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Posts Tagged ‘shutter design’

How to Update Room Finishes with a Plantation Shutter

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

Although we have many clients moving into new homes, we’ve been seeing more and more clients who are choosing to stay put and update an existing home.  

A challenging update those who remodel face is how to bring in new finish colors that complement the existing mill-work, not compete with it. 

 We help clients accomplish this  with a few different suggestions.

  1. The quickest and easiest way?  Cover it up!  This can be easily done with a custom shutter and its framework mounted on top of the existing casing.   We offer several different frames profiles and clients can choose the one that they like best.
  2. If you are looking to lighten a room with dark mill-work, choose a painted shutter.   We have 18 stock variations of white, or we can custom color match to your favorite swatch.  I suggest staying away from a brilliant, bright white if you have stained wood casings.  Choose a warmer white, with  creamy undertones or even a light tan.  Then it will complement, not fight, your existing colors.
  3. Do you like your mill-work, but want to freshen it up?  Add a new, complementary stain color!  Many of our clients have replaced their flooring as a way to add a new color.  A natural way to continue this flow is by adding custom finished plantation shutters to their windows.  These two grounding elements in a room, windows and floors, and the addition of key accent pieces in a similar finish, will transform a room.

Without a doubt, new custom shutters add style and pizazz.  Whether your goal is to compliment the homes existing mill-work with a custom matched finish on your shutters, or transform it into something fresh and new, Kirtz Shutters can help.   

plantation shutters and eyebrow arch were stained to match wood flooring and other accent piecees in the home

plantation shutters and eyebrow arch were stained to match wood flooring and other accent piecees in the home

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Posted in Plantation Shutter Design, Plantation Shutter Styles, design | No Comments »

Kirtz Shutter Craftmanship; Making the parts makes the difference for your custom shutters

Thursday, August 13th, 2009
Most shutter manufacturers buy their shutter components from large milling companies that deliver ready to assemble pieces to the manufacturers.    These components can be from the US, Mexico, and even China.   At Kirtz Shutters, we have rigorous quality control standards, and we use a variety of hardwoods, so components are made in-house in our milling department.

Hardwood shutters by Kirtz start at our factory as raw lumber.  We typically buy direct from the best lumber mills across the country, with a great deal of our lumber coming from the Northern US. 

A load of lumber for Kirtz Shutter, before sorting

A load of lumber for Kirtz Shutter, before sorting

 Lumber goes through the following process to become parts for your plantation shutters.

All lumber is tested upon arrival for proper dryness.  Using lumber that has been wet, or is not properly kiln dried could result in warping.  Obviously, this would be bad news for a shutter, so each load is tested immediately upon arrival to be sure that it meets the criteria for furniture quality use.

After unloading, lumber is sorted and it is determined what component part each board will be used to make.   Next, the lumber is fed through our Weinig molder and shaped into the different parts needed to make your shutter order.  As lumber is shaped into parts, each part is quality checked to see that it does not vary from our standard, which are +/- 5000 of an inch, a more exacting measure than industry standard, which is +/- 10,000 of an inch.

lumber being milled into components for plantation shutters

lumber being milled into components for plantation shutters

Verifying the milled parts meet quality standards for Kirtz Shutters

Verifying the milled parts meet quality standards for Kirtz Shutters

Since we use so many different types of woods in our shutters, the milling department must constantly calibrate the machine to handle the varying density of each wood.  Although this is a time consuming process it is the only we can maintain the rigid quality standards of a Kirtz Shutter.

After the louvers are molded they are run through a specially designed sander.  The belt of the sander is contoured so that it follows the shape of our elliptical louvers.  As the louver passes through the oscillating belt provides a random orbital sanding, the industries highest standard.  The louvers are now ready for the assembly line. 

Sander designed for elliptical shaped louvers for custom shutters

Sander designed for elliptical shaped louvers for custom shutters

The milling department is also responsible for laminating our stiles, which glues together two opposing pieces, resulting in a longer, straighter stile than industry standards.  
Once shutter parts finish the above processes, production is notified and your shutters are ready for the assembly department!

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Posted in Plantation Shutter Construction, Why Kirtz? | 4 Comments »

Painted Custom Shutters… Why Use Maple?

Friday, July 31st, 2009

At Kirtz we like to do things different, not just simply for the sake of being different, but because we want to bring something above average and a little special to our customers.  In our painted plantation shutter, that something special is the wood we use.

The founder of our company was a woodworker, in fact he got his start in the industry as a trim carpenter until the economy and life took him a new direction (I’m sure a few of you can relate given the world’s present state).  So when he decided to make shutter, he picked the wood that from his experience, would the best wood for a plantation shutter– MAPLE.

Why Maple?   In one word, STRENGTH.

 Maple is about twice as dense as shutter industry standard woods such as basswood and poplar.   What does that mean for the you, the buyer?  An awful lot in the long run.  Your shutter is put together with fasteners, staples that hold the louvers into the tilt rod.  Time and use of the product stresses these fasteners.  In softer woods, such as basswood and poplar, they often come loose over time.  The result is that the shutter does not function as it was originally intended.   A Kirtz Shutter is guaranteed never to have this problem, and if it did, it would be covered by our warranty.

Have you ever had a piece of pine furniture?  Did you notice how easy it was to dent the wood if something accidently bumped or banged into it?  The same is true of a poplar or basswood shutter, they can easily dent and ding at the slightest impact, thus increasing the look of wear and tear on the shutter.

The strength of maple also gives us ultimate FLEXABILITY IN DESIGN. 

In Height:  The Kirtz Shutter does not need a midrail (also called a divider rail) until after 96″ in height.  Industry standard is 72″.  That means you can have two more feet of unobstructed louver space by using a custom shutter by Kirtz out of maple.

In Width:  With shutters warrantied up to 38″ in width, customer’s have the ultimate flexibility in designing their shutters for the best fit to their space without the constraints of industry standard shutters.

Often I meet with customers who are confused with the variety of materials that a plantation shutter can be made from and the variety of pricing that goes along with them. 

My advice to them, and to you, is this – 

Plantation Shutters are one of the largest financial investments in window treatments that you can make.    They will provide beauty and protection for many, many years.  All shutters are NOT created equal.   In an economy where every dollar counts,  we all want to make sure we spend our money wisely.  

Choose the plantation shutter that will provide you the best product experience over the life of your shutter, not just in the beginning.  And just as important, choose a company that you can trust to provide you great customer service, both before the sale and years after your shutters are installed.  That, in my life experience, is true value that pays dividends long after the check has cleared the bank. 

I’ll end this (and step off my soap box) after I share my favorite quote.  I try to live it every day, in the products I represent to the products I purchase for myself and my home.

“The bitterness of poor quality, lingers long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”

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Posted in Plantation Shutter Design, Why Kirtz? | 1 Comment »

Arch Windows & Plantation Shutters

Monday, May 11th, 2009

Many new homes today have arch windows, often called eyebrow windows.  Most often they are used on the front of a home, to add architectural appeal.  When the homeowner moves in, they often discover that charming window doesn’t come with any easy solution when it comes to window treatments.      One of the best solutions is a plantation shutter.    It offers the best combination of light control (louvers are operable) and aesthetics (it compliment’s the shape of the window).

What makes a good quality arch shutter?  There are two key areas that make all the difference:

Proportion: Special shapes, like arches, take the greatest amount of skill to build, and it should be evident in the finished product.  The top part of shutter, called the rail, should stay the same width as it follows the arch top of the window.

Louvers: These should be moveable into the arch.  Do not be misled by manufacturers who take shortcuts, this is possible!

Arch opening, not Kirtz

Arch opening, not Kirtz

The photo above is an example of work done by a major manufacturer.  This arch shutter  has not had much attention to detail.    Notice how the top fixed portion of the shutter varies from panel to panel and fails to follow the line of the window itself.  The overall effect visually detracts from the arch appearance of the window.

Kirtz Arch Shutter

Kirtz Arch Shutter

Notice how the Kirtz plantation shutter arch has full operable louvers and a proportional top rail that compliments the arch of the window.  Nice, right?

How do we get this look when so many others do not?

It is really a matter of time and skill.  Each louver into the arched area is shaped by hand.  This extra step allows the louvers to close tightly into the arch area of the shutter.    What about those louvers the tilt rod does not reach?   A tilt mechanism (the same as used on our hidden tilt shutters) is applied on the backside of the shutter from the top louver down to the louvers that are controlled by the tilt rod.  This allows full operation (and light control) of all the louvers in the shutter panel.

It is all these small steps that culminate in a finished product that provides the best look.    Be sure to explore all these details when choosing your shutter manufacturer.

If initially you are not certain that you want to treat the arch portion of your window,  but do want plantation shutters on the lower portion of the window, you should discuss this with your sales person.  With a little forethought your shutters can be specified to allow you to order shutters for the top section of your arch at a later date.

100_0860

This photo is an example of a homeowner who took this approach to her windows.   The top of the shutter finishes at a nice height for a clean look.    If she chooses to add shutters to the top later,  it will give a finished look similar to the photo posted earlier in this blog.

Arch windows are beautiful, no doubt about that.  They can be even more stunning when properly treated with a plantation shutter that compliments the architecture of the window, and offers light and privacy control that can be so critical in these windows.

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What makes a good plantation shutter design?

Monday, April 13th, 2009

Kirtz Plantation Shutters are all custom designed and produced.  So when you choose to order plantation shutters from Kirtz Shutters, you have a variety of  shutter layout and design options.  Two major areas for discussion are – How do I choose a louver size?  And how many shutters should I put in each opening?

First, let’s talk about louver size.  This depends on a variety of factors, such as the style of your home architecture and design.  However, this comes down to personal preference.  Part of the beauty of plantation shutters is that you can get such great visibility and light control just by slightly adjusting the louver angle.  It stands to reason that the larger the louver, the better the view.    Many people are simply amazed at how much visibility you can get with a shutter.  In fact, during our in- home consultations we typically bring one sample of each louver size, set it in the window, ask the client to step back and take a look at the different proportions of each louver size and how that impacts the feel of the room.  Well, I can’t do that in a blog, but take a look at this picture.  Each opening shown is 72″ x 72″; the only thing that changes is the size of the louver.

louver-options-open

Now to be frank, most people choose 3 1/2″ louvers.  However, I can make a case for the larger 4 1/2″ louvers in many homes, and we see more orders all the time with this size.    On occasion, as we do add on orders for a homeowner, they will tell me that they wish they had chosen a larger louver size.   I have never heard a customer tell me the wish they had chosen smaller.

Now for the shutter configuration.   The first thing you need to look at is the configuration of the window you are going to shutter.  You will get the best look if you try to mimic the window layout.  This minimizes the appearance of extra vertical distractions.  For instance, say you have 3 or more windows mulled together.  You want to try to place the shutters where the vertical members of the shutter line up with the vertical mullions of the windows.  This will give you the cleanest, most open view possible and will also provide for a more flattering appearance on the outside of the windows.

Let’s go back and look at our typical window again, a 72″ x 72″ (typically two 36″ x 72″ windows mulled together.)  Many time clients think they want to have four shutter panels in an opening this size.  This is based upon their assumption that they will open the shutters back regularly.   However, with a larger louver size, folding them back is not necessary for great visibility.  And the larger the panel you can put in your window, the more unobstructed view you have.  Take a look at these drawings showing that same window size, 72″ x 72″.  Both drawings show the same louver size, but with 2 versus 4 panels in the opening.

panel-distribution

By choosing the four panel configuration you lose almost 8″ of your window that you could otherwise see through.

Of course, we always make what the customer wants, and if you are confident that you want to open you shutters back everyday, then the four panel configuration is probably the best layout for you.  For opening shutters daily, a two shutter panel configuration would not work for most room layouts.  Each shutter would have a 36″ swing when it opened.   Even a 4 panel layout deserves some thought, as it would come into the room and need 18″ of wall space to fold against.

What this all comes back to is the importance of working with someone who is knowledgeable about the process, and can help guide you through the ins and outs of all these design decisions.  The sales staff at Kirtz makes giving you a great buying experience a priority.  We want your shutters to look and function just the way you had imagined, and we take great care in making sure we provide that experience to each and every customer.  Feel free to call us with your shutter design dilemmas and we will do everything in our power to find a great solution!

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