Dressing a bay window without losing view of garden

[CatNamedEaster]

We can't agree on what do with our lounge bay window. The main panel of glass is 2m wide x 1.5m high and because the window sill is low down it gives a great view of the garden so I don't want to lose that by having shutters or blinds.
We need something other than the curtains though. I know someone who had film attached to their window that makes it very hard to see in from outside but doesn't cut down the light levels at all so that looks like a good option.
Husband wants shutters though. I just don't know why I'd want to have a view and light cut up into about a hundred sections of wood, and if I want to open them up they will intrude weirdly into the room (because they won't open all the way up to lay flat against the wall, they will stick out into the room if you see what I mean).
Has anyone got shutters and can convince me they don't cut light and views (or look weird when they are opened up) or had that film installed who can convince the husband that it works really well?

I’m confused by your set up, surely the film would block the view of the garden more than anything? I would say Roman blinds that you pull up everyday, they don’t intrude into the room much but they will block the top of the window when opened.

What about Roman blinds? They look nice on a bay window but won't reduce light or the view.
I have Venetian blinds and they do darken the room somewhat. I imagine shutters would even more so.

www.realhomes.com/news/before-and-after-a-former-squat-transformed-into-a-sophisticated-living-room

This is what I don't want, as it looks like so much is going on and the shutters can't sit flush against the wall when opened up.

Is it at the front or the back of the house? Is privacy a consideration?

I think that picture is them emphasising they have shutters, they normally fold back much neater against the side of the window

No the film doesn't block light at all, I'm not sure exactly how it works but it just makes the windows look darker from the outside but doesn't cut out light from the inside.

I thought about Roman blinds but my husband doesn't want people to be able to see in during the day so he wants something that is going to give privacy, but I want something that is still going to give us light and the view.

I don't know anyone who has shutters so it would be good to see what people think of the effect on their rooms before and after

I agree with you. Bay windows let in so much light, its a shame to block it out. Has a pp said, venetian blinds block out light however you angle them. And vinyl will let in light but block your view.

Do you have to have blinds along with curtains, or are you overlooked?

Top down bottom up blinds in perfect fit - slips into the corners of the window seals.

Net curtains

It's at the front of the house. It's a very quiet road (no through traffic) but before we had the windows replaced there was a manky net curtain there so now that has gone it does feel very exposed. I don't think it's a massive issue really, when I look to my neighbor opposite I can't see anything inside their house but he seems to think that there are dog walkers lining up to see what we are doing in our lounge!

You can get blinds that fit within the frame of the window and so don't fold back at all. They can look quite sleek, but I would imagine they still block out a lot of light.

StCharlotte it's bizarre isn't it, they are literally the perfect solution but is there such a thing as a nicely designed AND cat-proof net???

LemonSwan that sounds interesting, I'll look into that idea. Thanks!

Voiles, rather than net curtains? I dislike shutters (think of the dusting!). We have obscuring film on our front window as it’s very close to the (busy) pavement, but it’s the semi-opaque kind and does block quite a bit of light. I’m considering changing it to the reflective sort but haven’t seen it in the flesh I’m afraid.

Presumably you have quite a big front garden if you want to keep the view of it? How far away are any walkers from your front window?

I get what you mean about the shutters I'd be inclined to go for proper curtains in a fitted track and not worry about the privacy element.

We have a square bay window, we are very overlooked though so have our shutters on a slight tilt most of the time during the day.

On another thread recently someone posted about these blinds that you can see out of but you can't see in from outside
www.blinds-2go.co.uk/roller-blinds/19436/oculus-bright-white.html?q=magic&is_v=1

We have a similar problem - been in the house 5yrs & still have temporary paper blinds from IKEA up! Double curtains rails are an option, where you could have light see-through voile panels on the inner one & normal curtains on the outside.

I guess it's about 30ft to the pavement but because we are on a bit of a hill and the sofa is against a side wall you can see across the width of our garden then others further up. The house is a dooer-upper and the garden is the only thing we've done: it's lovely and it doesn't get much direct sun into the lounge so it's really nice to sit on the sofa and stare out the window (when you lose the will to homeschool/do any work ).
piglet81 that's interesting about your film. I've seen that you have to be really careful with the type of reflective ones, as there are some that are reflective to the outside BUT when you turn your lights on at night the effect is reversed so if you didn't shut your curtains everyone would be able to see in AND your window basically turns into a huge mirror!!

HauntedDishcloth those look great! I really like those.

I had thought of voiles on a kind of inner curtain track as our other option, so they can be opened or closed independently of the main curtains.

Really helpful ideas, thanks all! I'll check later in case any shutter-fans have managed to convince me to that direction!

@CatNamedEaster thanks for the warning, that’s definitely not the approach I’m after!

we had something very similar to what haunted dishcloth posted. They looked sleek and nice.

I’d go for something like the duo light ones, you can then fully cover or partially or no cover, as you or your husband see fit.

I’ve used this company for all my blinds and the quality is really good.

www.blinds-2go.co.uk/top-down-bottom-up-duo/30672/duolight-nude.html

I think you need to work on your husband. Send him walking around the neighbourhood, preferably on a sunny day, and when he comes back ask what he can see in other people's houses. I bet he can't see anything due to the reflections. I would keep the windows as they are and have blinds/curtains for at night.

Sprig1 I tried that, made him look in the neighbour's window and tell me if he could see anything and he said "no because it's dark", so I said that's exactly what people see in OUR window .
He has suggested vertical blinds because they cut less light and you can angle them for maximum vision so I might check them out (but I can't get past them making me think of dentist waiting rooms!).

How about something like this? Two tracks, one with sheer voiles and the other with more substantial curtains.

Yes, I follow curtain accounts on Instagram...

Oh don’t get vertical blinds, gnats offices circa the eighties,,so many better solutions now.