Shutters Have Replaced Curtains As The Go-to Choice for Well-heeled Homeowners with Claims They Are More Energy-efficient

Shutters can reduce heat loss by up to 62% on single-glazed windows

Around 95% of shutters sold in Britain are white

Putting them in the front of a four-bedroom family home costs around £6,000

Might it be curtains for curtains? Plantation shutters continue to be the window dressing of choice in well-heeled UK postcodes, because they're as practical as they are pretty.

Most commonly, shutters are a set of adjustable slats — louvres — which fill a frame that's custom-made to fit over a window.

It's easy to see their growing appeal; with one flick of those louvres, homeowners can control airflow, temper heat, lessen noise and also easily nudge from black-out to partial shade to full exposure.

Discreet magnets attached to both frame and panel ensure they stay in place once closed.

Versatile: Split shutters - which fill a frame that's custom-made to fit over a window- allow privacy while still letting the light pour in

Wherever in the world the mercury soars, you'll find them pinned inside and out — in dark woods on Moroccan riads, painted shades of cornflower blue on Ibizan villas and as bright white panels in America's Deep South, where the name 'plantation shutters' was born.

The lion's share of shutters sold in the UK — by brands including Hillarys, California Shutters and Shutterly Fabulous — are fitted inside the home though.

Abigail Clewley, product manager with Hillarys, says: 'Over the past 15 years, shutters have been one of our fastest growing products, thanks to the benefits in terms of light control, privacy and aesthetics.'