Obscure glass for living room window?

donutandbeer

We are looking to replace all the windows and window boards. We have a big window in our living room facing the street, it’s not too busy a street and we do have a very small front garden + hedges (about 150cm tall) in between. Still we often feel too exposed to have the blinds up. Right now there are three vertical sections of the blinds, and we only ever have one of the narrow section up. It’s not a bay window and our sofa is right next to the window. 
 
I thought perhaps having obscure glass would be a good idea, and had a walk around the neighbourhood to see if anyone had something similar. Only found two that had obscure glass. 

I had a local window company around to measure and quote yesterday, and the person said they only use obscure glass for bathroom/front door/bedroom, and it “wouldn’t look good” for a living room. I wasn’t able to get much of a reason for why. 

Do people have any idea why? I suppose I have never seen one from indoor (for a living room) and it might look worse from the inside than from the outside? 

Our next option is to consider top down blinds. Would be grateful if people can share their thoughts and experiences.

theoretica

You can get stick on sheets to turn ordinary glass into obscure glass - why not try it?  https://www.screwfix.com/p/fablon-frosted-window-film-675mm-x-1-5m/74393  many others exist...

I have voile type net curtains across the lower half of my windows for privacy.

MikeJXE

donutandbeer said:

We are looking to replace all the windows and window boards. We have a big window in our living room facing the street, it’s not too busy a street and we do have a very small front garden + hedges (about 150cm tall) in between. Still we often feel too exposed to have the blinds up. Right now there are three vertical sections of the blinds, and we only ever have one of the narrow section up. It’s not a bay window and our sofa is right next to the window. 
 
I thought perhaps having obscure glass would be a good idea, and had a walk around the neighbourhood to see if anyone had something similar. Only found two that had obscure glass. 

I had a local window company around to measure and quote yesterday, and the person said they only use obscure glass for bathroom/front door/bedroom, and it “wouldn’t look good” for a living room. I wasn’t able to get much of a reason for why. 

Do people have any idea why? I suppose I have never seen one from indoor (for a living room) and it might look worse from the inside than from the outside? 

Our next option is to consider top down blinds. Would be grateful if people can share their thoughts and experiences.

I agree it wouldn't look good because it's not normal and would also restrict you if you wanted to look out.

Even with obscure glass when you have a light on your outline will still be visible from the outside. 

The right sort of blind will restrict the view to almost zero from outside in the daytime and can be closed when you need a light on. 

I am about 4 meters from a main road into town and lots of people walk along, there  is a hedge which is see through at this time of year. My blinds are wood venetian  and make my rooms darkish

I can look out and watch the traffic and have never noticed anyone looking at me, I don't even close them at night, passers-by's even if they look won't see much  

donutandbeer

theoretica said:

You can get stick on sheets to turn ordinary glass into obscure glass - why not try it?  https://www.screwfix.com/p/fablon-frosted-window-film-675mm-x-1-5m/74393  many others exist...

I have voile type net curtains across the lower half of my windows for privacy.

We didn’t try those privacy sheets because we are looking to replace the windows regardless. I imagine they will look different to actual obscure glass so won’t be so useful as a guide to find out why obscure glass will not look good in the living room. 

Voile type curtain for the lower half of the window sounds cute! Will research more and see if there’s a style that fits our living room style.

sammyjammy

I think its that its associated with businesses and isn't very homely, if its what you want then go for it, I second the idea of the sticky patterns, you can get some beautiful designs and they can be very expertly fitted.  Could you have reflective glass in the lower window panes?

donutandbeer

MikeJXE said:

donutandbeer said:

We are looking to replace all the windows and window boards. We have a big window in our living room facing the street, it’s not too busy a street and we do have a very small front garden + hedges (about 150cm tall) in between. Still we often feel too exposed to have the blinds up. Right now there are three vertical sections of the blinds, and we only ever have one of the narrow section up. It’s not a bay window and our sofa is right next to the window. 
 
I thought perhaps having obscure glass would be a good idea, and had a walk around the neighbourhood to see if anyone had something similar. Only found two that had obscure glass. 

I had a local window company around to measure and quote yesterday, and the person said they only use obscure glass for bathroom/front door/bedroom, and it “wouldn’t look good” for a living room. I wasn’t able to get much of a reason for why. 

Do people have any idea why? I suppose I have never seen one from indoor (for a living room) and it might look worse from the inside than from the outside? 

Our next option is to consider top down blinds. Would be grateful if people can share their thoughts and experiences.

I agree it wouldn't look good because it's not normal and would also restrict you if you wanted to look out.

Even with obscure glass when you have a light on your outline will still be visible from the outside. 

The right sort of blind will restrict the view to almost zero from outside in the daytime and can be closed when you need a light on. 

I am about 4 meters from a main road into town and lots of people walk along, there  is a hedge which is see through at this time of year. My blinds are wood venetian  and make my rooms darkish

I can look out and watch the traffic and have never noticed anyone looking at me, I don't even close them at night, passers-by's even if they look won't see much  

I agree venetian blinds / shutters look better. My reservation about venetian blinds is that we will still need another blind that can block out more sun when it’s too hot (window is south facing).

As for unable to look out with obscure windows, I thought I’ll just open the window to look out. Currently with the blinds down I have to lift the blinds anyway. But I don’t want to have obscure glass if it’s going to look weird and stand out too much.

donutandbeer

sammyjammy said:

I think its that its associated with businesses and isn't very homely, if its what you want then go for it, I second the idea of the sticky patterns, you can get some beautiful designs and they can be very expertly fitted.  Could you have reflective glass in the lower window panes?

Since we are replacing the windows anyway I thought why bother with temporary solution if I can have a more permanent/maintenance-free one. Current windows get condensation quite easily (I run dehumidifier regularly and it helps, but didn’t solve the problem) so I also wouldn’t want to stick anything on the glass and make cleaning the condensation harder. But perhaps those sheets on new window is a good low-commitment answer.

I have not researched much on reflective glass but have seen some mention it. The company that came yesterday didn’t not suggest it when I asked him about having obscure glass in the living room. I do have another local window company coming tomorrow, I will certainly ask them about reflective glass.

I do wonder if we can see clearly out, then even if we know people can’t see through the glass from outside, we might still feel quite exposed!? Perfect for exhibitionist I suppose 🤪

Doozergirl

You shouldn't have any condensation on brand new windows!  If you do, you've got wider issues.  Make sure you order trickle vents in the windows.  

The obscure film is excellent because (and you'll find it fairly common place in London) you can have just a strip of the window obscured where it matters - maybe the lower area where you can be seen sitting down from outside, but have full proper view above. 

Have a google of 'window film half windows' for plenty of examples. 

The film is an excellent long term solution - I had for 10 years in one window when we changed a bedroom to a bathroom and there was nothing wrong with it - but not permanent, which I think is a downside of you putting in obscured glass. It's a bit of a bonkers idea.  

donutandbeer

Doozergirl said:

You shouldn't have any condensation on brand new windows!  If you do, you've got wider issues.  Make sure you order trickle vents in the windows.  

The obscure film is excellent because (and you'll find it fairly common place in London) you can have just a strip of the window obscured where it matters - maybe the lower area where you can be seen sitting down from outside, but have full proper view above. 

The film is an excellent long term solution - I had for 10 years in one window when we changed a bedroom to a bathroom and there was nothing wrong with it - but not permanent, which I think is a downside of you putting in obscured glass. It's a bit of a bonkers idea.  

Current windows (not new) get condensation. This is one of the many reasons we are looking to replace them. 

10 years sounds quite long for a non-permanent solution. Was worried it would need tending to every other year. 

FreeBear

Used to get a fair bit of condensation on the inside of my windows. Now replaced with modern DG sealed units, and condensation has virtually disappeared. Still get a little bit, but not enough to cause problems. You'll probably see a similar improvement.

As for privacy film, how about something like this - https://www.shein.co.uk/1pc-Striped-Frosted-Glass-Sticker-Non-Adhesive-Static-Cling-Window-Film-p-12643408-cat-3138.html - If you don't like it, easily removed and replaced with something else at minimal cost.

Using obscured glass, if you don't like the effect or want a change, you have to replace the whole unit which could get expensive.

MikeJXE

Have you looked at new windows with blinds between the panes of glass ?