The difference between louvres and shutters is simpler than it sounds. A louvre is the angled blade. A shutter is the framed panel that holds blades. In Australia, shutters usually live inside the window. Louvres live outside, on the building, doing the weather work before sun or rain ever reaches the glass.
- Shutters are indoor window furniture — style, privacy and light control behind the glass.
- Louvres are outdoor armour — sun, rain, privacy and airflow handled before the window.
- External shading blocks up to 90% of the sun’s heat — inside coverings can’t (government figure, below).
- You’ll see every louvre style we make further down, each linked to its own page.
Shutters: white plantation shutters fitted inside a window — this pair is in our own home. 
Louvres: 160mm adjustable aluminium louvres mounted outside the glass. See 160mm louvres → The Names
Are louvres and shutters the same thing?
No — but the confusion is understandable, because many shutters are full of louvres. Strictly, the louvre is the individual angled blade, and the shutter is the hinged or sliding panel built around blades. That’s why so many people search for “louvre shutters” when what they want is an external aluminium louvre screen.
One more twist: spelling. You’ll see them spelt louvres here and louvers in America. Same word, same blades.
What most Australians mean by “shutters” is plantation shutters — the white indoor panels in bedrooms and living rooms across the country. We have them in our own home, and they’re lovely window furniture. But they are furniture: they sit behind the glass. Everything we make at Eco Awnings — custom aluminium louvres — is built for the outside of the building.
The Real Difference
Shutters live indoors. Louvres do the weather work outside.
Indoor shutters are excellent at one job: controlling the light that has already come through your window. Tilt the blades closed for privacy, open them for sun. In the photo, one panel is closed flat and one is open — that’s the whole trick, and it’s a good trick.
But here’s what a shutter can’t do. By the time sunlight reaches an indoor shutter, the heat is already inside your house. The glass has caught it, the room has caught it, and the shutter is simply decorating a warm room.
External aluminium louvres stop that same sunlight before the glass. The blades take the heat outside, where the breeze carries it away. Privacy works the same way — from the street the blades close the view, while you keep your light, your airflow and your outlook.
The 90% fact. The Australian Government’s YourHome guide ↗ puts it plainly: direct sun on a single square metre of glass generates as much heat as a bar radiator — and effective external shading can block up to 90% of that heat. That is the whole argument for putting your shading outside the window, in one government-tested number.
Up Close
Blade against blade
Shutter blades: light indoor profiles in timber, MDF or PVC — made to tilt, not to weather. Louvre blades: 85mm powder-coated aluminium on welded frames — built for sun, rain and salt air. See privacy screen louvres → Blade size is the giveaway. Indoor shutter blades are small and light because they only ever move air-conditioned air. Our louvre blades come in 85mm85mm — our most popular privacy blade. Blocks the view at an angle while air flows freely.See privacy screen louvres → and 160mm160mm — bigger blades, bigger view between them. Privacy without losing the outlook.See 160mm louvres → aluminium, powder-coated in your colour, because they stand outside in Sydney weather for decades. We manufacture every screen in Sydney and weld the frames — nothing clips together. (Hover or tap the dotted words for a quick look at each blade size.)
The Range
What kinds of louvres can you get?
More kinds than most people expect — this is where louvres leave shutters behind. Every one below is a real Eco Awnings install, and every card links to that product’s page.
Stand-off louvres float in front of the window on brackets — the window still opens fully. Privacy screen louvres → Cantilever louvres reach over doors and glass like an awning — shade with no posts. Cantilever louvres → Sliding louvres glide across balconies — privacy when you want it, open outlook when you don’t. Sliding louvres → 160mm adjustable louvres — privacy from the neighbours without losing the view. 160mm louvres → Louvre gates — the same blades, built gate-strong on welded frames. Fences & gates → Louvre fencing — street privacy that still lets the breeze through. Fences & gates → Louvre enclosures hide bins and gear — doors that breathe. Enclosures → Equipment enclosures hide the pool pump and quiet it — while it keeps its airflow. Enclosures → Honest Advice
When is a shutter the right choice?
Sometimes it is — and we’ll tell you so. If you want total blackout and security, a roller shutter is the right product, and we don’t make them. If you want elegant indoor window furniture, plantation shutters are a fine choice — ours have been on our windows for years.
But if your real problem is heat, glare, privacy or weather, the answer belongs on the outside of the glass. And if you’re protecting a window or door rather than screening a space, sometimes the simplest fix is a Slimline window awning over the top — our Slimline 100 is the one customers love most, because it has no visible brackets at all.
The Slimline 100 — no visible brackets, here over a sliding door. See window & door awnings →Questions We’re Asked
Louvres and shutters — quick answers
Are louvers and shutters the same?
No. A louvre (or louver, in American spelling) is the angled blade itself. A shutter is the framed panel that holds blades. Australian “shutters” are usually indoor plantation shutters; external aluminium louvres are fixed or adjustable blade systems mounted outside the building for sun, privacy and weather control.
What are the disadvantages of shutters?
Indoor shutters can’t stop heat — sunlight has already passed through the glass before it reaches them, so the room still warms up. They also block your outlook when closed, collect dust, and do nothing against rain or weather. External louvres handle all four jobs from outside the window.
Do external louvres really keep a house cooler?
Yes. The Australian Government’s YourHome guide says effective external shading blocks up to 90% of solar heat — because the blades stop sunlight before it strikes the glass. Direct sun can otherwise put the heat of a bar radiator into every square metre of window.
Are louvre windows the same as louvre screens?
No. Louvre windows are glass-bladed windows that open for ventilation. Louvre screens are aluminium blade panels fitted outside a normal window or space. If you can see through it and it’s glass, it’s a window; if it shades, screens and takes the weather, it’s an aluminium louvre.
Made in Sydney, made to measure. Every louvre screen, gate and enclosure on this page was manufactured in our Sydney workshop — welded aluminium frames, powder-coated in your colour, fully assembled and ready to install.
See Our Full Range
Every one of these is made to measure in our Sydney workshop — tap any picture to have a look.
Slimline 100
Slimline 50 Cantilever
Slimline 50 Under Eave