Since 1953 the Building Centre has been offering homeowners and building professionals access to the latest in building and home decor products available in South Africa. Of course AMERICAN shutters are amongst the exhibitors!

Founded by renowned South African architect Laurie Wale, the Building Centre offers visitors access to a permanent exhibition of over 200 building products. It’s a well known source of inspiration and product information and is frequented by architects, contractors and homeowners who want to keep abreast of the latest building innovations.

“If you’re planning on renovating a home or building your dream house, the Building Centre in Platinum Street, Northgate Estate is well worth a visit,” says Karina Palmer, our marketing manager, “You will find a wide range of products on display all under one roof which is very convenient. The staff at the Building Centre is friendly and very helpful and if you have any really tricky questions they will put you directly in contact with any of the suppliers there and then.”

Recently the centre moved from Rondebosch to the new building hub of Cape Town, Northgate Estate (next to Builders Warehouse). The Building Centre is open Monday to Friday from 9am – 5pm and on a Saturday from 9am until 1pm. Click here for a map and contact details. To find out more, visit www.thebuildingcentre.co.za

For the latest home home décor ideas and trends, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

We know it’s hard to get everything done in business hours and because interior décor inspiration often strikes long after the work day, we had an online showroom designed which allows you to generate an estimate quote for AMERICAN shutters or blinds any time!

This is how it works…

1. Measure the window(s) and then navigate your Internet browser to our online showroom at americanshutters.co.za/online-showroom.php

2. Select either the ‘shutters’ or ‘blinds’ button and decide if you want the shutters to be installed inside your home or outside, if you want adjustable louvres or fixed louvres and select your application accordingly.

3. Decide if you want a sliding bi-fold, sliding bypass or hinged shutters as shown in the explanatory diagrams. Select the option you prefer by clicking on the relevant diagram.

4. Depending on the range you select, you’ll be presented with different finishes to choose from. Then select the colour you prefer and click ‘request estimate.’

5. Now fill in the product specifications, height and width of the window and click ‘Generate Estimate.’

We hope you found this useful but if you’d prefer to chat to a sales consultant, you’re most welcome to call us on 0860 7488837 or send your quote request by email to info@americanshutters.co.za.

For the latest home home décor ideas and trends, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

It’s a lovely surprise when readers comment on our blog, tweet to tell us what they loved reading or ‘like’ our blog posts via our Facebook fan page. Every comment helps us tailor our blog for you!

However, since not everyone comments, we took a look at our blog statistics and uncovered the top 10 blog posts of the year. It’s fascinating to see which blog posts got the most attention so without further ado; here are the posts that topped the charts in 2011…

1. Style your Christmas

2. Blissful bathrooms

3. Recipe for a delicious kitchen

4. Create a luxurious love nest

5. Summer Temptations: Vote and Win!

6. Fall in love with spring home décor

7. Head turning Normandy shutters

8. A place to play

9. Cosy lounge updates

10. Designer Cedarwood shutters

We’re planning the blog schedule for 2012 and would love your input. If you have suggestions, questions or requests, post a comment below and if it inspires us, we’ll do the research and write a home décor blog post just for you!

Hanneleze Kruger had a stunning start to summer when she won R5 000 worth of AMERICAN shutters or blinds in our Summer Temptation competition!

Her summer temptation, ‘Picnic under massive oak trees. Running with rolled up jeans through slips and streams,’ inspired this home décor inspiration board…

If you love this inspiration board, learn how to get the look by clicking here. And if you want to be one of the first to know about our future competitions and promotions by joining our Facebook fan page or by following us on Twitter.

“We had a great morning at Homba Primary in Khayelitsha where we planted the first of 50 trees,” said Karina Palmer, our marketing manager.

In honour of Arbour Month, AMERICAN shutters’ sponsored trees will be planted over the next few weeks at various primary schools in Khayelitsha by Food and Trees for Africa (FTFA), the first South African social enterprise with a strong focus on environmental and global warming education and awareness.

AMERICAN shutters staff Homba Primary school principal, deputy principal and teachers. Back row Gemaine Jacobs (installations and after sales service manager), Duncan Snyman (general manager), Steve Palmer (managing director), and David Williams (factory manager). Front row Salma Bhula (senior sales administrator) with Desmond Winkworth (FTFA).

Steve and Karina Palmer, Duncan Snyman, Gemaine Jacobs, Salma Bhula and David Williams from our Cape Town office attended the tree planting ceremony held on Thursday, 29 September 2011.

“The children sang and danced beautifully in celebration,” said Karina “and then we all watched as Desmond Winkworth from FTFA gave us tree planting demonstration and highlighted ways to care for our environment while teaching us the correct way to plant a tree.”

Of course our staff couldn’t resist trying out what they learnt and pitched in to help!

Interestingly, studies documented by Parks and People have found that desk bound employees with views of nature had 23% less incidence of illness than those without views of nature and neighbourhoods with a high number of trees and greenery were found to have 52% fewer crimes than those without any trees.

We hope that the children of Homba Primary, and the surrounding community, will come to reap the benefits as AMERICAN shutters’ trees burrow their roots into the earth and stretch their branches towards to sun.

With information and news from around the world just a click away, we are fast becoming accustomed to the ever-blurring borders between South Africa and the many countries from which we have learnt and adopted products throughout history. Shutters are one such product.

In 1985, after completing his studies abroad, Steve Palmer and his wife Karina, who had been working as an interior designer, returned to South Africa. Along with the international experience and inspiration they had gathered, they brought with them a love for custom-made adjustable louvre shutters, and the rest, as they say is history. Although it was in fact history that gave AMERICAN shutter’s it’s name because shutters were mostly recognised for keeping mansions in the cotton plantations of America’s South cool.

“We continually invest time and money in sourcing and selecting the best raw material and products from around the world, ensuring that they meet the demanding quality standards AMERICAN shutters has become renowned for,” says Steve Palmer, managing director of AMERICAN shutters.

To ensure that the products are suitable to the South African conditions, all the timber used in the manufacture of our products is hand selected and dried using a specialised Prescription Wood Conditioning technique which emulates the environmental conditions of the location where the shutters are to be installed, thereby reducing post installations shrinking and swelling. Significant to South African conditions, the timber is also guaranteed to be resistant to beetle attack.

As a result of our longstanding international partnerships, their manufacturing facilities, equipment, technology and processes are world-class and internationally benchmarked. Their timber is quarter-sawn giving their shutters remarkable strength and stability, mortise and tenon joints are used to withstand stress and twisting forces, their exclusive core-reinforced engineered stiles ensure robustness and durability, their rabbet stiles offer extra light control and marine grade stainless steel is used for tilt rod connectors.

“Our manufacturing and installation processes are streamlined and cost-effective earning us the position of industry price leader,” says Steve. “It is this international best practice and the quality of our raw material and finishes that enable us to offer standalone product guarantees on all our shutters.”

Our love and appreciation South Africa drives our ongoing quest to source and learn from the global industry then integrate this knowledge, technology and skill into South Africa.

“Our Decowood shutter range is our most popular, eco-friendly and cost-effective. Initially we imported these shutters, now we manufacture them locally, creating employment opportunities and boosting our local economy,” concludes Steve.

It’s been our goal to take the best the world has to offer and customise it for our unique local conditions so that South African home-owners nationwide can add value to their properties!

There is little more pleasurable than basking in winter sunshine slivering through a glass window or door on a cold day. These magic moments have us following the lazy sun with lizard-like devotion and curling our toes in wooly socks with delight. But alas, as soon as the sun is cloaked by cloud or bids an early goodnight, the cold grips us and we look for ways to replicate that natural warmth.

It is the same windows and doors that invite the winter sun into our homes that are responsible for losing our homes’ warmth. Glass windows and doors lose and gain heat in four ways: thermal radiation, heat conduction, convection and air leakage.

Thermal radiation is the emission of electromagnetic waves from all matter that has a temperature greater than zero. It is due to this process that a clear glass window or door absorbs the warmth inside your home and then re-radiates it to the exterior.

Heat conduction is the flow of thermal energy from a higher temperature to a lower temperature. A clear glass window or door allows the flow of thermal energy through the glass to the exterior.

Heat convection is the natural process by which cool air moves downwards and warm air takes its place. Due to thermal radiation and heat conduction the air near a clear glass window or door is cooled and due to convection is moves towards the floor hereby drawing more warm air from the room to take its place.

Air leakage is relatively self explainable; openings due to damaged or poor fitted windows and doors allow warm air to be lost to the exterior.

“South Africans love the outdoors and we are spoilt with so much natural beauty, therefore we design and build homes with fantastic glass windows and doors, often stretching the expanse of a wall, allowing for maximum views and natural outdoor – indoor flow,’ says Stephen Palmer, managing director of AMERICAN shutters. “ However the same focus placed on the aesthetic and lifestyle value of these openings should be placed on the ways in which they are insulated to ensure comfort and health.”

Once a home is built, we tend to prioritise decorating styles and standards on how we treat windows and doors. Traditional window dressings such as fabric curtains and security measures such as security gates do not always consider the massive heat loss that is facilitated by glass windows and doors.

Most thermal insulation materials are hidden and not considered in the interior design process such as ceiling insulation and under floor heating. Others are not designed with decorating in mind such as bulky gas heaters and awkward electric heaters that require mobility to match the indoor movement of the home’s occupants and they are an ongoing cost.

It makes perfect design, cost, thermal insulation and energy efficient sense to address the areas of a home that are responsible for the most heat loss, i.e. the windows and doors.

“Shutters and blinds are the design choices of award winning architects and interior designers because of a number of factors.

• They can be customised to suit and enhance any opening regardless of how unusual it may be: arched, triangular or domed.
• They translate well in all decorating styles, from classic to contemporary.
• They facilitate outdoor-indoor living, allowing for uninterrupted views, maximum ventilation and light,” says Karina Palmer, marketing director of AMERICAN shutters.

“Added to the timeless style and beauty that shutters and blinds add to a home, they also add value to a property. Due to the very décor specific nature and transience of fabric window dressings they are not considered fixtures, as are shutters and blinds. The investment made in opting for shutters and blinds is one that is rewarded when a property is valued and or sold.”

Now in the cooler months, perhaps the most appreciated value of shutters and blinds is their thermal insulation and energy efficiency. When opened shutters and blinds allow us to capture as much of the winter sunshine during the day and when closed they work to keep that warmth locked inside.

“In addition to our extensive range of wooden shutters and blinds, we offer a wide range of cellular blinds often referred to as honeycomb blinds. These blinds trap air in the pleated compartments of two or more layers of material, this air then serves as a buffer preventing heat loss,” says Karina Palmer. “Our no-compromise commitment to offering our clients the highest level of customisation and choice is consistent across all our products. Our cellular blinds come in a myriad colours and styles; from cord to cordless, single to double layer, translucent to block-out.”

So savour and save the winter sunshine with shutters and blinds – the most stylish prevention of heat loss due to thermal radiation, heat conduction and convection.

To find stylish AMERICAN shutters or blinds for your home, visit our online showroom. For regular interior décor and design inspiration, read more posts on our blog, follow us on Twitter and join our Facebook fan page.

We are proud to introduce another first to the South African market; an anti-bacterial option to our shutters and blinds.

Anti-bacterial shutters and blinds are ideal for high traffic areas where communicable diseases are easily spread as well as in the homes where children and/or elderly residents suffer from compromised immune systems.

Sealed with Hygienilac, AMERICAN shutters range of anti-bacterial shutters and blinds will continue to kill off bacteria for as long as 10 years! The anti-bacterial properties are effective for years because of the lacquer’s inherently low water solubility.

By preventing the bacteria’s access to nutrients, Hygienilac starves the bacteria and has a kill rate of 99.9% over a 24 hour period.

Hygienilac has received a point 3 award from the UK’s NHS Infection Control Rapid Review Panel (Surface Coating Category), been approved by the FDA, HSE EPA and is BS6250 certified. The lacquer has also been tested by Bodycote Lawlabs against a range of bacteria and by FDAS against C difficile.

Now you can ensure a healthier home in 2011!

To find out more, please contact our sales agents on 0860 7488837 or email info@americanshutters.co.za

We’ll be tempting design enthusiasts to go GREEN with our range of eco-friendly blinds and shutters at various home décor exhibitions nationwide!

Visit our deliciously tempting stands where you could enter our competition and stand the chance to win R 5 000 worth of shutters or blinds!

We’ll be exhibiting at:

… Mandy Fernades!

Congrats Mandy! You have won R 10 000 worth of shutters or blinds from AMERICAN shutters!

We emailed Mandy and she was blown away…

“Wow, I can’t believe this!!! Thank you so much!” – Mandy Fernades via email.

For the best interior décor and design inspiration the web has to offer, follow us on Twitter or join our Facebook fan page.