Solving a Privacy Problem
Hi there! If you watched my Insta stories earlier this week then you know we are having a conundrum with front door privacy. Our home is close enough to the road that our front door glass is transparent from our driveway and even from the roadway, especially at night. We have lots of windows (especially on the wall opposite the front door) and we get tons of natural light throughout our home. Being able to stand in any room in our home and see out to the canal is something we enjoy, so we want to keep our views, maintain all of the natural light, and yet find a way to get some privacy (mostly focused on the front door, but we are currently considering all windows in our main living areas). We know that we can cover the back windows with shades/blinds and that would immediately eliminate some of the visibility through the front door (just by blocking out some of the light) but ,again, we really want to maintain our water views and natural light.
During our construction process Matt and I had tossed around several possibilities for door privacy/window coverings and for some reason we just put it on the back burner. Well, last week we started talking about it again and decided to hire a tint company to come and cover the front door with reflective tint. I’ve seen lots of homeowners go this route and they seem to really enjoy it. The tint company came and applied Llumar DR 15 CDF film to my front door and side lights. I actually love the result and during the day it provides plenty of privacy. 😎 Now, when you drive by our home from the roadway the front door glass looks like a mirror instead of clear glass that is easy to see through. Here’s the kicker though— this film doesn’t work at night 😱 For the film to work, the main light source has to be on the outside of the door which means that if we have lights on inside, the reflective property of the film is not activated. It’s physics or something. 😜
So, we are kind of back to the drawing board because we NEED nighttime privacy as well. Right now we are very seriously considering adding some sort of shade to the front door that we will pull at night. I definitely don’t want blinds or curtain rods with drapes on them as neither of those fit in with the aesthetic of our home. I want something very minimal and that is hidden during the day when it is not in use. I’ll definitely report back here with our next experiment and let you know if it works.
Here are the recommendations I received from viewers when I discussed this on Insta:
most folks actually replied that they are having the same issue 😅 and would like to hear what we end up doing
frosted glass
Kristy Wicks front door as a suggestion
Roman Shade that matches door color
Home Depot window film kit
curtain road with drapery
sheer curtains
fenced in front yard
switch doors to one with less glass
don’t walk around naked 🤣✅
cordless woven wood shades with privacy filter from blinds.com
In response: For us, we love the look of the normal glass and plan to keep it for now. It’s so funny that you mention Kristy Wicks because I have been following her for years and I LOVE her style and her account! But I didn’t even realize that we have basically the same door and same problem. I sifted through her highlights to find some photos of the shades she used and how she positioned them. This actually looks very similar to what we are thinking. (See photos) Hers appears to be a Roman/cordless shade and she did share some general details but I cannot confirm exactly what is on her front door yet. But, yes, to the Roman shade idea! I’m not sure what the window film kit is, I need to research it. Sounds like maybe it’s a type of tint but it may be something even better. I’ll check it out before we make our final decision. Curtains/sheers and drapes look great and work in a lot of different spaces, but it doesn’t work for our entryway, unfortunately. Bummer. We probably should fence in our front yard— maybe one day! 😆 We definitely don’t want to switch doors, I really like our Thermatru doors (we have three sets). I love the look of woven wooden shades so I will definitely check these out as a possibility. Thank you for all for responding and for the great ideas! This is going to be a journey and we will figure this out, I am sure of it! And I’ll bring you along as we do 😄
Thanks for being here and have a greattttttt weekend! I’m ordering my last few Christmas gifts tomorrow then I can rest easy. 🤪
Merry Christmas 🎄 friend,
