Growing up in Florida, there was some things that were just universally shared by everyone in the area. How to deal with hurricanes and window shutters. I can’t think of a single home that I ever went to in my town that didn’t have those wide blinds with the lever in the middle to open and close the blinds. Oddly enough, I had no idea how central to some locations these shutters were until I was talking to a friend who was needing new blinds in her home.
I had went with my friend to a few home stores looking for blinds and window treatments. My friend was in the market to spice up her kitchen and was looking for ideas. We had started talking and I told her since her kitchen was more of a rustic, farmhouse look she should get the blinds that were huge in the 80s that every home had. She looked at me like I was crazy and asked “You want me to get blinds from the 80s?” and I told her no, but the style of them would be perfect for her kitchen. I described them to her and she had no clue what I was talking about. I ended up taking out my home and showing her the plantation shutters. She feel in love and said she had never seen shutters like that for the home. This started our search for these shutters in every home store we could find.
We ended up ordering some online from a retailer that had a huge selection. While looking for them, I learned that where she grew up in New York, they didn’t have blinds like that at all. They just had the cheap plastic ones or you just hung up a sheet. She loved the shutters I showed her and I told her how when I grew up, everyone in the neighbor hood had them. You were weird if you didn’t have them. We started asking around to other friends if they had the same blinds as her or as me and the results were interesting! Not many even knew what plantation shutters were, but when they were shown them they remember seeing them in older movies before.
I had no idea that something that I grew up with knowing and being huge part of my growing up was something that most of my friends have never seen in homes. These shutters are a huge part of my growing up and I am glad to know that there are friends who appreciate the look and style enough to go outside the box and get them for their own homes.