Do you have windows with privacy concerns?

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Not everyone is fortunate enough to be secluded on their own plot of land, with no other homes in view and with little to no privacy concerns. For the rest of us that have neighbors, a low fence or nosy neighbors can pose privacy concerns. Nearly all window treatments offer some layer of privacy. However, the level of privacy you require will help to eliminate some window treatments over others. 

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When thinking about which window treatments to purchase, there are a couple things to consider. Will you require the same level of privacy during the day, or will you only need privacy at nighttime? Is the window in a bathroom? Is the window in a closet where someone may get dressed? Privacy factors are often times situational, and can change over the course of a day. Kitchen windows may require a different level of privacy than a bedroom. Where as the windows on the front of the house, where people may walk by or drive-by, may be a higher level privacy, even if they're not located in  bedrooms. "Privacy" has different meanings to different people. People with water views often leave their windows fully open and uncovered, even though the windows may easily allow people to see in. Privacy is subjective. There are so many angles to approach window privacy and finding the right solution to tackle your privacy concerns can be addressed with a knowledgeable window treatment designer.

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The highest level of privacy will come from a window treatment that covers the whole window and extends from top to bottom and side to side. It's also important to determine the level of light blocking that the window treatment provides. As an example, solar shades are considered light filtering, but offer little to no privacy since you can see directly through the fabric. For a deck or patio however a solar shade may provide plenty of privacy. Shutters are a great option for households that want privacy but are less concerned with the control of light.  Shutters are great at controlling most of the light, but they don't fully conceal 100% of it. When it comes to privacy, shutters do a great job and should be considered a top privacy controlling option.

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A favorite window treatment that offers both the control of light as well as privacy is a double roller shade. A double roller shades is the perfect balance of light and privacy. The front roller shade will serve as your privacy layer, while the back shade, or the one to the street will be your light filtering shade. By day, the front shade is raised, allowing the back shade to filter the light. And by night, the front shade is lowered, allowing total privacy.

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When people visit the showroom, they sometimes interchange both room darkening or blackout with privacy. As a window treatment designer, my personal opinion is that the two differ greatly. Room darkening and/or blackout shades offer a control of light, and yes, they also offer privacy too. Sometimes, however, people need privacy, but they still want the room to have light coming through. For this reason, privacy is treated differently than room darkening and blackout. For more information on controlling the amount of light that enters the room, click here.

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