Solve Privacy Problems With Window Film

SPACIFY INC, just sooo amazing ideas. Thank you!!

Gina Kaylor We had it done in our large shower window. It is one of my favorite elements of our remodeled bath. The lower part is covered for privacy but the upper part is clear to see the nature outside. We also gave it an interesting organic line that slopes down for maximum openness.

olldbobbi I used a magnolia print window film in my kitchen window because the view was so much less than desirable: my neighbors garbage cans. I'm also a very private person so keeping all the blinds and curtains open makes me antsy; window film is the perfect solution. It's very easy to install yourself and takes no time at all!

f_allen I live on the ground floor of a condominium complex and have used it to keep people from looking into my apartment. I used the kind that is put on with water -- so it is removable and re-appliable.

Linda You can also buy a can of window frosting paint, made by Krylon. I use it often for temporary window treatments in unfinished houses. It is much cheaper than the film and can be removed with paint thinner or elbow grease. However, it smells really bad so plan on leaving the area for a few hours after application.

starlite13 Previous owner of my home had 3 sets of beveled glass French doors put in (which I love), one for dining, master bedroom and master bath. They were covered with a pretty lacy accordion blind AND froufrou curtains....so not me. I have used room darkening film before so I started to look to see if there was another type (I had seen floral designs) I was in a big box DIY store and saw RICE Paper-looking film. LOVE the look, LOVE the light, LOVE the privacy and now there is an openness to all these doors.

clholmes822 I used Artscapes Etched Glass film that I found on Amazon.com on the sidelights surrounding my front door. I was concerned that anyone could walk up to my front door and look in. I knew I didn't want to install curtains or blinds there. The product was very easy to work with, just clean the glass, spray with a soap solution, apply the film and use the squeegee included to remove the bubbles. It works beautifully and it looks as if the glass has always been frosted. I'm contemplating doing the same to the French doors at the back of our home.

goodwitchstudio I used the Emma Jeffs Moroccan film in my closet. It looks great, but it takes patience cut it for French panes!

Debie Wilson We changed out our builder provided entry door with a beautiful glass inset door. For years, I could not relax in the living room anytime of the day or night because I knew that anyone could see me from the street. A couple of years ago, I put a light filtering sheet of film over the glass and could once again, enjoy sitting in my living room. I got all the beauty of the door and I had privacy!! I just wished I had done that from the very beginning!

moncolonel I understand from reading about the products that they only provide privacy in the daytime, without light in the room. Is that correct?

sparklymom We used the film in the upstairs bathroom of our 1860 Victorian home because we're right in town with (big) houses out our backyard. I'm still not convinced it'll be a permanent change because all our Lowe's had was solid film. I'm loving that first patterned one above though!
It was our solution for privacy and has worked well so far.

mrsben Have never used it myself but have heard of accounts where it was thought to add privacy but it didn't. My advice to anyone, is check it out first. If I recall correctly, it did its job during the daytime but not at night with artificial light.

donadona53 We used the window film on our pocket french door to our master bath. I love how the light comes through during the day yet still provides privacy.

lindalorang We had films put on our back windows & skylights to reduce fading of pictures & furniture, etc. in March of this year. When the "derecho" went through our area on June 29th & a large chunk of tree came down, the film kept tiny pieces of glass from raining down on us as the familyroom skylight was hit. I know that this was not the aesthetic application you were looking for, but we were very glad we had it in place!

stillman5 Need advice or comments: I am looking at a Cling type window film from a place call Decorative Film, LLC. Link: http://www.decorativefilm.com/products/65-solyx-sxlt-1307-clear-cut-glass-flowers-36-wide.aspx
The free samples I was sent are beautiful and are a substantial pieces of flexable plastic, Looks just like Cut Glass & looks like a very nice product.

Have any of you had experience with this type of Cling window film. Other than the type I see on windows at holiday times I have no experience with it.

I am wondering how it holds up or if I have to keep messing with its cling factor so I want to know if anything effects the cling factor once you've install it.
It seems reasonably priced with others, but I still would like to hear of any experiences anyone can share about cling plastic before I purchase it.

janedavis17 f_allen, would you be willing to share the brand of window film that you used? thank you in advance.

mindqt I own a condo in which I receive no direct sunlight whatsoever. Even decorative privacy sheers seemed to take away every little bit of light that I do get during the day so I purchased the privacy window film and now I am able to receive the daylight without obstruction and without the interior of my home being on display for all to see. If I faced in any other direction other than the parking lot, this would not have been a huge problem, however, before, anyone driving up could see directly into my unit and I take my privacy very seriously -- I only wish that the other people that live there did as well. {-_-}

PH Interiors, LLC I am planning on using a window film with a funky mod design on the underside of a glass table top for a teenage client's desk. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Lindsey M. Roberts Gina Kaylor, I like that idea of having the top open and the bottom filtered. Excellent idea!

Lindsey M. Roberts PH Interiors, LLC, another gem of an idea. Way to think outside of the box.

Lindsey M. Roberts moncolonel and mrsben: Because window films are transparent, they don't work at night with artificial light. But at least at night, you don't get the advantage of natural light filtering through anyway, so install curtains or blinds to keep your privacy in the evening hours.

Lily Gahagan I have the Emma Jeffs film featured at top in my bathroom window (which looks out on a nearby apartment building). I get some privacy without sacrificing light. Love it! And it is so pretty too.

krysti0069 love this idea, we did this about 4 years ago as both of our bathrooms are at eye level with a deck off the back of our house. I didn't want to lose the natural light from the window that might occur if using a shade or a blind and this was a perfect solution as we applied it to the bottom 1/2 of the window only. Also,our film is frosted so no one can see through even at night when the light is on in the bathroom

A & D Glass Inc. If you have insulated glass in your windows or doors, you need to be aware that film applied to the inside can cause heat build up within the airspace and cause the seal to fail.

Lindsey M. Roberts A&D Glass: Good point!

f_allen I don't remember the name of the film but I got at Home Depot. The only drawback to the film I used is that it some times lifts at the corner and you have to wet it to put back down.

clholmes822 moncolonel & msben - For the typed I used, if it's nighttime and our foyer light is on, you can't see beyond approx. 4 feet into our foyer (and that's only shadowy shapes with no definition). If our front exterior motion lights are on and the foyer light is on, you can't see anything but light coming through the window. If the foyer light is off, you can't see anything from the inside, just your reflection. During the daytime it looks frosted and you see your reflection, but not inside. I had to install a peephole in the door because I could no longer see out. I do have double pane windows (it is a newer house), perhaps that makes a difference?

krysti0069 We installed the film on our "insulated windows" and it hasn't been a problem with the seal failing and it's been 3 years and gets direct sun all day. perhaps we've just been lucky.

stillman5 Thank You krysti0069 for you for you answer. I am going for it, it is a perfect solution. When it's done I will send picture & comment a well. Thanks Houzz for bring this window film up again.

Zissy Foy These people claim theirs will work day or night lights on or off....has anyone tried them?
http://windowfilmworld.com/privacy-window-film.htm

Zissy Foy This one even has a video showing you about their product. I need to get something for my bedroom where no one can see in day or night.
http://www.wallpaperforwindows.com/pc/Frosted-Glass-Window-Film-c45.htm

f_allen I do use the cling type of film and you cannot see in clearly at night. Everything look like a blur or shadow, nothing is distinct.

mindqt TO: Zissy Foy -- I have the type of privacy film that WindowFilmWorld.com offers. It is a medium weight vinyl that I put up about three years ago. During the day, you cannot see into my home at all, during the night, all you see are distortions. You cannot tell what anyone is wearing, if they are male or female, or anything else. Going into year four now and while it is removable, it has never lifted, shifted or failed. It was one of the best investments I have made. I believe that you will be very pleased with the result. Just make sure that you buy “Privacy Film” or else you will be disappointed. There are varying degrees of privacy so if you can, find out the amount of privacy the film offers before you buy it to ensure you’re getting what you want.

lotis I think I am going to try a privacy film on our kitchen window. It faces the side of our neighbor's house and ugly AC unit. I will be adding a fabric roman shade in addition. Will post pics when complete!

stillman5 Thanks f_allen, I ordered those cling type films from Windowfilm.com. I ordered 8 ft of Atlantis Mosaic which is enough to cover my French Door from my Bedroom and it cost me $136. Lucky me...My French door has removable insert on the inside of the door (solid wood on the outside), That works perfectly too as I can use the solid sheet of films instead of cutting each window to fit. I will send pic's when it is complete.

lotis I bought etched window film from Home Depot on Saturday. Then I headed over to JoAnn Fabrics to take advantage of their Founder's Day sale. Sunday am I set to work on the window film. It was easier than I thought it would be to install. The man at H.D. said he had been told the installation is a lot easier if you spray both the window and the back of the film prior to installing. He was right, so I definitely wanted to share that information to anyone considering this application. Next, I made the roman shade to give the window a finished look. So pleased with how it turned out and don't have to look at our neighbor's AC anymore!

gus2gizmo After we purchased our home I was unsure what to do with our main entry door with tall side windows. I eventually realized I didn't want to put curtains put or spend tons of money redoing the front entry for privacy. The perfect & cheap solution was the light filtering, privacy window clings...and now I can change these too when I feel the need to revamp my entryway.

lisalamonica Hi. I am in desperate need of window treatment advise for a salon space. Im opening a 870 sq ft salon/studio with large windows that let natural light in. Its also located on a busy main road where there is a ton of traffic and little privacy. Is there a certain material i would need to look for in a drape/curtain that would let natural light in but also give total privavcy for the clients inside the salon?

Lily Gahagan Hi lisalamonica,

I actually just yesterday noticed a salon's solution to this problem. It's on the ground floor of a building on a busy street, and they have installed roller shades to provide some privacy while still letting in light. They look kind of like this:




I would choose a light filtering option for the mix of light and privacy you're looking for. Here are a few sources from a quick search for "roller shades":

http://www.hunterdouglashospitality.com/channel/window/rollershades.jsp?id=details
http://www.theshadestore.com/product2/roller-shade-light-filtering

Hope this helps!

justmuckingaround I live about 35 yards from the beach in a two family building that used to be zoned commercial. The lady had lived here apparently for 10 years downstairs with the curtains closed as its right on a sidewalk. I was supposed to move upstairs but the lady downstairs had first dibs. I got downtairs so now I have a Bamboo theme going here and took these "Angle Hair" type Bamboo shades that are supposed to go up and down and ended up fitting nice sideways filling up 3 panes of Anderson windows (x2). Now in the day I get quite a lot of light in my living room and people walking by can't see in the only problem being is of course at night. Then though I just close the curtains. Now I have a beach theme going and seems to work nice.

kcalman I was thinking of installing Artscape Rice Paper window film on my front door and sidelights for privacy. Some of the reviews said that when installed inside the house, you can clearly see any and all bubbles from outside. Does anyone have any experience with this?

SOLARIS A dirty installation will potentially show bubbles, particularly on the outside. If you try it on your own and it doesn't turn out well, find a local window film professional to do the install for you.

As to some earlier comments about seal failure with film, this will only occur if the absorption rate of the film used is very high. Darker, grey films like automotive tint can cause problems. The majority of decorative films are extremely safe to install. If you are in doubt, ask the manufacturer or your local professional.