For years I have solved this problem with thin plain white muslin curtains. A graceful solution but I can't get away from the fact that they are still middle class nets and block a lot of light out.
As the nets...sorry... muslins.... needed washing I thought it was time to try the other city dwellers solution. Frosted window film. (I could mention that it took an absurd 3 weeks to arrive but we don't need to go there.) I am not going to be tedious and go through how to put this stuff up. Suffice to say it comes with instructions and it works better if you read them as it's not difficult exactly but it is slightly fiddly. However here are some top tips that I discovered as I went along that aren't in the instructions.
Top Tip: Bloomin' obvious but do take the time to clean your windows before putting the film on. Anything under the film will be stuck there and you will end up doing the whole job again.
Top Tip: Take time to smooth out all the bubbles under the film with an old credit card. It is worth it in the end.
Top Tip: As the instructions say do spray the film with the soapy water but just dampen the window a little. Too much of the mixture is a pain and you will have to spend ages smoothing it out and trying to stop the film from slipping.
It does look a bit rubbish to start with as the soapy water needs time to dry out. After a few days you will see that all the nasty streaks that you have been looking at with annoyance will have dried out.
So there we have it. Do I prefer it as a solution? Frankly no. I don't really want either. However as we have to have something it is arguably easier to ignore than the muslin curtains, unless you want to look out the window of course, and it does have one major pro. More light coming in.
As this was hardly the most scintillating post I'll finish up by saying that in the new look garden the plants appear to be growing and the slugs seem to be taking a holiday. The honeysuckle is still looking very sad but look at the pretty Camellia flower that emerged after a shower of rain.
Top Tip: Bloomin' obvious but do take the time to clean your windows before putting the film on. Anything under the film will be stuck there and you will end up doing the whole job again.
Top Tip: Take time to smooth out all the bubbles under the film with an old credit card. It is worth it in the end.
Top Tip: As the instructions say do spray the film with the soapy water but just dampen the window a little. Too much of the mixture is a pain and you will have to spend ages smoothing it out and trying to stop the film from slipping.
It does look a bit rubbish to start with as the soapy water needs time to dry out. After a few days you will see that all the nasty streaks that you have been looking at with annoyance will have dried out.
So there we have it. Do I prefer it as a solution? Frankly no. I don't really want either. However as we have to have something it is arguably easier to ignore than the muslin curtains, unless you want to look out the window of course, and it does have one major pro. More light coming in.
As this was hardly the most scintillating post I'll finish up by saying that in the new look garden the plants appear to be growing and the slugs seem to be taking a holiday. The honeysuckle is still looking very sad but look at the pretty Camellia flower that emerged after a shower of rain.
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