Shutters / solutions for small, un-private bay window

[ProjectGainsborough]

Have moved into a house with a lovely old bay window in the sitting room - small and quite deep. What is less lovely is that people literally cannot stop themselves from craning in as they walk past. Which is awkward when you are potty training a toddler and your eldest child regularly forgets to put his trousers on.

I was hoping that shutters would be the solution, but two firms have come out now and said it can't be done. Is there such a thing as a shutter company who specialise in awkward angles? Or any other solution? I'm really not very sold on nets - liked shutters because they would insulate as well as it is quite a busy road.

What about frosting film just part way up the panes of glass? That would give you privacy, mean you can see out when standing and let light in.

Or plant a tall hedge at the back of the pavement.

Frosting film all the way! We used www.purlfrost.com/ in the past - really easy to apply (and the surveyor when we moved thought it was frosted glass so pretty convincing). And cheap!

I saw some very stylish roller blinds in a fine woven stripe and mesh pattern. A kind of nylon material u would say a sort of net (sound ugly but they were not) in a dark bronze brown colour they obscured the view in but let light in.

It was in just the kind of property you describe. I knocked on the door to enquire the name of the blind but there was no answer.

I don't think I'd be allowed to frost the windows as the bay is listed, although I love the house number frostings for above our front door, which I don't think is in the listing...

Can't plant a hedge as we come out onto the street. What I want is a magician to create the mathematically impossible shutters, I think.

Interesting Lelivre - were they the 'roll down from the top' type, or the ones that come up from the bottom?

Café Curtains.

The frosting film should be allowed in a listed property, as it's removable, not a permanent change. No different in principle from curtains, although it looks it.

Clear transparent blinds which come up from the bottom?

You could put frosted film on the window as it wouldn't be permanent?

I would speak to a chippie about making shutters? Perhaps you could have permanent fixed shutters put in place which can't be folded back easily but can be taken down for cleaning/fly removal etc?

Really - you can't put frosting film (which is temporary and can be removed) on the glass in a listed bay window? You can also get privacy blinds.

I would try
local joiners, I am sure they will be able to make shutters.

S.

The covered the whole window, I couldn't say, I couldn't see in well enough; and I had a good try

Lots of good suggestions, thanks. Maybe I am wrong about the frosting - I didn't realise it would peel off easily. Will have a google.

We have a bay window and don't want to use nets or shutters.

We have planted 3 shrubs in 3 tubs and have the foliage brushing against the glass.

The foliage comes halfway up the glass which is enough of a screen. We used evergreens with good foliage/colour.

We have a jolly awkward bay window too. We bought shutters (from the Traditional Shutter Company) without the fitting option, and we then used a very good carpenter to do the fitting. He spent about a day shaving bits off the shutters to make them fit the various weird angles going on.

I would recommend the traditional shutter company because their shutters are slightly differnt to most other people's. The frame fits onto the window and then the shutter panel sits on top of the frame. most companies, the shutter fits inside the frame. If you have an odd shape, it's better to have the frame behind the shutter panel and not on display, as that means any weird shaving/planing etc is to a large extent hidden.