Living room at front of house everyone looks in

[WhichJob]

We have a very large low window in our living room. People can't help it but they look in when they walk past. I love natural daylight so I'm not keen on blinds/net curtains etc.

We are having some work done on the house soon, should we think about changing the window into a higher one? I could literally step out of it outside at the moment if that makes sense. It might stop us feeling like we are on view.

Could you get some of that film that looks like frosted glass? Like this: www.brume.co.uk/c/2/frosted-amp-decorative-window-film

What about putting opaque window film on the bottom section? You can get it done professionally if you aren't confident about doing it yourselves. It's a lot cheaper than changing the window opening.

Do you have another light source in that room?

If you do decide to make it higher it might give more opportunity to move the furniture round.

We have some of these day/night blinds www.diy.com/departments/colours-day-night-corded-cream-roller-blind-l160cm-w60cm/1367274_BQ.prd they still let plenty of light through but give us privact. Or you could use translucent window transfers? A lot of the terraces down my street just have a horizontal line of it at the height which blocks the view of people looking in. Might be a bit cheaper than changing the height of the window!

No other light source but the window is huge, and it is one of those ones that opens like a door so it will need changing at some point anyway. Budget is definitely a consideration, I'm not sure about those opaque things and it definitely wouldn't look as nice as the link!

Hope, I don't even like the effect of sunlight coming through blinds. I'm fussy I know! I like direct sunlight.

Reflective film. We have it on our living room window and it's excellent. You can see out but no-one can see in and it doesn't block natural light. At night you would still need blinds or curtains, but I'm assuming people looking in at night isn't as much of an issue.

Cost about £100 for someone to fit it.

Are they period? Two part shutters? Keep the bottom half closed.

Not period - eighties style house but not sure when the windows were put in.

We have curtains for when it gets dark, but most of the evening now it is light so everyone wandering past gets to see me in my pyjamas watching tv!

We had exactly this and it drove me mad. I had frosted glass put in when we did the windows and normal at the top. No pattern.

It's such a relief!

Trust me when I tell you it's the fucking pits. I had that and when I was going off my head at home trying to bf my new baby and folk could gawp in it drove me bananas.

ANYWAY

Now we live in Holland - home of the giant window - and honestly the opaque things are everywhere and really nice. You won't notice it after a couple of days and it's a sanity saver to stop gawpers. Do get a professional to fit yours (we didn't and ours is a bit bubbly).

I have just been googling frosted glass and that probably is easier than changing the opening! Does it still let in a good amount of light?

You won't be able to see out if you put frosted glass in and it will make your living room window look like it's a bathroom.

If you have plain opaque film put on the bottom of the window or reflective film on the whole thing it will be much nicer than frosted glass in the whole thing.

There's a student house down the road from us that everyone stares into as they walk past - must be something subconscious people do due to it's location or something. Anyway, they were clearly getting fed up with it as a sign appeared in the window which said 'Stop STARING at us!'. When that didn't work, they put tinfoil and cardboard all round the edges and made the whole window look like a TV screen, complete with buttons and a pretend ariel on the top . They must have felt like they were on big brother or something with people gawping in all the time. That seemed to shame people into staring less.

At no point did they appear to consider just buying a blind or some nets, which I found odd, but perhaps it was too expense or the landlord said no.

Voil?
I have a large bay window what has no blind etc and everyone gawps in. I don't like the film stuff and plantation shutters are expensive. Like that TV idea though!

I look in windows that don't have voil or net curtains up, can't help it I look all around and ok I still look at widows with these in but obviously they don't hold my attention for long as there is nothing to see it's very subconscious.
I agree with pp get some viol curtains, we have them at the front and no one can see in but I can see out perfectly, much nicer than that opaque stuff (how can you have a good old nose at what's going on in the street if you can't see out! :) )

What about some indoor plants in the window space? Big leaf fern lid of things to screen off the window? They would let light in but hopefully distract passers by from looking at you in your pjs.

Or, something like this -

Thanks Wee, but I hate clutter and that would drive me mad!

We have cafe curtains I think they'd called. They have very little father and no lining and only cpover the bottom half of the windows. We used a tension rod the fit them on but youcoukd use a pole or curtain wire. This way you get the sunlight through the top half of the window but the privacy.

Sorry for any spelling mistakes, had eye surgery last week and still very blurry.

Thanks Kate, I hope you feel better soon.

I would go for a voile café curtain or a screen.
I hate the way passers-by stare into my house if the front door is open. I once had a cheeky f**ker demand something from my porch. He got an impolite No.

You can get a window film panel made to measure so the upper edge is a design part way up. And still have a clear section to the sky. It's less noticeable from outside. I had to put it in ds's bedroom as the twit never closes curtains. There are loads of designs, it need not look either twee or like a conference room. And they don't block much light.
Or hang a non gathered voile panel 2/3 up on a tension rod?

I'm sure I've seen blinds that work upside down. They go up from the bottom, so still let light in, but can be adjusted when needed for privacy.

Or hang a non gathered voile panel 2/3 up on a tension rod?
This is what I would do. I have a non gathered voile in my bedroom to soften the daylight and it looks fine without being patterned.