Privacy AND light for bathroom window

4 years ago

We have a bathroom window that is approximately 31" high by 33" wide (interior dimensions), a fairly shallow double-hung window in a 1940s home.

A top-down / bottom up shade seems like an ideal solution as it would allow natural light in with the top down, and still provide privacy to a ground floor main bath and shower. The window is visible from the street, and only fifteen or twenty feet from our neighbor's living room and kitchen windows.

For privacy we've had a "temporary" shade covering the whole window for years, along with a light simple curtain. One thing we figured out quickly is that nobody EVER wants to open the bottom of that window's shade! I do raise it sometimes when I'm cleaning the bathroom and the natural light is wonderful in that east facing room. But it's not at all private.

The windows are fairly shallow and the room is so tiny that anything that sticks out is not going to work.

Something like this Fensterman shade seems to be what we need, I think. But I'm looking for an inexpensive solution and I doubt that's it. https://www.pleatedblindsstore.com/pleated-shades/

Looking at top-down shades available from big-box stores, they all seem to be for longer lengths and are fairly pricey for what I need - we've got a lot of other projects to spend our money on. Can one of these standard length shades be cut down in length? And are there any that are shallow enough for this old window?

Or - is there a better solution I'm just not thinking of?

Featured Answer

jupidupi

4 years ago

When I first moved in with my now-husband, I was shocked that he had no curtains for a bathroom window that faced directly to another apartment building about 20 feet away. I tried to ignore it, but one night I was taking a bath, watching a party going on in that building. Suddenly it dawned on me that I could very well be the entertainment! So I went on Amazon and bought some "magnetic" fake stained glass. It was super easy to apply, just using water with a bit of soap. No glue, so it was easy to get it installed perfectly. It stayed on until we moved a few years later, and then peeled off just as easily. It looked great -- some visitors actually thought it was stained glass. And I think the whole roll cost about twenty bucks!

Comments (11)

Olychick
4 years ago
What about creating a freestanding screen on the outside of the house, that screens the window from the neighbors but allows you to see out and the light to flood in? I don't mean up against the house or window but out a couple of feet from the house.

Something on the order of this, tall enough to screen the part of the window needed for privacy. It could be any material, not just lattice, or backed with something more opaque with the lattice in front, so plants/vines could grow on it if desired.
These are too transparent, but obscured glass could work:

You could add fiberglass panels to the back of something like this.
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PN _Bos
4 years ago
What about the plastic window film? They come in a bunch of different patterns or you can just do frosted, I think it’s like $20-40 depending on how much you need. I did it on my mom’s bathroom widow a few years ago, worked like a charm. You can get it anyplace (home depot, amazon, etc.)
calidesign
4 years ago
Window film is inexpensive, and lets in light while providing total privacy.
Jennifer Hogan
4 years ago
Have you thought about using a decorative film? I bought some from Home Depot - less expensive, had less selection than this online company.

https://www.decorativefilm.com/
K R
4 years ago
I have frosted window tint on all my bathroom windows, works and looks great.
queenvictorian
4 years ago
The film is a good inmediate solution - our house came with them on the bathroom windows. When we eventually replace the bathroom windows (going from cruddy vinyl to some proper wood ones), we will put privacy glass in them. It's not like there's a view anyway - they look out on the brick side of the next house three feet away.

If the double hung window is a single paned wood one, you could swap panes to use privacy glass. If they are newer double paned windows, then that's not an option.
Elisabet K.
Original Author
4 years ago
Wow, those privacy films available at Home Depot are gorgeous! When we bought the house there was awful, ratty, badly applied frosted film in there (and also in front windows in the living room - I think a vampire lived there). I looked to replace it in the bathroom but the selections were UGLY. One issue is that not being able to see the sky and trees makes the space feel even more cramped than it actually is. Another is that the toilet is right next to the window, so there's less of the fuzzy-distortion effect at night when people are essentially back lit an a few inches from the shade.

The outside solutions are intriguing but I think the space is too narrow - anything tall enough and opaque enough to provide privacy is going to make the room dark. Now, if I could get the neighbors to give up the reclaimed driveway space and plant some things there like the previous owner had...

I'm definitely going to get some privacy film for my son's bedroom, which is also the guest bedroom. It's next to the bath so same issues with privacy. The lower part of the double-hung is level with the bed and just covering the panes in that section will make it much more comfortable to raise the shade. As it is it feels very exposed even with the sheer curtain.

I'm still thinking a top-down/ bottom-up shade would work best in the bathroom. Is it possible to put them in a humid location? And can they be cut to length, or do you have to go custom for such a short window?
Olychick
4 years ago
If you're worried about moisture, what about a cafe curtain? I think they can be quite charming in a double hung window:
calidesign
4 years ago
Top down bottom up shades are okay in the bath. They are pricy though, and usually custom, but may be worth it for better function.
Elisabet K.
Original Author
4 years ago
I wish I could put cafe curtains in there, but they look ridiculous in that window if you put them high enough to give any privacy at all. We have a lot of foot traffic on our street so privacy is a big concern! I know because I walk in the neighborhood too and sometimes I see things I'd rather not, lol.

The nice thing about top-down shades is that it is easy to pull them up higher at night or when you are in the shower, and open them more in the morning when the natural light is so good to have in there.

The window itself dates from the 1940s, with narrow muntins that you can't match anymore. Since it is between two bedroom windows that are visible from the street, it would look odd to replace just it even if that was in the budget.

A pretty film on the lower half there and in my son's room will I think be very helpful even if that certainly can't do the job alone. I'll leave the upper halves clear.

Thank you everyone for your ideas! So many good ones even if they don't quite work for our house.