This thread reminded me that I have an interior design question that I don’t know the answer to: has there been invented a window treatment that allows one to look out of one’s window while NOT allowing outside viewers to look in?
Here is my situation: I have a spectacular view of the Manhattan skyline from my dining room and kitchen BUT I often wake up in the morning in whatever I was sleeping in (often nothing) and wish to poke around in the kitchen, make coffee, etc. in a state of dress that will alarm any passing neighbor who peers in. (Outside my window is a walkway to other apartments in my high-rise, empty space for about 23 hours and 55 minutes per day, but it’s those other 5 minutes I’m concerned about.)
For years, I just kept the skyline blocked off with heavy drapes, but that seems a shame to me–the ideal would be some sort of treatment that lets me look out but doesn’t let passersby look in. Does this exist?
One-way mirror film is your answer. It reflects a percentage of sunlight to appear mirrored from the outside during daylight hours (example), but lets enough through so you can see outside. Note however that at night, without this reflected sunlight, a lit interior will become visible again, so curtains are still necessary. It also adds a slight blueish tint when looking out in the daytime.
I’ve also seen similarly mirrored blinds, as a more flexible solution.
The neighbors have just learned not to look in our windows, because the boyfriend is in his underwear 97% of the time and the structural integrity of his underwear is… questionable.
I believe this to be a permanent condition of boyfriends.
OP, I’d go with the mirrored window film. The manufacturer’s instructions should include spraying the window with a dilute soap solution just prior to applying the film, and using a squeegee to adhere the film tightly against the glass. Be generous with the soap solution and press hard on the squeegee - it’ll help prevent air bubbles from getting trapped between the glass and film, which would interfere with the view.
The newer low E windows with UV coatings, argon gas etc. block people from seeing in. Although, it’s still a good idea not to turn lights on in the room.
I was pondering this very question one time and I also landed on the “two way mirror” idea.
But then I thought…my city probably would make me take them down. Seems like something a city or a suburb would regulate against because of the glare it would cause for drivers. Not that every house is situated where headlights would hit its windows, but in my little neighborhood there are 5 intersections where I know my headlights hit the windows of the houses across the street.
Well duh But I am asking if people think this might be something that would be banned or at least regulated by some cities in general, for the reason I came up with.
There’s this marvelous invention I’ve seen which allows people on the inside to see out, but stops people on the outside from seeing in. It’s called “net curtains.”
It reads as if curtains or drapes up to the waist or shoulder level would allow viewing from inside out both day and night and prevent the cantankerous grievous objections to anything seen viewing from outside in.
Thank you for starting this thread. I’ve been wanting to know this myself, since I like to walk around naked and I also like as much sunlight coming into my house as possible.
But I am asking if people think this might be something that would be banned or at least regulated by some cities in general, for the reason I came up with.