Guys from stain, specialty shapes and shippingour assembly team leader enjoying his dinner

Tags:
Posted in About Us, News & Events, Uncategorized, Why Kirtz? | No Comments »

Shutters in Recreational Vehicles

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

We recently branched out into a new area in our plantation shutter sales, recreational vehicles.    An RV dealer in our area bought shutters for his home, and discussed the possibility of adding them to one of his units that was going to be in a local RV show.  Well, we thought it sounded like a great idea and started working on it right away.  It took a lot of planning and design to ensure the finished product was just right!

2 1/2″ louvers were the best choice due to the scale of the units (they have all been about 37′ long), and rather than a standard tilt bar that would rattle, we used a hidden tilt bar.  This also contributes to a nice clean look.  Since each unit is unique they all present individual challenges.  Making sure there is enough clearance for levers to open window, light fixtures and plug ins means that each unit typically has custom made framing around the shutter panels.

These have been a great success, the RV dealer typically sells each one at the show!  I’m uploading some pictures so you can see how great these look.  The dark stain picture is red oak, custom stained and the other unit is custom painted maple shutters with maple stained frames.  The trailer had a paint/stain mix on all the woodwork and the shutters looked right at home.

Custom Framing

Custom Framing

Room View

Room View

100_0141

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Cool Projects, Plantation Shutter Styles, Uncategorized, design | No Comments »

Newer Entries »