Plantation Shutters: Reuse Old Window Coverings

Replacing old window coverings can transform a room, but it also leaves you with a rather practical question: what happens to everything you have just taken down?

Upgrading to Plantation Shutters doesn’t necessarily mean old blinds, curtains or shutters need to head straight to landfill. Instead, the team from Plantation Shutters suggests looking at what you already have a little differently, with plenty of ways to reuse old window coverings, repurpose or donate window coverings that still have life left in them.

Start by taking stock before reaching for the screwdriver. Curtains in good condition might be useful elsewhere, while old shutters, rods, hooks and brackets could all find another purpose around the home.

Wooden shutters, in particular, lend themselves surprisingly well to reinvention. Mounted on a wall, they can become an architectural feature or a backdrop for photographs, postcards and children’s artwork. Add a few hooks or clips and the same shutters can work as memo boards, key holders or practical organisers in a kitchen, entrance hall or home office.

Explore the possibilities

There are possibilities outdoors, too. Old shutters can be mounted against a wall or fence to create a vertical garden for small pots and trailing plants, used behind a herb garden or repurposed as decorative privacy screens on a patio or balcony.

Curtains offer an entirely different set of possibilities. Instead of seeing them as old window dressings, consider the fabric itself. Depending on its weight and condition, it could become cushion covers, table runners, lightweight throws or even soft wall panels and room dividers. Smaller offcuts can be turned into drawer liners or cleaning cloths, making use of material that might otherwise be discarded.

Even roller blinds can have another chapter. Durable fabrics can be reused as temporary privacy screens in garages, workshops or storage areas, while sturdier materials may work as shade panels for young plants outdoors.

And if DIY isn’t your thing? Donation may be the simplest answer. Schools, charities, theatre groups and community organisations may be able to put usable window coverings to work elsewhere.

It’s a small shift in thinking, but a useful one: upgrading your windows can be as much about considering what leaves the room as what comes into it. Finding ways to reuse old window coverings can help give existing materials a new purpose.

Contact Plantation Shutters.