Custom-made basswood plantation shutters, measured and installed by a local Sunshine Coast team. Real timber louvres - painted or stained - that block the western sun, cool the room and last decades without sagging. Free in-home measure and a fixed price.
Timber shutters explained
A timber plantation shutter is a framed panel of wide, adjustable timber louvres fitted permanently to the inside of your window or door. You tilt the louvres to dial light and privacy up or down, and swing, slide or fold the panels when you want the opening completely clear. Unlike blinds, there is no cord, no fabric and nothing to replace in five years.
The name comes from the wide-louvre shutters used on colonial plantation homes - built for hot climates, long before air conditioning. That is exactly why they work so well in Sunshine Coast homes: louvres angled upward push daylight onto the ceiling and keep direct sun off the floor, while the closed panel creates an insulating air pocket against the glass.
Ours are custom-made in kiln-dried hardwood - basswood as standard, with cedar and Phoenixwood available - then painted or stained and installed square in your opening by the same team that measured it.
Why timber
Six reasons homeowners between Caloundra and Noosa keep choosing timber for their living areas and bedrooms.
Closed timber louvres stop sun before it hits the glass and add an insulating air gap. Western-facing living rooms are where customers notice it most - rooms that were unusable by 3pm become the best room in the house.
Wide 63mm and 89mm louvres tilt to bounce daylight onto the ceiling. You keep a bright room and lose the glare on the TV and the fade on the floorboards.
Angle the louvres down and you can see out while nobody sees in - with the window behind them wide open. Blinds and curtains make you choose one or the other.
Real timber holds a paint or stain finish with depth, and the grain shows in raking afternoon light. In a Queenslander or a coastal build it reads as joinery, not window furnishing.
Kiln-dried basswood is roughly half the weight of oak with far less movement, so wide panels stay square on their hinges for decades instead of dropping at the latch edge.
Shutters are a fixture, not a furnishing - they stay with the house and read as a permanent upgrade in listing photos and at inspection.
Materials
All three are kiln-dried hardwoods built for adjustable louvres. The difference is grain, weight and how they take a finish - we bring samples to the measure so you can see them in your own light.
Our standardThe benchmark shutter timber. Light, close-grained and dimensionally stable, so it takes a factory paint finish flawlessly and wide panels never sag. Best all-round choice for living areas, bedrooms and studies.
Best for stainThe lightest and most stable of the shutter timbers, with a rich open grain that stained finishes make the most of. The pick for large spans and for anyone who wants the timber to read as timber.
Grain featureA denser hardwood with pronounced figure - chosen when the shutter is meant to be a feature rather than a quiet backdrop. Holds deep stains beautifully.
Finishes & louvres
Every timber shutter is finished before it leaves the factory, so the coating is even and there is nothing to paint on site.
The most-requested finish by a long way. Crisp, coastal, and it disappears into the architrave so the window looks bigger.
Grain left visible under a clear or tinted stain - from pale natural through to walnut. Warms up a white room instantly.
Matched to your trim, cabinetry or a specific paint code. Charcoals and deep greens are having a real moment.
Narrow louvre. Suits smaller windows, bathrooms and cottage-scale openings - more slats, more traditional.
The all-rounder and our most common spec. Balanced view through the panel with a clean, modern slat count.
Wide louvre for large windows and sliders. Fewest slats, most unobstructed view when open.
Configurations
The material is only half the decision. How the panels move decides whether the opening actually works day to day - we spec this at the measure.
Panels swing open on a timber frame. The standard, cleanest-looking option for bedroom and living room windows.
Panels concertina back on themselves so a wide opening or servery clears completely. Common on kitchen windows and Queenslander verandah openings.
Panels glide aside on a top or bottom track - the right answer for stacker and sliding doors where there is no room to swing.
Fixed panels with operable louvres for highlights, plus raked, arched and angled shapes cut to the opening.
Right product, right room
Timber is the best-looking shutter in the range, and it is the wrong product in about a fifth of the rooms we quote. Being straight about that is why our warranty claims are rare.
Constant steam will eventually move any timber. Waterproof PVC is the right call and wipes clean.
See waterproof PVC shuttersDirect weather and salt air need powder-coated aluminium, which is also rigid enough for big outdoor spans.
See aluminium shuttersTwo streets from the surf we will usually spec aluminium externally and keep timber for the rooms behind it.
Ask us what to specHow it works
A free measure, a fixed price and a proper install - so the shutters go in once, sit square, and keep working for decades.
Suburb, shutter type, how many openings and your timeline. 60 seconds online - add a photo and we can quote even sharper.
A shutter specialist comes to you, measures every opening to the millimetre and leaves you with an exact, all-in price. No pressure, no obligation.
Your panels are built to your measurements, then fitted and adjusted on site. Most Sunshine Coast homes are installed 4-6 weeks after measure-up.
Pricing
Painted basswood runs roughly $450 to $700 per square metre installed, with cedar and Phoenixwood above that. What we will not quote is a per-window figure, because a window can be half a square metre or five - price follows panel area, timber, finish and how the panels move. Our full cost breakdown sets out the ranges and what moves them.
What we can promise is the process. The in-home measure takes about half an hour, you get an itemised fixed price per opening before we leave, and the figure on that quote is the figure on the invoice. No deposit to get it, no obligation, and no follow-up pressure if the timing isn't right.
Shutters are priced by the square metre of panel, so one wide living room slider can cost more than three bedroom windows.
Painted basswood sits at the accessible end. Cedar, Phoenixwood and custom colour matching add to it.
Fixed and hinged panels are the most economical. Bi-fold and tracked sliding sets need more hardware and more labour.
Raked, arched and bay openings take longer to template and build. Second-storey access can add to the install.
Reviews
Feedback from Sunshine Coast customers who've had plantation shutters measured, made and installed by us.
“Our west-facing lounge was unusable by three in the afternoon. They did timber shutters across the whole front of the house and it’s a completely different room - cooler, and the light is beautiful.”
“We’re two streets from the beach so they talked us into aluminium for the alfresco and PVC in the bathrooms instead of timber. Two summers on - no swelling, no rust, no fuss.”
“Measured, made and installed exactly when they said. The raked window above the stairs is why we chose them - nobody else wanted to touch it.”
Care
Timber shutters are close to zero-maintenance, which is most of the appeal. Four habits keep a set looking new for twenty years.
A microfibre cloth or a vacuum brush head along the louvres, tilted flat, every few weeks. That is genuinely most of the maintenance.
Barely-damp cloth, then dry it off. Never leave standing water on a timber louvre and skip solvent or ammonia cleaners on painted finishes.
Move louvres from the centre rod or the mid-point of the slat, not the end. It keeps the tension pins even across the panel.
One turn on a loose hinge screw keeps a wide panel sitting square. If a panel ever drops or catches, call us - adjustments are part of the warranty.
FAQ
Basswood as standard - a kiln-dried hardwood that is light, close-grained and dimensionally stable, so panels stay square and the finish stays flat. Western Red Cedar and Phoenixwood are available where you want a stained grain or extra-wide panels. All three are engineered specifically for adjustable louvres, not general joinery timbers.
Not in the rooms they belong in. Kiln-dried basswood is stable through normal indoor humidity swings, and the factory finish seals every face of every louvre. What does move timber is sustained steam and direct weather - which is why we spec waterproof PVC for bathrooms and laundries and powder-coated aluminium for alfrescos rather than putting timber where it will fail.
Yes, noticeably. Closed louvres block direct sun before it reaches the glass and the closed panel creates an insulating air gap at the window. Angle the louvres upward and you keep a bright room while the heat and glare stay outside. Western-facing living rooms are where our customers report the biggest change.
Painted white is the most popular by a wide margin: it is coastal, it blends into the architrave and it makes the window look larger. Stain suits homes with timber floors, exposed beams or cedar joinery where you want the shutter to read as timber. We bring both to the measure so you can hold samples up in your own light.
89mm is our most-specified size and the safe all-rounder. Go 63mm on smaller or cottage-scale windows for a more traditional look, and 114mm on large windows and sliding doors where you want the fewest slats and the clearest view.
Yes - raked and angled windows, arches, bay returns, corner joins and full-height sliders are all standard work for us. Awkward openings are the ones we are known for. Send a photo with your enquiry and we will tell you straight away whether it is doable.
Typically four to six weeks. Every panel is built to your measurements, so there is a manufacturing window. We confirm the install date at measure-up and keep you posted, and the same team that measured does the fit.
They are a fixture rather than a furnishing, so they stay with the house and are treated as a permanent upgrade. Agents on the Coast consistently list shutters in the features of a home, and they photograph far better than blinds or curtains.
Yes - there are no cords, chains or loose fabric anywhere in the system, which is the main reason parents choose shutters over blinds for nurseries and kids' rooms.
Product and workmanship are both covered, in writing, on your quote before you commit. Panel adjustments - a hinge that needs a turn, a louvre tension tweak - are part of that.
The rest of the range
Timber is one of five ranges. If a room isn't right for timber, one of these is - and we quote the whole house in a single visit.
Service areas
Local installers covering every suburb from Caloundra to Noosa and out through the hinterland. Tell us what you need and we'll get a shutter specialist out to measure and quote, fast.
MaroochydoreMooloolabaAlexandra HeadlandCotton TreeBuddinaMinyamaWaranaBirtinyaTwin Waters+ all surrounding suburbs
Noosa HeadsNoosavilleSunshine BeachTewantinPeregian BeachCoolum BeachMarcoolaSunrise Beach+ all surrounding suburbs
CaloundraGolden BeachPelican WatersCurrimundiMoffat BeachDicky BeachAroonaLittle Mountain+ all surrounding suburbs
BuderimNambourPalmwoodsMalenyMontvilleWoombyeYandinaEumundiMooloolah Valley+ all surrounding suburbs
If you're anywhere between Caloundra and Noosa we can get an installer to you. See the full service area or get a quote now.
Tell us about your windows and we'll book a free in-home measure and a fixed quote.
Get my free quote