OK, without wanting to make myself sound too dumb, I have a question about bathroom windows.
Our new house has several bathrooms with full length windows, and the glass isn't frosted. We just assumed (I know, I know) it would be, but the builder said that the Swiss normally have regular glass in all windows?
So what do we put up at the windows to save alienating ourselves from our new neighbors as we prance around naked?!
Are blinds the only/best option, or is there some well kept secret about window coverings that I should investigate?
Wow that's a real bummer , I sure I would have made the same assumption.
I'm not sure if you're going to find some Switzerland but back home we could buy a frosting that you could "stick" on the window. It's like a roll of plastic which you wet and place over the window. The trick is not getting any air bubbles.
I know this sounds vague but I'm having a hard time discribing what I mean. I will do some searching and let you know if I find anything.
Our bathroom windows are frosted, and the bath/shower is just inside the window. However even frosted windows are still no good in the dark when inside lights are on with someone showering just next to the window... all can be seen (unknown to me when I first moved in, much to my neighbours' amusement !).
We found a very cheap and efficient solution ... we just put up a patterned shower curtain inside the window. It protects both the window & frame from the water & also my modesty and can be replaced easily when it gets shabby or we get fed up of it and want a change. Choose a light colour though to let enough light in during the day.
Perhaps you could send us a photo of how it looks at night time when there's someone in the shower and then we'd be able to determine whether the opacity should be reduced and how we could go about doing it... oh, ok, sorry...
Coincidentally enough we dealt with the glass window in our bathroom today (aaaaaaaah privacy galore). The method we used is alike to NatsBrit's post above.
The product is named ‘d-c-fix glass' and found in Coop Bau+Hobby. It is an embossed self adhesive plastic foil (Selbstklebende Folie geprägt in German) and comes in a roll. Priced very reasonably at CHF 5.20 for 45cmX2m.
I found it very easy to cut and stick on. Looks great too, not tacky the least bit.
Just googled the product and found their website, you can also order them online: http://www.d-c-fix-shop.de/transparente-strukturen.aspx (lucky you, wish I'd found this first) I see a lot more options on the website to choose from (stained glass, mosaic effect, colours...very nice) compared to Coop, which just had about four staid patterns.
Hope this helps with your naked prances and gawking neighbours
We had a bathroom once in a house we rented with a wall of floor to ceiling windows including a set of doors leading to a balcony with a great view of the village...which meant the village had a great view of our bath. I made two sets of drapes, sheers for daytime use, and room darkening curtains over the sheers for at night. I used washable fabrics. I really prefer window blinds but it was a rental and proper blinds for a bathroom are a big investment as in a bathroom blinds must withstand moisture from the shower.
Since you own, I would look into the Cosiflor line of Plissee blinds.
They have fabrics that are guaranteed to be moisture resistant. Cosiflor is made in Germany . Here is link to the manufacturer.
If you’d like a more versatile solution to having the options of both light and shade, then check out the Night and Day pleated blinds. This system is basically two pleated blinds in one: a blind of heavier, blackout material on top, and a transparent blind below. The two blinds are fixed together by a floating middle rail and you can choose between all blackout, all transparent, or exactly how much of each you wish to have exposed by adjusting the position of the rail. For this blind, you would have to check about how resistant it is to moisture. But in my opinion this is the perfect solution.
That's interesting....when we bought our apartment, which was under construction, I had a really hard time convincing the builders that I did not want frosted glass in the bathroom window....they had never had such a wierd request apparently.
And no, I didn't want to put on a show for the neighnours...I find frosted glass pretty ugly usually (exceptions exist of course!). I put in a plain natural linen blind which combines function with pleasing aesthetics!!
Clean class windows are becoming more common ... I would nevertheless still expect the bathroom and basement windows (the latter if visible from outside) to be frosted. According to the 'd-c-fix' Web site, they don't deliver to Switzerland ...
Oh, no. What a pity. My challenged German skills didn't get me far enough to figure out if they deliver here. I was seriously contemplating ordering. Oh, well...
Manor has a plastic stick on film product in different sizes of rolls and many very nice different patterns. I can't remember the name of the company but they have a display in thier stores with a video of how to apply the various pattern. The product is from Spain. I picked up a roll for our two bathrooms and it did the trick but still lets the light in.