Plantation shutters in Tempe, built for the Arizona sun.

Tempe is the built-out heart of the East Valley - hemmed in on every side by Mesa, Scottsdale, the Salt River community, Phoenix, and Chandler, it ran out of open land in the 1970s and has grown by refreshing itself ever since. The median Tempe home is now around forty years old, which makes this a remodel-and-refresh market, not a new-build one.

The stock reads like a timeline. Early-century bungalows and flood-irrigated lots in Maple-Ash and Mitchell Park near the university; mid-century ranches and slump-block homes in Broadmor and Optimist Park with their original single-pane aluminum windows; the 1970s master plans at The Lakes and Warner Ranch built around man-made water; and a newer band of infill and condos around Tempe Town Lake. Each era wants a different answer at the window.

That is why the most common thing we hear in Tempe is some version of 'we love the house, it just feels dated.' Crisp shutters do more to modernize an older room than almost anything short of new floors - and they solve the western sun an aging window was never built for. Our Gilbert showroom is a short run down the 202, and the designer comes to you.

Every project starts with the same honest choice: our worry-free Sanctuary composite or authentic Normandy wood - and a designer who helps you pick the right one for your windows, not the most expensive one.

Not sure where to start? Read our straight answer on whether shutters keep heat out, or our full Arizona shutter buying guide, before anyone visits your home. Covering a patio slider or French doors? See shutters for French doors. Weighing materials? Read the wood vs. composite verdict.