Help with bay window

daisyrose

Can anyone offer any advice on window covering ideas please for a large 3 pane bay window? The cill is around 60cm or 2 feet up from the floor and the upvc frame goes to the ceiling in the bay.

There are a couple of issues, and I just don't know what to do about them. The dog sits on the cill because it's so low. He is damaging the paint and jumps at the glass if he sees delivery people. I have blocked his access with furniture, but it doesn't look nice. 

New neighbours and people parking in their garden are parking close to the fence and can easily see into our room. I have thought about blinds or curtains, but bay poles and blinds are expensive and would have to be fixed to the ceiling in the bay. I don't know if there is anything to attach them to or if the ceiling would hold any weight if I could. We also get condensation and because the windows are big I would like to keep the heat in especially at night. I do have curtains across the wall outside of the bay, but they are thin. I could leave them up but need something in the bay for privacy during the day.

The only thing I do know is that I don't want nets so I would be very grateful if anyone has any ideas please.

diystarter7

net curtians on a wire, cheap and you can see out they can really see in unless light on or you standing between two light soruces.

The wire for net curtains a few quid for a few meters.  You can get rods slightly more expensive but still realtively cheap.

FreeBear

I had a local stainless steel fabrication shop bend a couple of lengths of 25mm polished tubing and welded a tee fitting on either end and in the middle. Cost me about £50 as I recall.

I was fortunate that I had taken the original ceiling down as part of a major refurbishment. As a result, I knew exactly where the joists were located so that I could screw fixings up...

If I were to do it again, I'd have a look at the Ikea VIDGA range.

Kiran

Hollow wall fixings will hold ample weight for a curtain pole and heavy duty curtains, as for the pole, you can get adjustable bends and straight lengths of pole online. I had to do this on a seven window bow window twice in our last house. They really looked the business when installed. That being said if you just have a standard 3 sided bay then you can specifically buy bay poles which have a number of slots cut in one side of the tube for you to form a bend at the correct angle. I've also seen galvanised electrical conduit bent with pipe benders and painted which looked like a custom fabrication at a fraction of the cost but does take a bit of skill

ss2020jd

You could try expandable tension rods between each bay section and hang either a sheer curtain on each or a light fabric blind that has a pocket top for the rod to go through. I have done this as a temporary measure when we moved into a house with no curtains or rails. They are still up! 

I have found H&M home online good for these kinds of curtains and blinds. They have a good range of widths and lengths. IKEA also have some good options too. There are also plenty of videos and articles online that show you how to make a simple pocket top window covering/fabric blind for a tension rod as well. 

Depending on the height at which people are able to look in, you could hang them cafe style to let the light in at the top and privacy at the bottom, although probably for a bay it may look better to be full height. 

daisyrose

Thank you all so much for your help. I will look at all of the options now that I know what to look for.

JuzaMum

What about window film? My cats think net curtains are for destroying so I have static cling window film in the bedroom. Static cling is easier (imo) to apply and can be removed instantly with leaving anything behind

daisyrose

Thank  you. I have thought about using the static plastic but wasn't sure that it would look ok from outside on a large pane. I would only want to use it to a height where the dog can look out. 
Did you use a plain film and does it stop much light? 

JuzaMum

I have a plain one downstairs which is fairly opaque but cut low enough for me to look over when standing. I also have it on the bathroom window.  It lets the light in but maintains privacy. In my bedroom I have a stained glass type one which also works well.