Shutters, Blinds or Curtains: Choosing Window Furnishings When You're Renovating Your Floors

If you’re renovating your floors, it’s easy to treat the windows as a separate decision for another day. In practice, the floor and the window furnishings in a room are the two biggest surfaces a person actually sees, and choosing them apart from each other is how homeowners end up with a floor and a blind that technically don’t clash, but don’t really work together either.

The short answer: shutters, blinds and curtains each suit a different kind of room and budget, and the easiest way to get the combination right is to choose them at the same time as your flooring, against the same sample, in the same visit, rather than as an afterthought once the floor’s already down.

Shutters, blinds or curtains: what actually suits your room?

Shutters are a fixed timber or PVC fitting built into the window frame. They’re the most durable option of the three, give the best control over light and privacy, and read as a permanent part of the room rather than a soft furnishing. They also sit at the top of the price range, which makes them most often chosen for main living areas, street-facing windows, or rooms where you want a finished, architectural look that will outlast a few rounds of changing decor.

Blinds sit inside or over the window frame and cover the widest range of styles and budgets of the three: simple roller blinds, timber or aluminium venetians, and everything between. They’re a practical middle ground, good light and privacy control without the cost of shutters, and they suit almost any room, from a kids’ bedroom through to a home office.

Curtains are the softest option, and the one most people think of first for warmth and texture in a room. They work especially well on large or multiple windows, where shutters and blinds can start to look busy or cost significantly more per window, and they’re the easiest of the three to change later if your taste shifts.

None of the three is a universal “best” choice. A main bedroom with a single standard window might suit shutters; a living room with a bank of three or four windows often works better, and far more affordably, in curtains.

Why choose window furnishings alongside your flooring, not after it

Flooring and window furnishings are the two largest visual surfaces in most rooms, and the colour and tone of one changes how the other reads. A warm oak floor sits differently against cool grey blinds than it does against a timber-toned shutter in a similar family. Choosing both at once, with the actual flooring sample in the room, removes the guesswork of trying to remember or photograph a colour months later.

There’s a practical reason too: a single measure & quote visit covers both. Tom McAuliffe specifies and installs our shutters, blinds and curtains, and when it’s booked alongside your flooring project, you get one visit, one set of samples brought to your home, and one overall picture of what the finished room will look and cost like, rather than coordinating two separate trades on two separate timelines.

Will adding window furnishings slow down or disrupt my flooring project?

Generally, no. Window furnishings installation is quick compared to a flooring install, and because it’s quoted and scheduled as part of the same project, it’s built around your flooring timeline rather than adding a disruption of its own. If you’re already having tradespeople in and out of the house for a flooring job, that’s the easiest time to also have shutters, blinds or curtains fitted, not a reason to put them off until later.

What to expect on cost and maintenance

Cost runs roughly in the order shutters, then blinds, then curtains, from highest to lowest, though the real number depends on the number and size of your windows and the exact product chosen. Because window furnishings are quoted as part of your overall project rather than priced in isolation, the useful comparison is the finished cost for the room as a whole, floor and windows together, not a per-item price in the abstract.

Maintenance follows roughly the same order in reverse: shutters need the least upkeep, generally an occasional wipe; blinds vary by material but are mostly low-maintenance; curtains need the most attention over time, typically a periodic wash or dry clean. If low maintenance matters more to you than cost, that’s worth weighing alongside the look you want.

Book both in one visit

If you’re planning new flooring, it’s worth deciding on shutters, blinds or curtains in the same conversation rather than as a separate project later. Explore our Window Furnishings & Accessories range, alongside our Carpet and Hard Flooring ranges for the floor underneath it. Book a free Measure & Quote and we’ll bring relevant samples of both to your home in the one visit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I choose window furnishings before or after my new flooring?

At the same time, ideally. Choosing them together means you’re matching tones and finishes to the actual floor sample in front of you, rather than guessing how a floor you chose months ago will sit with blinds you’re picking now. It also means one measure & quote visit instead of two separate trades at two separate times.

What’s the real difference between shutters, blinds and curtains?

Shutters are a fixed, hard-wearing fitting built into the window frame — the most durable option and the best light and privacy control, but also the highest cost. Blinds sit inside or over the window and come in far more styles and price points, from simple roller blinds to timber venetians. Curtains are the softest option, good for large windows and adding warmth to a room, but need more regular cleaning than shutters or blinds.

Do window furnishings cost extra to install if I’m already having flooring installed?

Installation is quoted as part of your overall project, not bundled as a vague extra. Book a free measure & quote and Tom will give you a fixed price for the window furnishings alongside your flooring quote, so you know the full cost of the room before you commit to anything.

Will new window furnishings disrupt my home at the same time as my flooring install?

Not if you plan it together, which is the point of booking both in the same visit. Window furnishings installation is generally quick and far less disruptive than a flooring install, so it’s usually scheduled around the flooring work rather than adding a separate disruption of its own.

Do shutters, blinds or curtains need much maintenance?

Shutters need the least — an occasional wipe down is usually enough. Blinds vary by material but are generally low-maintenance. Curtains need the most attention, typically a periodic wash or dry clean, which is worth factoring in if you want a genuinely low-maintenance room.