Decorating and Design - Ideas for Front Doors with Glass

I have double front doors in my home that have large glass designs. I don't want to cover these up, but my husband hates it that we don't have more privacy in our livingroom (it's a little difficult to make out images if your looking in from the outside). I've thought about using a decorative screen and making this an entrance area (we have an open floor plan), but the celings are very high and I'm not sure if this would look ok. I love the thought of using a screen in this area but they are so expensive and I'm not sure it would work. Any Ideas??? Thanks

You might consider using a very thin (3/8") pleated shade. If the interior of the doors is white you might choose as close a color match as possible and hang the shades over each glass on the inside. You can install it where the stack ends above the glass so that the shade does not show from the outside when it is raised. You can get pleated shades that raise by touching them on the bottom and guiding them up or by using a remote. You can solve the dangling cord problem, though, by using a small cleat to wrap the cord around. This way, your doors will give you unobstructed light and a view during the day with the shade up and privacy at night when the shade is down.

We recently bought a vacation home on the water and without thinking about the glare off the water, I had 2 1/2" wood blinds installed on every window. Football season is here, and the glare was a major problem - even with the shades drawn! We solved the problem by using 3/8" pleated shades (we bought black-out shades) behind the wood blinds. Problem solved as they are invisible unless you know they're there! The pleated shades are kept raised unless we plan to do any TV watching during the day.

Good luck with your decision.

Thanks for the info Lynne. This sounds like a great idea for our french doors in the bedroom.

Thanks again!