Dear Danica, How Can We Make Our Big Window Feel More Private

Hi Hayley! What a beautiful large window you have! The natural light you get in your living room must be a dream. But I see what you’re saying about privacy. I imagine it feels a bit like you’re on display for the neighborhood…especially at night. There’s a few things that come to mind that would create more privacy without loosing the light.

I remember when I was in high school, my parents had new windows installed in their living room with beautiful wood grilles. But not long after I noticed the grilles were taken out and I asked why – “I can just see outside so much better without them.” My mom had a point, it did feel a lot more open and visible. So if taking window grilles out makes it feel more visible, the opposite can also true.

I’d start by adding insertable grilles to the window. This shop makes custom grilles at any size for really reasonable prices that you can just pop into your existing windows! You can also pick the number of grilles you want per window, the material they’re made out of, and the pattern.

Without decreasing the light, grilles will essentially create a barrier between you and the outdoors AND it’ll add a ton of charm to both the interior and exterior.

One note about this: If you do one window, I’d encourage you to do the other windows too. At least start with the windows in the front so they all match and work your way to the rest when you’re able.

Outside of curtains and shades, nothing will provide more privacy than a tree – even in its teenage years when it’s not fully grown. I’m picturing a flowering crab apple tree on either side of your sidewalk or some sort of landscape tree that’s native to your area. Or maybe do a little more and create a landscaped garden around the trees with plants in various shapes and heights. It’ll be pretty for you to look at from both inside and out, and it’ll feel like one more thing between you and the neighbors. And if anything, it’s a distraction that people are likely to look at instead of peering in your window.

If it still feels too open and exposed, try adding roman shades in addition to your curtains. This is just one more visual barrier that creates privacy. This option does limit the natural light, but you can choose how much or little you want to block by where you set the shades and the opacity of the material you select. I’d recommend looking at blinds.com which has tons of options or Alva which was recently introduced to me by a reader!

Hopefully this sparks some ideas! Any other readers have a similar experience? I’d love to hear what has worked for you in the comments below.