Out of the Closet
The master bedroom has not had any blinds or curtains since we moved in. Our back courtyard is private -- although we abut neighbors' homes with only feet separating us, no one's window looks into the back of our house, and fences make it all private.
But on a late fall evening, it's a bit of a lighted fishbowl looking in when I stand on my back deck. It's very exposed. From the inside looking out it feels exposed too.
In summer the Virginia Creeper vine covering the fence was full and leafy, and it hid the neighbor's entrance very well. The white aspen tree trunks behind the fence are where they come and go from their front door to their garage side door.
With the vines brown and dormant for winter, there are strips of light visible through the fence now. The neighbors don't stand there and peek through, and I don't either, but it feels funny to have bits of movement easily seen on either side and our whole room open to the view. I started dressing in the closet once the leaves were down.
Finally, after all this time, we now have a full blind across the sliding glass door. It's a Hunter Douglas vertiglide shade, which is a honeycomb fabric that slides from left to right. We left the transom uncovered, so there will still be moonlight at night and a bit of dawn coming into the room in the mornings.
It gives us privacy for the first time, much needed in winter with bare trees and vines. I love the wide open look through the glass doors out into the yard, but I like the softer light the shade provides too.
The look is clean and spare. Draperies would soften everything, but that's such a large door -- eight feet wide -- and the window to the side is nine feet tall. It's hard to tell from this angle, but the narrow window over the chair is taller than the sliding glass door, and I think hanging drapery panels to soften that tall window would look unbalanced at such different heights.
As much as I'd like to make the bedroom softer with fabric panels at the window or even across the big doors, it's going to be too much expense and probably too much fabric.
I like it the way it is, and I'm out of the closet now, at least when I get dressed.
But on a late fall evening, it's a bit of a lighted fishbowl looking in when I stand on my back deck. It's very exposed. From the inside looking out it feels exposed too.
With the vines brown and dormant for winter, there are strips of light visible through the fence now. The neighbors don't stand there and peek through, and I don't either, but it feels funny to have bits of movement easily seen on either side and our whole room open to the view. I started dressing in the closet once the leaves were down.
Finally, after all this time, we now have a full blind across the sliding glass door. It's a Hunter Douglas vertiglide shade, which is a honeycomb fabric that slides from left to right. We left the transom uncovered, so there will still be moonlight at night and a bit of dawn coming into the room in the mornings.
It gives us privacy for the first time, much needed in winter with bare trees and vines. I love the wide open look through the glass doors out into the yard, but I like the softer light the shade provides too.
The look is clean and spare. Draperies would soften everything, but that's such a large door -- eight feet wide -- and the window to the side is nine feet tall. It's hard to tell from this angle, but the narrow window over the chair is taller than the sliding glass door, and I think hanging drapery panels to soften that tall window would look unbalanced at such different heights.
As much as I'd like to make the bedroom softer with fabric panels at the window or even across the big doors, it's going to be too much expense and probably too much fabric.
I like it the way it is, and I'm out of the closet now, at least when I get dressed.
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