Any advice if I try to figure out some of this myself? I found this website http://www.ikeasaudi.com/ikea.com.sa/images/stories/new2010/Web%20BG%202011/Kitchen/FAKTUM/FAKTUM_bg_GB.pdf Its overwelming for me. Did you use the online ikea design tool. I love your color scheme. How did you decide on that granite? I found this website too . Perhaps those cabinets are not available here but just where you are. either way I can find something similiar. Did you have any issues with ordering..getting parts.. assemely? Do you have any helpful tips for designing ? Did you actually hang them yourself? Is there anything about the cabinets that you find defective or insufficient or think could be better? Thank you so much for all your help.

I am a big fan for plantation shutters you will be excited you did! You will make your money back & ease of re sale as people want them .Otherwise... If not With your kitchen get a professional in and get a tint on your window you can see out but they cannot see in until night then a simple blind will suffice. Lounge rm attach to ceiling!!.. to floor sheer curtains with a good colour curtain behind going the whole width of the wall.. bedroom a Roman blind... take advantage of your floor boards and do it properly the first time and save money!

Thank you My Beautiful Abode for your comment. The blind installer informed us that the blinds can't be released from their brackets and that once installed, a blind and it's bracket has to be removed as a unit. However, the window manufacturer demonstrated to us how the screens can be manipulated in sideways and then forced into position. Each time this procedure is carried out the window frames and fly screen frames are prone to damage. We don't believe that the present bracket design "is fit for purpose" and would not have purchased from this manufacturer of blinds had we been aware, or advised, that the blinds could not be released from the brackets.

Curtains are coming back in at the local display homes and look very luxurious. Plantation shutters look stylish in the right house but I agree with the comments about the potential to look dated if not a good match for the overall house style. Rollers remind me of schooldays when the teacher set up the projector to show a film while the students struggled to get the blinds to stay down to darken the room, but modern rollers are a simple window covering which can be a good thing if all you want is something that opens and shuts in the background while other features of the room stand out. For something you'll really be happy with you need to be weighing up personal taste, house style, window style, functionality, maintenance, room usage, window orientation, etc. You can choose the trendiest look but if it's a nuisance to live with because it doesn't provide the required light/dark level or privacy or is noisy in the breeze or whatever, it is not the right choice for the purpose.