Whether your home has a modern contemporary design or a traditional one, there is a style of plantation shutters to work in your Colorado home 

Simple lines complement the contemporary home

Modern or contemporary style homes have well-defined, clean lines and an orderly visual simplicity which is what you want your plantation shutter to complement.

In this guide, I will explain exactly how to do this using a shutter design with a simpler, or ‘cleaner’ look without a lot of visual clutter.

In modern homes, the windows are part of the design, and we want to complement them not over-power them with decoration.

Contemporary shutters excel at doing this and are why they are the perfect window covering for modern-styled homes in Denver.

What does a modern contemporary-style plantation shutter look like?

Contemporary styling is about a ‘less is more’ approach. If we try to sum it up in just a couple of words, it would be ‘simple’ or ‘clean’ lines.

Hidden Louver Control Rods

Louvers or (slats) are what you adjust to control the amount of light coming through your windows. The louver control rod connects all the louvers together, so when you adjust one louver, the rest follow.

In traditional plantation shutters, this louver control rod would be in the front of the louvers running down the middle.

Relocating the control rod from the front to the back and off to the side essentially ‘hides’ the control rod and is why it is called a “hidden louver control”. 

This is the most powerful option to change plantation shutters from a traditional style to a more sleek, modern, and contemporary window covering. 

Shutters with louver control ‘hidden’

Hidden control rods improve your view

Another benefit to removing that front control rod is removing more obstructions to your view out the windows. 

Hidden controls in a bedroom improve the view through the louvers

Simpler Frames

Frames are integral parts of the shutter today, they allow us to install units on out-of-square windows since the frames cover these defects.

Frames should be of simple design without architectural details such as fluted finishes, we want flat and sleek, not drawing the eye to intricate details.

These frames improve the look of drywall-wrapped windows adding more architectural interest to the home.

Dividers

Dividers originated in more traditional style shutters to block the view of the locks on double-hung windows.

However, they still have their place in modern designs splitting the controls of the louvers to give you options of being able to open the top for more light and close the bottom for more privacy

Split Tilts with hidden louver controls

In the modern contemporary style of plantation shutters, you can get the same functionality of the divider by doing a hidden split tilt where the louver control rod is split, allowing you to operate the top and bottom louvers separately without the use of a divider.

Split tilts without a divider

Simpler Panel Designs

When all shutters were made of wood instead of the more modern materials available today they were pretty heavy so it was common to break up the large windows into many smaller panels.

Today with our composite materials we can span larger window panels and be true to the home’s contemporary style by incorporating large single-panel design in the plantation shutter layout.

A larger tri-panel design complements the homes’ contemporary style

Non-Contrasting Hinges

Hinges used to be brass, but now we have complimentary colored hinges. White on white compliments instead of distracts like a brass hinge would.

Wood still works with modern design

Here you can see how wood carefully chosen and styled with the right features can work with contemporary homes.

Final thoughts…

You can mix and match the different features I have listed in this guide, adding or subtracting them to suit your needs.

The main thing you want to do is remove the front louver control. That front control screams traditional plantation shutters so we need to always go with a hidden louver control to complement contemporary modern-style homes. After that, the other choices are up to you.

Composite or wood?

No matter the style, the material is still a choice. You can do a contemporary plantation shutter in either wood or composite and mix and match all of the features we have listed so far.

Read more about : 

The difference between wood and composite plantation shutters

Whether it’s modern or traditional shutters, installation is the final step

Read more about :

10 things to know, and ask about the installation of your plantation shutters 

A Better-Built Plantation Shutter

If you like this guide you can also read :

12 reasons why our plantation shutters are the best in Denver

Made In The USA

And last but not least, our shutters are made in the USA, in Texas to be exact, not China. This is why the build quality is so good and why we can get them so quickly.