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With cafe shutters, you get the best of both worlds - privacy and the view. These shutters are usually slatted or louvered in the traditional or colonial style. They are designed mainly to cover the lower half of a window.

Many people choose to have the two halves, one on top and one on the bottom. That way you can decide to have both open, both closed, the only the top half open - you get the idea. That is why people have purchased cafe shutters so much over the years - their versatility. They remain a classic look, even in the most modern decors. You just can't beat the clean lines of these shutters.

This style is wonderful in the bedroom because you can have up to your shoulder in privacy (in a standard sized window) and still can have the tree top views, and the sunlight filtering into the room. For this reason they also work beautifully in the bathroom.

The most common place for cafe shutters is in the breakfast nook or eat-in kitchen area. Perhaps that is because people associate that area of the house with their name- cafe. However, it may also be that they are the perfect solution to a bay window, and a good many breakfast nooks have bay windows.

You do not have to just cover the window in half. You can get a variety of heights and cover as much of the window as you wish. It is the width that is the most important. Many ready-made shutters in the shorter versions can be used as cafes in larger height windows. That is really a very easy and cost effective solution. Say you have a 54" window - you could easily slip in two 31" shutters and viola! You now have a time honored look. Simple, right?

If you have extra wide windows, cafe shutters do come in double panels, so you can have a span of four across( two on each side). The only thing you may sacrifice is sturdiness. If you do opt for this double panel style, decide if you want a fan fold style hinge system that folds them back into a triangle or a type with hinges that allow the shutters to fold flat against each other and the wall. That is really an esthetical choice.

If you already have a valance across the top of your windows, consider putting shutters on the lower half. That gives the room a spritz of color and a cozy feeling all at the same time. It is another solution to bulky curtains on rods that do not really open for a good view.