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DIY Frosted Glass Privacy Window

Creating total privacy yet not block natural light in a window with a compromising placement sounds nearly impossible, right? Well here’s a way to create a frosted glass privacy window and no, I don’t mean that spray paint faux treatment either!

SimpleDecoratingTips.com DIY Frosted Glass Privacy Window

Compromising Window Placement

Talk about a compromising placement. The bedroom in the basement apartment of our newly purchased Mid-Century-to-Colonial-Revival home needed to have the small existing window enlarged to an egress size window. Unfortunately that window is placed right in the middle of the wall, at floor level, of the main house’s screened porch.

That meant that anyone walking by on the screened porch would be viewing down into the apartment bedroom, and visa-versa the person in the bedroom would be viewing up the legs of the passerby on the porch. Neither was good, but the window had to go in for safety and for code. In case of an emergency exit, the window is large enough to crawl through to escape.

I could just hang some curtains or shades that would just stay closed all the time, but to have shades pulled close all the time would defeat the ability to get some natural light into the room.

Frosted Glass is the Answer

Frosted glass is a great answer to that need. It totally diffuses the view, but still allows light in.

I was able to achieve that exact look… without some exorbitant fee for a special order egress window to be made with frosted glass.

This is a very easy DIY that’s quite cost effective, and looks totally like real frosted glass! So what is it?

I found this product:

No, it isn’t like contact paper that has an adhesive back on it that you can never get the air bubbles out and has no grace to move it to the exact spot you want, and always leave a gooey residue behind when you remove it… once contact paper is on, that’s where it stays. This is very different!

This is a thick vinyl type film that sticks to the glass with static cling(?) I guess that’s what holds it on… it’s totally removable, but doesn’t budge once it’s installed… unless you want it to.

Step by Step

Here are the details…

The instructions in the roll of window film:

Pretty simple!

Trim Film to Fit

First I cut the film the size of the window.

Then I set it aside for a second while I scrambled around to find a spray bottle… (that was the trickiest part of this project! We’ve moved into a house that we’ve ripped apart for this whole house renovation and most of our stuff is in storage, but a few random things found their way into the garage… a spray bottle was one of those things. Next step…)

Soapy Water

According to the directions I prepared a little soapy water in the spray bottle. I think the soap just gives a slippery edge to the film allowing the air bubbles to get out and the squeegee to move across the film smoothly.

I sprayed the soapy water onto the egress window glass. (on the inside of the house, not the exterior, in case you were wondering)

The directions explain to not get the paper wet. I’m not sure what would happen if you did, but I was careful not to. I peeled the paper backing off and laid the frosted window film onto the glass. Like wallpapering.

The water now sandwiched between the glass and film allowed me to move the film around to get the exact placement I wanted for it. (So unlike contact paper!)

SimpleDecoratingTips.com DIY Frosted Glass Privacy Window

Once I had it where I wanted… I was a little concerned…

There were tons of air bubbles under the film. Yikes!

But have no fear…

The next step covered that.

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More Soapy Water

Which is to spray the soapy water mixture onto the film that was stuck to the glass:

SimpleDecoratingTips.com DIY Frosted Glass Privacy Window

Squeegee

Starting at the top, I squeegeed down. It was amazing how every single air bubble moved right down and out. (It was amazing too that I actually found a squeegee in the garage with those random things!) This project would have been impossible without a squeegee.

SimpleDecoratingTips.com DIY Frosted Glass Privacy Window

Here’s a tip…

Because the frosted film clings to the window and is sort of a stiffer material it will not properly adhere if it’s folded or crimped in the corners of the window pane, so I found that I needed to have it just ever so slightly smaller than the glass. At first it was a wee bit too wide, going over just ever so much onto the sash of the window. This meant just that little tiny edge of film wasn’t sealed to the glass and it left an air bubble in the corner under it. It was an easy fix because it wasn’t ‘stuck’ to the window like contact paper, I could lift it off, carefully trim that little edge away and squeegee it back on. Voila! No air bubbles and frosted glass!

SimpleDecoratingTips.com DIY Frosted Glass Privacy Window

What a great product!

Where to buy and other options

I love this product! It totally allowed me to DIY a frosted glass privacy window very inexpensively. There are a ton of different pattern options besides just this simple frosted glass one.

This frosted glass style sure looks good! Very believable frosted glass… and if for whatever reason if it needs to be removed it can be without any sticky residue left behind. (good for renters that want something different but need to remove it when moving out!)

Shopping Links for your own privacy glass window:

  • Window Film Options
  • Squeegee

Did you know I now offer e-decorating? I can help you with your decorating needs via email, without having to step foot in your home. If you’re interested in more information, visit my e-decorating site: Frame and Frills. I’d love to help you with your project!

Here are more carpentry tips and ideas:

Blue-and-White-Backsplash-Tile
Cabinet-Door-Gallery
how to install a floating shelf
install door knocker in a hollow steel door
Wallpaper Mural
Repurposing-Vintage-Screen-Door
transform-hall-closet-into-library
Creating a Built-In Faux Fireplace
wall mounted potrack
antique inspiried kitchen island
shutters do's and don'ts
DIY Faux Exposed Brick Chimney
DIY Frosted Glass  Privacy Window
DIY Cedar Closet Lining
How to Change a Door Lock
tips to refresh basement steps
Old Time Carpenter Taught me this Trick
Wallies
How to Make a Chandelier Longer
DIY Wide Plank Laminate Flooring
How to add a fireplace to any room
Composite Decking
Tips on Creating a Kitchen Island Feature
Changing Popcorn Ceiling to Knockdown
Closet-Transformation
how to mount a shelf when there's no stud
Easiest DIY Beadboard ever
Nautical Cottage Bathroom
DIY wall mounted potrack
How to install a farmhouse sink

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please feel free to follow and share this blog with your friends, as well as on Facebook, Pinterest, Flipboard, Bloglovin, YouTube and now Instagram!  I appreciate you reading along.

This post is linked up at these other following sites: Hometalk, My Thrift Store Addiction, A Delightsome Life, Olives & Okra, French Country Cottage, Chic on a Shoestring, Simply Sweet Home, The Charm of Home

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Welcome to Simple Decorating Tips! I’m Liz, the author, and I’m so glad you’re here!

My goal is to encourage you with DIY tips, techniques and tutorials so you feel empowered to join in the fun! Along with this DIY blog, I have a DIY shop, Frame and Frills!
Frame and Frills is in Wisconsin. I stock amazing DIY products! Fusion Mineral Paints, ReDesign Transfers, Decoupage, Waxes, loads of DIY Goodies, re-done Furniture and more! Even if you're not close to where the shop is in Wisconsin, good news... I ship nationwide, (USA) daily! Check out the link here and let's get your DIY on!
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Welcome to Simple Decorating Tips! I'm Liz, the author, and I'm so glad you're here! My goal is to encourage you with DIY tips, techniques and tutorials so you feel empowered to join in the fun! Along with this DIY blog, I have a DIY shop, Frame and Frills!
Frame and Frills is in Wisconsin. I stock amazing DIY products! Fusion Mineral Paints, ReDesign Transfers, Decoupage, Waxes, loads of DIY Goodies, re-done Furniture and more! Even if you're not close to where the shop is in Wisconsin, good news... I ship nationwide, (USA) daily! Check out the link here and let's get your DIY on!


Disclosure Policy: According to FTC guidelines, I want you to be aware that some of the content of this blog may be a source of income and therefore may be used to promote products, services, or other businesses. I will only choose to promote products/services/businesses that I feel will be beneficial to my readers. While I hope to generate a small profit for my time and effort to create this blog, I hold myself to the highest standard of integrity. I appreciate my readers, and make it my goal to deliver quality, honest material on this blog through each post. Thanks for reading along, Liz

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Sharing is great! Please feel free to share this blog with your friends, as well as on Facebook and Pinterest and Flipboard and Houzz and YouTube the more the merrier! I appreciate you stopping by. But please remember that all photos, images, text and content are owned by SimpleDecoratingTips.com. So anything you share, please be sure it always links back to my original post it came from. Please do not remove watermarks, crop or edit anything without written permission from me first.

Disclosure Policy: According to the FTC guidelines, I want you to be aware that this blog is a source of income and may occasionally incorporate endorsements or testimonials and shopping links. It is important to me to disclose this to you. The content of this blog is a source of income and therefore may be used to promote products, services, or other businesses. I will only choose to promote products/services/businesses that I feel will be beneficial to my readers. Products provided to me by my advertising partners for my review are given to me free of charge with no cost to myself. This does not ensure a positive review of the product in any way. While I hope to generate a small profit for my time and effort to create this blog, I hold myself to the highest standard of integrity. I appreciate my readers, and always make it my goal to deliver quality, honest material on this blog through each post. Thanks for reading along, Liz

Disclosure Policy According to Federal Trade Commission guidelines, I want you to be aware that this blog is a source of income and may occasionally incorporate endorsements or testimonials. It is important to me to disclose this to you. The content of this blog is a source of income and therefore may be used to promote products, services, or other businesses. I will only choose to promote products/services/businesses that I feel will be beneficial to my readers. Products provided to me by my advertising partners for my review are given to me free of charge with no cost to myself. This does not ensure a positive review of the product in any way. My truthful opinion will be what I state, no matter if I'm getting paid or not. Accuracy and truth are the priority for me on this blog's information, no matter if it's about a product or anything else. Not every product or service or store etc. may be mentioned in each and every post as an affiliate. While I hope to generate a small profit for my time and effort to create this blog, I hold myself to the highest standard of integrity. I appreciate my readers, and always make it my goal to deliver quality, honest material on this blog through each post.

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