Frosty reception

I have a large bay window in my lounge directly looking out to the pavement and road outside my house. The first thing I did when I moved in over 2 years ago was to take down all the net curtains. I cannot abide net curtains. They not only cut out light, but look old fashioned and dingy. There may well be some nice ones somewhere, but I’ve never seen any!

Having no net curtains means I have more light coming in and can see outside and what’s going on. However, it also means my neighbours and everyone else walking past (of which there are surprisingly many) can look directly into my lounge! Mostly I don’t have a problem with this. I’ve had comments that as people can see in, it could encourage burglary as they can see if anyone is there, and can also see exactly what there is to steal. Hence, I’ve been quite safe from theft – I obviously have nothing of value to steal! (Apart from my lovely new laptop which I got last year, so I am careful to store it out of site and not leave it on the table or somewhere obviously visible). During the week I am out at work during the day. However, as the evenings get lighter, and I sit on my sofa and watch some TV, I do wish I had a little more privacy! Then there’s the weekends….it would be nice to have the choice to slouch around in my pyjamas for a while before getting dressed, or perhaps wear not much at all (!!). Now that really WOULD get the neighbours talking!

So, I struck upon a good idea, inspired by some smart, local shop windows that were part frosted, and I thought that if I frosted just the bottom half of my sash window, it would still let lots of light in, and yet blur any detail when looking through the window at eye level. I investigated the idea further on the internet and found that there are a number of companies that will supply frosted film to put directly over your window. Great if you want some unusual detailing like a name etched into the film, or a fancy pattern. But - fairly expensive, ranging from £50 - £100 for my measurements. Also, I just wanted it plain, nothing fancy. So, the idea went fairly low down on my “things to do when I have more money” list.

Then, when I was in Wilkinson’s last weekend, I noticed that Fablon have introduced a “frosted window” product to their sticky backed plastic range (brings back memories of Blue Peter?). They had one that was just plain, light frosting, which you literally just cut to size and stick on the window. Fantastic! And only £3.50 per roll!! I needed 3 rolls for the window panes I wanted to cover, so at a bargain at £10.50. (and not too much of an expense if I decided I didn’t like the frosted look?). I bought my frosted Fablon and excitedly rushed home, cleaned my windows, and set about measuring, cutting and sticking. What fun. I think the end result is great! It does let lots of light in and it gives me extra privacy. On Sunday I was able to wander around downstairs in just my knickers without fear of giving a heart attack to any neighbours!

Here’s a picture (of the window....not me in my knickers!!!) – what do you think?