I'm going shopping today with my friend who has just moved into a new house. She has two awesome bay windows on the front of her house that we are going to work on finding a solution for. One is upstairs in her master bedroom and I think that one will be a little easier. She's also got one downstairs off of her living room/dining room area. The way she has the space set up, her dining room table is in front of the bay window and the living area is towards the back of the space away from the window. She needs privacy from the street view but doesn't want to sacrifice all of the great light these windows let in. But there's another hitch to the situation - it's a rental so we don't want to spend too much money on something that she isn't going to be in really long term. So, I've done a little research to brain storm possible ideas for her before we head out on our shopping expedition (which will possibly include Target, TJ Maxx, Pier One, Crate and Barrel or Bed Bath and Beyond - hopefully not all of them!).
I think my friend has an idea of some kind of a shade that will cover the window from about half way down from the middle to the bottom leaving the top exposed to let light in and then hang curtains around. I have really struggled to find images of what that would look like. I think the closest thing I found was this:
I think that a more attractive option could be found than that but so far I haven't found any images of what that would look like.
Here's a similar idea but done with shutters and then curtains on the outside which I really like.
We could just use shades with no curtains. These options look very neat and clean and have great texture. She'd have to roll them down at night but int he morning you can still see light coming through even when they are closed.
So, there's also the idea of shades that roll down from the top but that are still covered by curtains. I really like this image below with the valance but it may be more than we are interested in getting into given the rental component. Still, this is just brainstorming after all...
All of these options look really classy to me - I think this may be a possibility for her bedroom. This next idea combines that with another layer of privacy and light control but adding blinds underneath the shades:
It is hard to tell exactly what is going on with the window treatments in this next image because of the bright light but I think the way they hung the curtains enhances the height of the space, would provide privacy when needed and looks really elegant. Good idea for her bedroom:
This next idea is no where near ideal nor my favorite look but I'm just throwing out options here, people. You can get a product comparable to contact paper that is for window privacy. I was blown away by the insane varieties of this product and the way in which people have used it. They range from simplistic to intricate and frankly, absurd looking. I know she isn't going to choose any of these options but I couldn't resist.
Who in their right mind would want to look at that all day? Certainly not I.
Okay, then there's an option of sheers with more substantial curtains flanking the window. This is a real possibility given what I think our options might be out there.
While we are brainstorming and trying to think outside the box, what about this idea of placing a large screen in front of the window in the dining room. A decorative screen could look neat behind the dining room table, would block people from seeing in but leaving the light exposed at the top. Just an idea...
And this brings me to my last suggestion. Now, you have to ignore the hideousness of the treatments in this picture and just listen to my idea. If you take rods and place them half way up the window and we cover them with panels half way down and then curtains on the outside, we could have a feasible option. Not frilly, country looking curtains like these, but something sleek and tailored. This idea really has my brain spinning because there are lots of cool directions you could take it depending on the fabric.
So, who knows what we'll come up with but at least now we are armed with some ideas. I'll keep you posted. Does anyone else have good ideas for privacy and light treatments for windows?
