It's "Commando" and yes.

In the past, I lived in a 3rd-floor walkup with high windows (mansard roof, dormers, etc.) with a lovely view of the neighbors' roofs and the tops of the trees. It only failed me one time ... I had complained to the city about hazardous unpruned trees. I worked 11-7 shift and had just fallen asleep when the trees were full of tree-pruning guys with chainsaws.

Currently the PHX house backs onto a 12-foot dense oleander hedge and other trees. We can't see the neighbors. I assume they can't see us. Drapes? What drapes?

I've been living without drapes in most of our rooms now for 19 years. The bedrooms face south and so we did put blinds up in the kids rooms back when they were young. Still have them there to use on Summer afternoons. I bought gauzy,sheer embroidered drapes for the MBR just for looks, but hardly ever close them . . . like it would do any good (LOL). The rest of the house has no drapes or blinds. But, we live in the mountains and we all have 2-3 acre lots, so privacy is not a problem. The neighbors behind us are off to the side a couple of acres away. Their side lot is behind us which is a good 5 acres of evergreen trees. The "big black windows at night" don't bother us. Probably because our dogs would let us know if some fool was prowling around out there. If the cacti didn't get him, our dobie would (LOL), so I don't worry. I've never been someone who liked drapes, so I'm glad we don't need to have them here. We planned the placement of our house on the lot for just that reason.
Lynn

I'm no fan of streetlights either, in fact, I don't even like those low voltage solar lights, too much light pollution for me, I like it pitch black, better to see stars, moon, approaching storms, etc.

Typo

We only have blinds...no curtains. And I'm happy with that. Curtains are just a bit too much for me, don't know why. I would never go without blinds though. As one other poster stated, the boogie man is pretty scary!!!!!!!!!

Grew up watching horror movies, no way would I want my window open at night, with pumpkinhead and them little alien from fire in the sky running around.

Absolutely, all the time, always have. I avoid window treatments like the plague. I will have drapes in my bedroom (on the windows behind my bed) but only because there is no view out the windows (neighbour's wall). My kids have drapes in order to block out morning sun (thus hopefully encouraging them to sleep in a little later). I'm really not crazy about most window treatments. And I'm not very shy either I guess.

No window treatments here except on the ground floor bedroom. Our house sits on a lot that is 37' x 125'. Very few window treatments in our city. The bungalows on our block are 15' ft apart.

What do the windows look like at night? Windows! Taking walks at dusk or later in my neighborhood makes for great house looking. Being inside looking out gives me a view of garages, other backyards, the normal stuff.

Wouldn't have it any other way.

LOL,

We have no window treatments except 1) the guest bedroom (guests just think you need them) and 2) our office, which ive already bored this board with, but where sunglare interfered with laptop visibility.

Our MBR and MBAs are on the ground floor, with stone terraces outside. I have been sitting in my tub, which is in a windowed alcove, when the landscaping people were weeding beds and blowing the leaves off the stonework. I just sank down into the water a little further. I would hate to have window treatments there; i put the tub there for the views of the gardens, stonework and pond. I can live with minor embarrassment from time to time. Our property is gated and totally private, so it is really just the landscapers. They are Brazilian and go home for carnival every winter, so I dont think they are easily shocked ...

For our casual, country home, which is veritably sheathed in glass muntined windows and doors, i think commando is the way to go.

We are in the country...can't see neighbors at all, and two of our rooms are commando. I have often thought of putting a little fabric like side panels or a shade but never like the thought of losing my view of the trees, mountains, the backyard, and wildlife that happens by.

I confess to being a window treatment kind of person...we've lived with plantation shutters for decades now and need them for sun control. They're also in keeping with the architectural vernacular here in the south. And I like lovely curtains in beautiful fabrics, too; they improve our views :-)

Mtn, if I had our shutters open when our landscaping guys were walking around out there I would hear about it the next day in the Piggly Wiggly.

We don't have any either, but we live in the woods. Having said that I have ordered some for our bedroom just to give it some softness. I prefer unadorned windows if they aren't needed for privacy.

I'm sitting here in my large family room with a huge picture window, french doors and two other windows all without dressing lol. It's all woods out there and doesn't bother me a bit. Since I have so much art in this room, I don't want drapes to take away from it.

ROFLMAO,kswl!!
When we had this place built 20 years ago, I designed our master bathroom with a spa tub and huge windows that came down to it on two sides. Our next door neighbors were having their home built at the same time as ours, and we discovered that their great room, with it's huge huge windows, directly faced our huge bathroom windows . . . and tub! They were going to have quite the view if we didn't do something quickly (LOL)! Shutters or drapes were not an option I wanted to go with, so we planned a small, secluded garden right outside the bathroom and bedroom with an adobe wall high enough to block their view. But, we needed to know just how high the wall had to be.
Soooo, one Sunday when there was no construction going on there, DH went over to their great room, with binoculars and a walkie talkie and we figured out just how tall our wall needed to be to block their view into our bathtub . . . with me flashing him from our bathroom (I had to make it fun for him, after all - LOL!). And, OMG, he said that it would have been one very revealing show if we hadn't done this!
During their open house a few months later, the first thing we did was head to their great room to make sure our calculations had been correct. . . and thank goodness they were! Below is the view from our master bath spa tub now. All they see from their end is a nice, plain, adobe wall and a couple big trees:

As I said in another discussion tonight, this thread is an outlier. The overwhelming number of people in this country do not live where they can parade themselves to the darkness through unprotected windows at night. By definition, most people live in populous areas, either cities or suburbs, but not on multi-acre lots or overlooking ponds or mountains. So the entire idea is absurd for most people. And frankly, I'm tired of the shelter magazines shoving this absurdity down our throats. Not everybody lives in Aspen or the Hamptons or nestled in untouched nature.

Also, while views may be spectacular in certain locales, I have seen very, very few residential windows built after WWI that were in themselves architecturally interesting enough to look at.

Lynne, that is TOO funny! Just think, you could have been the star of the daily show, tee hee.

I live on a large acreage and have stunning lake, mountain, and forest views. For the first 10 years most of the windows were 'commando'. I finally started to feel as if I was living in a fish bowl so now have WT's on all windows. Not all are privacy treatments since there are no neighbors within viewing distance.

At night I often turn on the outside lights if I am near a window without privacy curtains as there is then no large black hole but a view of my garden. In one of my previous houses here in the backwoods after just moving from the city it did bother me not to have privacy curtains but I've gotten used to it and seldom worry about the 'boogey man'. LOL

What amazes me is the number of commando windows in high rises in cities. I'm sure there must be a few voyeurs with binoculars/telescopes and I'd be very uncomfortable without privacy drapes in that situation.

Another good point about window architecture! Very true, very true!

Marcolo, That's why it says "would you if you could", because some opt not to even if they "could". You are right, it's impractical for most (like most everything they show in shelter mags ... no one shells out $7.95 to look at practical spaces).

As for high rises, my apt was on the 32nd floor and had great nyc river and skyline views. I had no window treatments. There weren't any nearby buildings as tall, so it would've taken binoculars for someone to see.. But really, who cares? If a total stranger wants to snoop on another stranger? I wouldn't give up my view for that.

Lynne, I like the adobe wall view ... it's cozy. When I lived in Philly years back, I once lived in a sprawling 1920s complex on the edge of the city in Fairmont Park. My bathroom had a shower with a casement window in it, which I thought was so cool. In summer, I'd leave it open, since no bldggs faced us and who could see five stories up? Until one day I was walking to my car and I looked up and noticed ... you could actually see as clear as day. Bummer. I put a window in my sons shower stall, but this time at shoulder height ....

It never occurred to me that windows are black holes at night , prob because of all the muntins.

I do agree that if you go commando you are really foregoing one of the most interesting elements in a room. To many I think it looks unfinished or at least informal.

I didn't see your comment earlier, Marcolo, but I mostly agree and do find it ironic that I live on acreage behind a gate and yet every single window in my house has a window treatment. In fact, we just took off the plantation shutters on a few of the French doors because the porches outside blocked enough light.

These responses seem to indicate a strong undercurrent of dislike for window treatments. And yet, when people are staging houses for sale one of the first things someone usually recommends is to put up window treatments, or more appropriate or substantial window treatments, to " soften" or "finish" a room. I don't quite know what to make of that, but it's interesting.

We don't have window treatments in our NH condo, mostly because it faces the woods. Also, because I can't figure out exactly what to do!

Bethp

kswl ... when we put our last home on the market, trhe agent told us to remove the sheers to let's more light in and show off the windows ... But keep the custom treatments up since they were included.

We have wood venetian blinds on the LR/DR windows...The blinds are never drawn. Might as well be going commando. (Window treatments came with the house.) No blind on our MBath window since I repainted it. Duette soft shades (which really need to be replaced) on the MBR windows. Those get drawn at night for light control in the AM. Back of our house (where MBR suite is located) faces 10 acres of woods.

I have terrible allergies...I like my window

I have terrible allergies...I like my windows as nekkid as possible. (Don't know what happened to the last bit of that sentence!)

No.Way. lol. For several reasons. We live in the country, and we've had strangers show up at night, once we had to call the police. People take back roads when they've been drinking. Not often, but it happens.

Our shutters keeps out a lot of dust and other elements, cold and heat. We usually leave them open all day unless we're having a heat or super cold blast.

I also like how I can change the ambience in the LR if I feel like making the room dark and lamp lit during the day. There's something about it which makes the room extremely cozy.

I also won't do curtains because I'm lazy at vacuuming them. :)

I live in the city Marcolo. I acknowledge that I SHOULD have some sort of window treatment in our front room on the ground floor (the play room). We are almost at street level and people can see in when walking by. That said, the light is usually off in the that room at night, so you can't see much. Plus not that many people are walking by at night, just neighbourhood dog walkers. But I should have blinds there I guess. Certainly no drapes.

I see some people state they need window treatments to protect against the sun. I avoid drapes, blinds etc., because they block the sun. I get very 'down' in the winter and need every bit of sun I can get. I also find our windows attractive enough on their own I guess.

Not me. I like window treatments for the sound control and the softness the fabric gives. In the bedrooms, I like them for light control and warmth in the winter as well. And I love fabrics, so I can't miss an opportunity to select more....many of the fabrics for drapes became the inspiration for the room color scheme.

Most of mine don't cover the window, but just add softness in the public spaces.

It's not for privacy as we don't have a privacy issue and in fact are working on our outdoor shower now which will have no privacy screens around it....I don't think the geese or the deer care if we're nekked.

Oakley, there's a big difference in country living, depending on where you are! I'd have mine covered if I had your problem. Our place is on a private road with 4 residents. Almost no one comes thru our gate unless they live there, day or night...really. Our 2 nekkid (love that word, thank you Lewis Grizzard) windows are in the breakfast room and the great room at the back of the house. I do like fabrics too, so have been thinking about those side panels for a while. Maybe.

We went commando for years, even in the bedrooms. But started adding panels when adult children came home and complained about their guest bedrooms not having curtains (sun coming up and watching too many unsolved murder shows). So I added panels to the bedrooms first. Then decided to add to the great room and breakfast room due to blinding sun certain times of the year. I love how they soften the rooms and add another layer of interest. They don't block our lake/ridge view and I'm pleased I decided to add.

I just purchased gauzy fabrics from France for the main level guest bath window and master bath windows. Look forward to having something to soften those rooms without blocking the views outside.

We live on acreage, in a gated community and our driveway is gated. Never worried/worry about anyone just showing up. Like Annie, the deer don't care if we're nekkid. ;D

Here is a link that might be useful: breakfast room curtain addition

We live in the Washington, DC suburbs--it's heavily populated. I am not nervous about people looking in--my landscaping prevents the casual passer-by from seeing inside, and it's just not something I worry about. In fact, I have a 3/4 glass front door and sidelight and no drapes or blinds in the living room, all in the front of the house. In the back of the house we have 6 ft fencing and a landscaping design that gives a very private feel to the place.

In the back of our house (dining room, kitchen, family room) I have solar blinds on a few of the windows to shield us from heat/glare, but allow us to see outside to some degree (I don't like feeling closed in). I always prefer the long view into the gardens or onto the terrace to preserve that indoor/outdoor feel.

The bedrooms and upstairs family room all have blinds/drapes to keep the light out at night, or to keep the rooms cooler in the summertime.

Well, you guys already know we live in a glass box. We don't have any window treatments in the main room(s?), which includes DR, LR, Kitchen, garden, entry, etc. There's really no good way to do it. Thankfully, we live in the middle of three wooded acres. In the winter we have one uphill neighbor who could see in if they really wanted to, but we try not to wander nekkid through the house!

We do have simple semi-sheer linen panels in the bedrooms. As I sit at the desk near the window, I can see outside clearly through the linen. But at night, it affords privacy if desired.

Jakabedy, I can see how in your house WT's just don't work. I love it, though!

We have on our french doors the blinds between the glass, and it is nice to be able to go commando during the day to let in maximum light and lower and tilt them closed at night. Really, it's the best of both worlds. Here the blinds are lowered on one side but not tilted closed.

We are in a city neighborhood on a busier street, so we do not want to leave blinds open at night or while we are at work.

"Since I have so much art in this room, I don't want drapes to take away from it."

That brings up another good point- it is, at least in part, because I have so much art that I need draperies when the sun pours in. I don't want anything to fade. Not my art, not my rugs, not my upholstered furniture.
The prints are under UV glass but the watercolors and oils are bare.

I may be the only one here who opens and closes blinds and draperies everyday to control the sun as well as temperatures.
In the summer if I open my east side WT's too early it heats up the rooms measurably and I have wonderful insulated double pane low-e gas filled windows.
Same for the west side in the afternoon.
I sewed insulated liners in all my draperies and use them to help manage my AC/heating costs.

I also like to be able to watch the odd movie during daylight hours and am terribly distracted by glare on the screen.

And how do you hide from Trick or Treaters without WT's?

Annie, I forgot about sound control. Just last week we were having a bad storm with possible large hail, and I shut all the shutters to keep the sounds of thunder low, and just in case hail pounded us the inside of the house would be protected from shards of glass.

Simple answer...No. I love fabric way too much.

I may be the only one here who opens and closes blinds and draperies everyday to control the sun as well as temperatures.

No you're not! I kind of love the ceremony of closing the drapes at night to make the house feel cozy, and reopening them in the morning to greet the day. Plus, window treatments give me extra control over everything--sun, temperature, privacy and atmosphere. Most of my draperies downstairs are left completely open during the day for light, and because you can't see inside anyway at that time; but I can keep rays of sun off my upholstery very easily as I need to. Plus, I have a sunroom that goes from blindingly bright to cheerful to rather dark depending on the time of day and month of the year. I put Silhouettes in there and now I can control everything; well, except for adding sun on a cloudy day.

Also, I agree with the thoughts expressed above that in a traditional house, having naked windows throughout the house simply look unfinished. I know what my house looked like before the treatments went up, and I would loathe to go back to that.

I am particularly attuned to this topic because of the Kitchen Forum. There, I regularly see people who, in their particular situations, should never dream of leaving their windows uncovered. Privacy or view may be an issue; or they are complaining that their kitchen is visually cold but have no room for upholstered seating. Yet they still resist putting up treatments because they magazines tell them to keep the windows exposed. The result is especially silly when someone is trying to do a 1911 white scullery kitchen with a '50s crank out casement window right in the middle of it.

I would go commando in a heartbeat. I did fight my DH on it for a year after our renos were done. He eventually won and I put in basic blinds in the kitchen/eating area/family room but never close them. The DR got side panels and that's it. We do live in a forested area and although we have neighbours we don't see their homes because of the trees.

For me, I think it's because I'm slightly claustrophobic and the thought of closing myself off from the outside fills me with dread.

Annie - I love that free feeling. I'm out in my nightie every morning with the pup. No one can see anything back of our house.

tina

blfenton - I'm totally with you on the claustrophobic issue.

Tina, the builder spec house-then back owned next door to us sold. The house is built on their high spot just like ours is. Even though it's garage end to garage end, if we were outside on that side of our property and they were too (and on their back verandas), they will see us outside often. Many times in my pajamas. I've already warned them. She told me she takes her kids to school in her pj's so we will be even. lol

I deliberately planted my acreage for maximum privacy and take full advantage of it by having zero window treatments, and often, zero clothes.

Many of my windows are commando but it is mostly because I am always waiting to find the perfect window treatment. I've been waiting to dress my breakfast room bay window for about 15 years now. Clearly, it's never going to happen!

I am thrilled to see I am not the only one with undressed windows. And I do think they are "undressed". I LOVE the maintenance, fuss free aspect of commando, but I know the windows would be prettier if I dressed them. So I am never able to walk through any store that sells window treatments, without visiting that department to see what's new. And yes, I know I could go custom, but I can't make up my mind about what to use.

I am seriously afflicted with indecision and my whole house reflects that. :(

We live in the middle of the city, but the only room that really requires privacy is the master bedroom.

Have a set of naked French doors along with a couple windows, although both windows have stained glass pieces.

The remainder have woven shades, traditional shutters, wood blinds, and white cafe curtains in the second bath. I like the way the treatments add warmth without blocking the view. The only ones that get closed overnight are in the master bedroom.

We also live in the Washington DC suburbs. The back of our house is all glass in the living room/dining room. We have lots of windows facing the street. No window treatments except for two windows facing neighbors on one side. I did buy draperies for the master bedroom several years ago, but I haven't put them up. I actually like the look of darkness out the windows and we have landscaped so the casual passer won't see in easily. We back to woods, so no worries there. I love the light.

I go commando in the living, dining and kitchen areas, which are all in the rear of the back of the house where privacy isn't a concern. I think fabric treatments would add texture but there's not much room on the sides of the windows and can't do an inside mount. I also don't want to cover my custom Craftsman style trim over the windows.

I don't get the light issue - if you make your curtains stack off the window, no light or view is ever blocked when they are open.

That is the way I have all my curtains and rods made. I love fabric so wouldn't want to pass up that opportunity to add it as a layer somewhere. Curtains can be very simple and not cluttery looking.

Also, unfortunately, there is the 'creep out' factor for me. We have a farmhouse (no longer our primary residence) embedded on 170 acres, long gated drive, mostly wooded, no neighbors and completely private. Just because you think it's private really anyone can position themselves to see in. Yes, perhaps a one in a million chance but still creeped me out too much to go without curtains or romans on every single window that could be drawn at
night. I read that darn book "Red Dragon" (what they based those Manhunter movies on) way back when, and I wish I could erase it from my memory but can't!

> Just because you think it's private really anyone can position themselves to see in.

Yep. Back in the early 70s I lived in a very remote area, up a mountain nine miles from the nearest paved road and 15 miles from the nearest neighbor, and despite our dogs and the various wolves, coyotes, bears, etc. there were always folks in our woods.

No matter where you are, there are always people around.

I just love floor length drapes or sheers- I feel like they add the finishing touch to my home.

We lived in Amsterdam for a year. The Dutch prefer to keep their windows free of curtains and the windows clean - most people had their windows cleaned by a service once a month! (This leads to wonderful walks around the city at night, where you can see in everyone's windows, which we did a lot!) It's part of an overall culture that values openness...what do you have to hide in there?

I'm not sure whether that influenced me, but I greatly prefer shadeless windows. That said, when we lived on a busy urban street with a lot of solar reflection issues, we had curtains on every window. Now that we live in a leafy suburb, we have almost none.

I don't read shelter mags and I don't care what the trend is. I just like light. A lot.

I much prefer a simple, clean look - no patterns, no valence, no tieback or tassels, no heavy ornate rods - everything must pull completely clear of the windows during the day, except to keep the sun out sometimes. But never never never would I do without window coverings in the night time.

I hate the black holes at night. In winter, it feels so cold to sit in front of an uncovered window because of the radiant heat loss - even a thin curtain makes a big difference, as long as it is opaque.

I hate the insecure feeling that anyone or anything might be looking in at me - even if I were miles out in the country - all the more dangerous because of the isolation, even if less likely.