Hurricane Florence Renovation and Sunburst Shutters

(This post is in partnership with Sunburst Shutters. As always, the opinions, concept, content, and photography are all ours.)

In mid-September 2018 coastal North Carolina was devastated by Hurricane Florence. For three days, she hovered over the majority of our state dumping over 33 inches of rain at the coast. We have a one bedroom condo on the top floor of a 1960’s twelve unit building. We lost just about everything in the condo. The wind ripped off the roof, and for those three days rain poured into our unit. All the units downstairs flooded with nearly 40 inches of water from the nearby river, in addition to the rain that eventually collapsed their ceilings as well. Needless to say, the building was almost a total loss. Because this was the case of nearly every building in our tiny town, many buildings were allowed to rebuild.

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Fast forward, and nearly a year later, we have finally managed to finish the rebuild on our unit. With so much widespread damage, it was nearly impossible to find contractors who had time to take on additional work. As we neared completion we decided we wanted to try something different with the windows this time. We met some amazing people from Sunburst Shutters, and they came and installed the most beautiful plantation shutters into the three windows of our unit. While our unit was already finished when they came to install, furniture in place, rugs down, etc, the difference and elegance that the shutters added was immediate. Needless to say, the fact that these shutters are made of  Polywood®, a durable solid engineered faux-wood material exclusively patented and custom made in the USA by Sunburst Shutters, and are completely waterproof was a great selling point, considering the fact that we had just lost everything inside to water damage. They would also stand up to high humidity and condensation, where basic wood may have issues.

When they first came to measure the windows, we had a decision to make. You can either have the shutters inset into the window like we have here, or the other option is adding a casing around the windows that the shutters are installed into. Honestly, Blake suggested that we go for the casing install, but we decided to inset them. Either way would have been equally gorgeous.

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The day of installation came, and even though they had a nearly 2 hour drive to reach us, they arrived exactly on time. Blake and Deborah, from Sunburst Shutters Raleigh, brought everything upstairs by hand, and before we knew it, the furniture had been moved, and they were at work! The install was so fast, and when they left, there was no trace that they had been there, except for the beautiful new shutters installed into our formerly bare windows. We love how they blend seamlessly into the walls. This simple addition of Sunburst Shutters added so much elegance into these rooms. Prior to the storm, we had thin draperies over the windows and basic mini blinds. The difference is just amazing!

Blake has been installing shutters for several decades. He and his company are committed to a product well-made, and a product that the customer is proud to display and use on a daily basis in the home.  It was so nice working with them, and I appreciate their knowledge, friendliness and their professional character.  Blake demonstrated for us the different ways the shutters could be positioned to help achieve the look and lighting affect we needed. The shutters feel solid and sturdy when you open and close them. I have shutters by a box store in our full-time home, and I can tell you that Sunburst Shutters are so much better!

We also absolutely love the way the shutters look from the outside. A slight angle means you can take advantage of outdoor light, while keeping your privacy indoors. In addition to that, the louvers on the shutters are a full 3.5″. When fully closed, even during the daytime, it is amazing how much light is completely blocked. You could easily sleep during the day if you needed a nap.

If you are considering upgrading your window treatments, we highly recommend the clean fresh look that Sunburst Shutters offer. To find a location near you, click here.