Shutters & Blinds · Nashville, TN
The Nashville homeowner's guide to window treatments
What the work involves, what drives the price, what your options are, and what a bad job looks like — written so you can judge any window treatment company in Middle Tennessee, including us.
Estimate request
Tell us about the windows
Straight to us, and a reply the same day.
By Michael Blair, owner, Nashville's Shutters and Blinds · who we are
Warning signs
How to know you need us
Recognize one? Have it looked at before it grows.
- Light gaps down the sides of blinds
- Slats bent, yellowed or snapped
- Cords within reach of small children
- A west-facing room too hot to use by afternoon
- Blinds that were cut down to fit
- Arched or angled windows still bare
- Rentals where nothing can be screwed to the frame
Your options
More than one right answer.
Plantation shutters are not right for every window. We put shutters, blinds and shades side by side for each opening and say where each one makes sense.
Plantation shutters
The most expensive and the longest-lived. Built to the opening, they behave like joinery rather than a fitting.
Faux wood blinds
The practical answer for bathrooms, kitchens and rentals — they do not warp and they cost a fraction of shutters.
Cellular shades
Where insulation matters. The cells trap air, which makes a real difference on a west-facing room in a Nashville summer.
Motorized
Worth it on high windows, large runs and anything you would otherwise never bother adjusting.
What it costs
What actually drives the price.
Window treatment prices depend on the count, the sizes, the material, any arched or odd-shaped glass, and whether you want it motorized. We measure before we price.
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Number and size of windows
Priced per opening. A big picture window costs more than two small ones because the panels and hardware scale with the span.
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Material
Basswood, hardwood and composite shutters sit at different prices, and composite is the right answer in a bathroom whatever the budget.
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Shape of the opening
Square is standard. Arches, angles, bay windows and out-of-square openings are made to a template and cost accordingly.
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Motorization
Battery motors are the cheaper route and need charging. Hardwired is more to install and never needs thinking about again.
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Mount type
Inside mount looks better and needs the recess to be deep and square enough. Outside mount solves an out-of-square opening but reads differently.
Estimates are free, written and without obligation. Anything found only after starting is priced up front.
What happens
From your call to the finished job.
Measure
Done by the person who will install, in the room, with the recess checked for square. Measurements taken from a plan are how gaps happen.
Choose
Material, louvre size, mount and color, with samples in your own light rather than a showroom.
Manufacture
Two to four weeks for made-to-measure. Stock blinds are quicker but sized in fixed increments.
Fit
Usually a day. Frames shimmed to the opening rather than screwed to whatever is out of true.
Adjust
Tension, alignment and closure checked on every unit before we leave.
Done badly
What goes wrong, and why it matters.
Shortcuts that cheapen the quote and cost you later. Ask anyone you are considering about them.
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Measuring for inside mount without checking square
An opening that is a quarter inch out will show a wedge of light down one side, and nothing can be done once the unit is made.
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Buying stock blinds cut down
Cutting a stock blind narrows the slats but not the mechanism, and the result binds and hangs unevenly.
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Wood shutters in a bathroom
Real wood swells and the louvres stop closing. Composite exists for this exact reason.
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Corded blinds with young children
Cord safety is not a preference. Cordless and motorized options exist across every price point now.
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Hanging drapery at window height
Curtains hung at the frame make a room look shorter. Height and width beyond the opening is free and changes the room.
Before you hire anyone
Six questions worth asking any window treatment company.
Including us. If a window treatment company cannot answer these easily, that is the answer.
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Who measures the windows — a salesperson or the installer?
The installer, in person. Blinds ordered from a sample-book measurement arrive with light gaps and crooked louvers.
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Inside mount or outside mount, and why?
Depends on the window depth and the look, and the answer explains it for each window. One rule for every window is a company with one product.
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Is the price per window, with the install shown?
A line per window and a line for the install. The room price hides which windows were skipped.
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Do you install to the manufacturer’s spec, so the warranty holds?
Yes, and the answer knows what the spec says about anchors and level. A plantation shutter installed out of square binds forever.
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Are you insured for drilling into my window frames?
Liability insurance with a certificate. Drilling into window frames in a finished room is where the accidents are.
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What does the warranty cover — the product, the cords, the install?
The manufacturer covers the product; the installer covers the fit, in writing. A cord that fails is the maker; a crooked blind is the install.
FAQ
Choosing a window treatment company in Nashville
How do I choose a window treatment company in Nashville?
Every installer on our crews carries liability insurance on file with us and fits the products we sell to the manufacturer’s specification so the warranty holds. Ask the six questions below of anyone, including us.
Should I get more than one quote for window treatments?
Yes — and compare the scope, not the total. Window treatments in Nashville are priced per window by the product — plantation shutters at the top, then shades, then blinds — and by the size and the options; the measure visit sets the number, and the quote lists every window.
Is the cheapest window treatments quote usually a bad idea?
Not automatically; a low number is information. A bathroom or a kitchen sink window often wants a shade; the honest company says so.
Do I need a permit for window treatments in Nashville?
Window treatments need no permit from Metro Nashville and the surrounding counties; motorized treatments wired into the house need the electrician who does that part to pull one if the jurisdiction requires it.
How far in advance should I book window treatments?
A measure in Nashville is usually within the week; custom shutters take several weeks to build, blinds and shades a couple, and the installation is a day.
Free estimate
Want shutters or shades sized to your windows?
Give Nashville's Shutters and Blinds a count of the windows and the rooms they are in, and we will set a time to measure in person and follow with a written estimate.