Hoboken, I see that you have solved your problem in a lovely manner with the cafe height plantation shutters with 2.5 slats. This is what I have in my home, and I love them because we can still get the light, yet have full privacy when needed. Yours look great, BTW. I was going to suggest that if you were still wanting something more to “soften” the look of the windows, you could add a fixed fabric covered valance above the windows. You could place the top up at the ceiling height, and have the valance end right at the top of the window trim, thus not sacrificing any light coming in. What you’ve done thus far is just lovely.

Another JCPenney (Norman Shutters) fan here. We opted to do Plantation shutters on the front of the house so it's all uniform from the street. All of our back windows and a few sides are wood blinds, also from Penney's. They have many sales on shutters so keep checking with them. Ours were 40% off, plus we received another 10% off for doing our whole house with them. We are very happy with the quality!

We have them for the first time in this house and I will never be without them again if I can help it. I was previously Mrs. Cheapskate when it came to windows, and had faux wood blinds and even metal blinds. Decided to "go for it" here. What a total difference!! They add architectural value to the house. We have the full length ones and honestly I would recommend that over split ones. Also the large louvres let in more light than small ones. What happened in our breakfast room is amazing. We didn't get the shutters put in as we were going to have the tile ripped up and hardwood extended. Long story but this project dragged out over time so that the shutter guy finally said we had to take delivery on our shutters, so we had them installed even though we weren't ready. The contrast between that room with and without the shutters was so stark I can't describe it. It was as though the room had gone from ho-hum to a designer room with the installation of four shutters. It looked so good with them and the tile as it was, that we decided to leave the tile. Previously I hadn't liked the moss green wall color (which went with the weathered tiles) but once the shutters went it, as I said, it looked great. Can't recommend shutters enough!

Window films come in all degrees of privacy from almost clear to completely obscured. Some even look like stained glass. Yet allow the light through. You can look into bottoms-up shades that will obscure the bottom half and leave the upper half clear. I don't think the moisture in a bathroom will be an issue for things like silhouettes. They are pretty well creased. You could also do something like a cafe curtain where the lower half is covered by lace or sheer or another solid fabric while the top is left plain or treated with a matching or coordinating valance. You can do the sheer with the rod at both the top and the bottom for a tighter, more tailored fit. I've always liked the look of this bishop sleeve.