Choosing Plantation shutters for form or function? Plantation shutters offer both to today's homeowner. These unique window treatments trace their roots to aged Greece. The Greeks used them for both privacy and security. Interior shutters were used to close windows. Along with imposing columns, shutters are hallmarks of Classical Greek Architecture. This aged order and form in construction fabricate later influenced buildings and architecture throughout the Western world.
Before the overall use of glass, shutters were used to close windows. They were used to protect the interior of the house from the weather and from intruders as well as furnish privacy. They could be opened to allow sunlight and fresh air into the construction or home.
Plantation Shutter
Elements of Greek architecture are seen in many buildings and homes from the late 18th century, the 19th century and the early 20th century in the United States. It was especially prevalent in banks, office buildings and many public and government buildings. The plantation mansions of the old South borrowed heavily on the architecture of the Greeks. The antebellum mansions of the great plantations from South Carolina to the western edge of Mississippi borrowed heavily from the construction concepts of the Greeks. A amount of these grand old mansions have been restored and preserved at Natchez, Mississippi.
Just as did the aged Greeks, plantation owners used shutters for both their charm and their function. By windup the windows in this manner, these homeowners were able to add a level of protection to their homes. This was prominent because in the era before the Civil War, the agricultural areas of the South were only sparsely populated. Plantations were largely isolated. Plantations were also symbols of wealth, development them targets for bands of robbers. There was also the potential of assault from revolting slaves.
Times have changed and today's homeowners use shutters primarily for their charm or form rather than for security.
