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DesignerDonna · 07-24-2006, 03:08 PM

Our house has a great view, but we always have our blinds shut. I would love to leave the blinds open, but it is just too hot and the sun damaged our furniture. Is there anything I can do to prevent damgage and still keep my view?

-DesignerDonna

Square Eye · 07-24-2006, 03:59 PM

I found 5 companies selling window film that claim to be just the answer to your problem.

3MWindowFilms

llumar.com

gilafilms.com

johnsonwindowfilms.com

vista-films.com

I have personally used Gila and 3M and noticed almost no difference.
I's easy to apply, just wet the window with soapy water and peel the backing off of the film as you wet it.
Start in a corner and blow the film against the glass. It clings to the wet window while you squeegee out the water.
A little final trimming and you're done.
I have to say, it does make a difference in a hot room with direct sunlight.
If this doesn't make the room cooler, there's something else wrong.

bethany14 · 09-08-2006, 01:51 PM

Would planting trees be a possibility? Tall deciduous trees would serve multiple purposes, including saving your furniture from fading and lowering your needs for heating/cooling. That is of course, if you have enough room for them! Otherwise, I might suggest a lacy curtain. We have them on our slider & french doors. They let light in, but not too much, and you can see through them.
Good luck!

allaboutdoors · 03-14-2007, 07:51 AM

If the glass in your window is double pane, check out the local window companies to see if you can replace it with Low e glass, which will not only cut the sun but the heating and cooling costs. This is a really cheap fix and won't peel like films.
We have had customers who have done this to one room and then went back and did the whole house after they discovered the energy savings.
And the tint from Low e is barely noticeable.

glennjanie · 03-14-2007, 11:05 PM

A word of caution about window tinting or reflective film. You can see out just fine but you can't see in except when it is dark outside and light on the inside!You may still want a blind of some kind for privacy.
Glenn

donnap · 03-15-2007, 10:12 AM

You may want to consider awnings, I know they can look tacky and I do not know the style of your home, but awnings have come a long way. We live in Philadelphia and people often have custom canvas awnings made for their window and doors, not sure about the west coast scene.

Oberon · 03-30-2007, 05:46 PM

The original poster, "DesignerDonna", was part of an advertising scam that was on a number of home improvement websites last summer.

There were a number of names associated with the "question" and then the "answer" would come in from someone who would "recommend" a particular window tint film. Obvious advertising eventually got these folks banned from several sites. Oddly, the one here never recieved the canned answer that was nothing more than the other end of the ad.

However, the illigitimacy of the original post takes nothing away from the legitimate answers that folks posted here. Although the original question may have been less than honest, the replies have certainly been excellent.

Square Eye · 03-30-2007, 11:58 PM

The scam was detected and moderated same day as originally posted, but the question was worth leaving if nothing more than to give us all something new to talk about. I killed the links and banned the original poster

BTW, there is no sign of the links to the company DesignerDonna was advertising.

Oberon · 03-31-2007, 07:34 AM

Ahhhhhhh that explains why there was no reply to DD's question!

That was a great catch, most places took a few days to catch the scam!

And, as you said, despite the origin it was still a very good question and well worth discussing.