Plantation shutters were first used to cover windows and keep the weather out in ancient Greece. Glass was an extremely expensive and difficult-to-come-by material; therefore,
it was only utilized infrequently until more recent times. Because wood shutters had not yet been produced, marble shutters were used.
The shutters gained popularity when wood was used to improve the form and operation of the shutters over time. When King Louis XIV of France talked about having them, they became such a popular item that they became an important royal adornment. According to one urban legend, King Louis XIV had the shutters built so that he could observe the women of his court washing while the guards patrolling the grounds were not disturbed. Plantation shutters, on the other hand, predate this period by a millennium or two, thus this is clearly a tall myth.
The shape of shutters began to vary only once the concept of shutters extended to the Mediterranean. Movable louvres were added to allow changing levels of light and ventilation into a room, and wood fully replaced marble as the preferred material.
Plantation shutters got their name because they were first employed in many grand buildings and mansions on cotton plantations in America. During the extreme summer heat, shutters allowed cross ventilation while also shielding the manors from the elements during the hard winters.
Unlike many modern shutters in Sydney, early shutters were not made of wood. Instead, marble was the primary material used to create these window treatments. These fixed-louver natural stone shutters immediately gained favour throughout the Mediterranean. Later, wood replaced marble, allowing the louvers to slide. More ventilation and air flow were possible because of the adjustable louvers.
Plantation shutters grew in popularity throughout time and finally made their way to America as the Spanish occupied the South. The name ‘shutters’ comes from the fact that these lovely window coverings were seen on many huge, luxurious homes on the famed cotton plantations.
Large plantation houses in the South incorporated the new complex designs into their housing, making this new pattern highly popular. Southern plantation homes are still noted for their grandeur and beauty, which can be attributed in part to the inclusion of shutters. Shutters were built of wood during this time period, but unlike in the Tudor period, they had been crafted to become lightweight, moveable, visually beautiful, and useful. Louvres could now be slanted to allow light into the space while still providing shelter from the elements.
When the first immigrants came to Australia, they brought shutters with them. Timber louvres fitted to the windows of bush houses protected the windows. The colony’s wooden louvres were ultimately replaced with glass louvres as the colony grew. These shutters of old have evolved into the shutters we know today over time, and include those made in different materials such as PVC plantation shutters in Sydney. Shutters Newcastle