Bespoke shutters for arched, circular and unusual windows
Custom Shaped Shutters In Kent
Standard plantation shutters are made in sizes and shapes that fit standard windows. Custom shaped shutters are made to fit windows that aren’t standard – arched windows above front doors, circular porthole windows, triangular gable windows, trapezoidal landings. We approach these as bespoke design projects: in-person measurement, drawn design, design approval, then fabrication. The process is different from standard shutter manufacture because the shapes don’t tolerate approximation.
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Custom Shaped Shutters
Professional Bespoke Shutters Across Kent
Transform your unusually shaped windows into stunning features with our custom-made shutters. Whether you have arched, circular, or angled bay windows, our bespoke shaped shutters in Kent provide the perfect solution for any unique window design.
Our expertly crafted custom shutters don’t just look amazing – they also boost your home’s energy efficiency and comfort throughout the year. With over 25 years of carpentry experience, we create perfectly fitted shutters that enhance both style and practicality.
Every custom-shaped shutter we make is individually designed to match your exact window measurements. From curved bay windows to triangular roof lights, our bespoke shutters handle any challenging shape with professional precision.
We know every home is different, which is why our custom-shaped shutters are tailored specifically for your property. Our team carefully measures each unique window before crafting shutters that fit perfectly and look fantastic.
Why we draw before we cut
The Design Stage
Standard rectangular shutters are made directly from measurements. Frame width, frame height, panel count, hinge side – the manufacturing process can take this list of numbers and produce a shutter without further intervention.
Shaped shutters can’t work this way. Each window’s exact geometry needs to be drawn before manufacture starts. The drawing captures: the window’s overall shape (with curves expressed as radius dimensions, not just heights and widths); the louvre layout (radial for arches, horizontal for trapezoids, depending on what reads correctly for the shape); the panel divisions (where the panel splits if it’s a multi-panel shape); the frame profile and how it follows the window’s outline; and the hinge points.
We do this drawing during the design stage that happens between survey and manufacture. After the survey we produce a design drawing – typically a 2D scale drawing of the window with the shutter overlaid. We email this to you for approval. You confirm the design, we proceed to manufacture. If anything in the drawing looks wrong (louvre angle off, panel split awkward, frame profile not matching the wall) we revise before fabrication starts.
This is why shaped shutters take longer than standard shutters – the design stage adds 1-2 weeks to the lead time. It’s also why they cost more: the design itself is bespoke labour. The benefit is that the shutter actually fits, looks correct, and operates as intended.
Why we don't quote shaped shutters from email
Templating In Person Vs From Photos
Some shutter retailers offer remote quotes for shaped shutters based on customer-supplied photos and measurements. This works for simple rectangular shutters where the dimensions are obvious. It doesn’t work reliably for shaped shutters because the geometry of curves and unusual shapes can’t be captured accurately from photos.
We always template shaped shutters in person at survey. Templating means producing a paper or card cutout of the actual window opening, taking a record of the curve or angles, and bringing this template back to the workshop as the basis for manufacture. For straightforward shapes (a clean half-circle arch above a square sash) the templating is quick – 10-15 minutes added to the survey time. For complex shapes (an asymmetric arch, a hand-built timber frame from the 1700s where every dimension is slightly different) it can take 30-45 minutes.
The templating approach is what allows us to manufacture shutters that actually fit. The alternative – measuring with a tape and trusting the numbers – regularly produces shaped shutters that are 5-10mm off the actual opening, which is enough to cause visible gaps at install or to require on-site modification that compromises the finish.
Off-the-shelf hardware doesn't always work
Hardware For Unusual Shapes
Standard shutter hardware – hinges, latches, tilt rods – is designed for rectangular panels. Shaped shutters often need bespoke hardware solutions because the standard kit doesn’t fit the geometry.
Arched shutters with louvres radiating from a central point need a specialist tilt rod – a single rod connects to all the louvres at the radial centre, allowing the whole array to tilt in unison. Some designs need geared linkages to handle the radial geometry. Off-the-shelf shutter hardware doesn’t include this; we either source specialist parts or fabricate them.
Circular shutters in opening (rather than fixed) configuration need pivot mounts rather than hinges – the panel rotates around its centre rather than swinging on an edge. This is genuinely uncommon hardware.
Triangular shutters often have one extremely acute angle where standard hinges won’t fit. We use modified hinges or relocate the hinge points to compensate.
All of this is usually invisible to the customer once installed – the hardware just works. But it’s where bespoke shaped shutters earn their bespoke price tag. The hardware engineering for an unusual shape can take more design time than the panel itself.
More design stage than typical shutter projects
Designing And Building a Shaped Shutter
Shaped shutters are the most bespoke shutter products we make. The workflow includes a drawing-and-approval stage that doesn’t exist for rectangular shutters, because the geometry doesn’t tolerate manufacturing approximations. The three stages take longer overall but the end result is a shutter that genuinely fits.
In-person survey with templating
We don’t quote shaped shutters from photographs or remote measurements. The survey includes producing a paper or card template of the actual window opening – 10-15 minutes for simple shapes, 30-45 for complex shapes. The template comes back to the workshop as the basis for design.
Drawn design with approval gate
After the survey we produce a 2D scale drawing of the proposed shutter overlaid on the window template. The drawing shows louvre layout (radial vs horizontal), panel divisions, frame profile and hinge points. We email the drawing for your approval before manufacture starts. Lead time from approval to delivery is typically 6-8 weeks.
Bespoke fabrication and install
The workshop builds the shutter to the approved drawing, with hardware sourced or fabricated for the specific geometry. Install can take longer than rectangular shutters because the shaped panels need to be positioned in the opening with greater care to clear the curves and angles cleanly.
OUR PRODUCTS
Our Complete Window Covering Offering
If you are searching for the finest kent shutters, The VIP Shutter Co offers a complete range of made to measure plantation shutters that combine architectural elegance with proven, measurable performance. Independent testing has shown that a well fitted shutter can reduce heat loss through a window by up to 52 per cent, which is why so many homeowners now regard them as an energy efficient upgrade as well as a design choice.
Every shutter is cut to your precise sizes and finished to the colour, stain, or bespoke RAL shade of your choosing. We offer six classic styles, each available in sustainably sourced hardwood, engineered MDF, and waterproof ABS, with louvre sizes of 47 mm, 63 mm, 76 mm, and 89 mm, and either central or discreet hidden tilt.
Carpenter-led, Kent based
Why Choose The VIP Shutter Co
Choosing a made to measure window treatment is a long term investment, and the company you trust to deliver it matters just as much as the product itself. Here is why Kent homeowners, from period townhouses in Rochester to coastal properties in Folkestone, continue to choose The VIP Shutter Co year after year.
Expertise and experience
Barry, our founder, is a qualified carpenter with more than 25 years on the tools and over 20 years in the shutters and blinds industry.
Real benefits, not marketing claims
Every blind is made to measure, child-safe as standard, and fitted by us, not subcontracted out. Quality is checked at the workshop and again at the install.
Customisation
Choose from hundreds of fabrics, prints and finishes. Motorisation, blackout linings and child-safety features are options on most ranges.
Suitability across Kent homes
Bedroom blinds are one of the most-requested categories we fit in Kent, especially for young families upgrading from rental fittings. Over 100 Kent homeowners have rated us five stars.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Almost any. Standard shapes (full arch, half arch, segmental arch, circle, triangle, trapezoid) we make routinely. Highly unusual shapes (very tight curves, asymmetric geometries, multi-axis windows) we discuss case by case at survey.
Lead times are typically 8-12 weeks – longer than rectangular shutters because each shape requires individual design and fabrication. We confirm the timeline at the design-approval stage.
Yes – the louvres tilt the same way they do in rectangular shutters. The frame and panel geometry is bespoke; the louvre mechanism is standard.
Hand-made by intent – we’re not trying to imitate factory-finished standard products. The bespoke geometry is the point. Customers choosing shaped shutters typically want the property’s window character preserved rather than masked.
The VIP Shutter Co
