Large windows can be a gift and a curse for homeowners – whilst you’ll never be wanting for natural light, you’ll also never be short of an audience.
Older homes are especially susceptible, with their deep bay windows, low sills and generous panes of glass that seem to predate any privacy concern.
Drawing your curtains only solves one problem by creating another, since a room without light rarely feels worth spending time in.
The five suggestions ahead take a different approach. Some are near-instant fixes you can have up in a day; others are a longer-term addition, but all take the edge off how exposed a room can feel, without dimming it in the process.
Indoor trees
A well-placed tree does more for an overlooked room than you might expect, especially something with height, such as an olive or a fiddle leaf fig.
Position it just to the side of the window rather than dead centre, so the canopy breaks up the sightline without blocking your light. If you're working with a north-facing room, go for something shade-tolerant like a Kentia.
A pot on castors is worth the cost too, since moving a six-foot tree to catch the light in winter is no mean feat.
Window film
Window film has come a long way from the frosted bathroom variety many of us grew up with. The stained glass styles are particularly clever, letting in light while casting a gentle rainbow of colour onto nearby surfaces.
Patterned film is more sympathetic than plain frosted film in a period property, particularly if the pattern echoes the kind of leaded or Art Nouveau glazing original to a Victorian or Edwardian house.
It's an easy DIY job to apply yourself – the film needs a little soapy water and a squeegee to go on without bubbles, and it peels off cleanly when you want a change.
Room screens
Room screens are one of the most flexible buys on this list. They can be angled at will, folded flat and easily moved to serve different areas of the home – perhaps zoning off a desk area or reading nook.
While a painted timber or fabric-panelled screen blocks the view completely, lightweight trellis styles offer plenty of privacy. Handsome antique screens turn up regularly online – keep an eye out for those with fabric panels that you can recover for something totally bespoke.
Strategically-placed furniture
Furniture positioned at eye level near a window that's overlooked does a good job of obscuring a neighbour's view.
An oversized floor lamp à la Molly Mahon has the effect of drawing the eye inward when the lamp is lit, and it's dark outside, which is exactly when privacy tends to matter most. Exposed bulbs make a room feel clinically bright, so choose a large drum shade that creates a more diffused glow.
A wingback chair does a good job in a bay window where windowsills tend to sit lower than usual, and it turns your line of sight away from the window rather than straight out of it.
Café curtains
Café curtains typically cover the lower half of a window, allowing natural light to flood in while still providing a level of privacy. Linen or voile fabrics are soft and semi-sheer, while a heavier cotton ticking blocks the view more completely but takes more light with it.
They suit kitchens, bathrooms and utility rooms particularly well, and make a charming addition to internal glass doors – adding privacy in layers between rooms.
Rachel Edwards is the Style & Interiors Editor for Country Living and House Beautiful, covering all things design and decoration, with a special interest in small space inspiration, vintage and antique shopping, and anything colour related. Her work has been extensively translated by Elle Japan and Elle Decor Spain. Rachel has spent over a decade in the furniture and homeware industry as a writer, FF&E designer, and for many years as Marketing Manager at cult design retailer, Skandium. She has a BA in French and Italian from Royal Holloway and an MA in Jounalism from Kingston University. Follow Rachel on Instagram @rachelaed
