I am planning on applying a tint film to reduce the heat entering the house in summer as well as reduce damage to the floor and furniture, but the Australian sun is so harsh it requires a lot more to block it out :(

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.

To add texture and softness to a room i would always recommend a curtain.. For bedrooms I always recommend a blockout with a sheer curtain hung very close to the cornice .. Depending on the “fall” of the fabric.. ( how it sits) your window treatment professional will recommend a style ( double pinch pleat, reverse pleat, s fold) but they will recommend the best pleat to showcase the fabric you choose .. However here is a cheap but smart alternative. Firstly.. very rarely do I hang either curtains or blinds within the window “reveal” I always go at least a minimum of 150mm above the window for blinds and generally always up to the cornice for the curtains. When you hang in the reveal you lose the height and a portion of the view.. You want to highlight a view so this is why I’m suggesting it! Plus it always makes your room look bigger. But .. if this is not for you then Alternatively you can get a sunscreen blind hung within the reveal and hang a curtain above roughly 150mm about be the reveal. The curtain should “frame” the window on either side of the window frame wall .. NOT covering a good portion of the window.. you want most of the fabric to sit in the wall when open. The combo blind / curtain is your most economical.. But I have always always hung curtains in bedrooms without fail.. It gives you that element of texture and luxe that is very hard to beat!!

Hi Gwen, I would keep the shutters facing the front of the house looking the same. It would look weird if there was one window at the front that had a different coloured window.