I Need Ideas of What to Put on Glass.

Were the “super strong magnets” you used for the magnetic rods?

My idea, if you have a steel door, is for a strip of fabric, that fits the sidelights, with magnets sewn into the top and bottom hems—no hardware. Magnetic panel up when you want privacy and off when you don’t. You could fold them while up, for some light control. You could have fun with the fabrics because it’s such s small amount. You could even do tasteful seasonal fabrics.

We have a sliding glass door that opens onto the patio, and just hung a curtain rod over it, bolted into the wall rather than trying to attach it to the facing, and translucent curtains. We hung three panels instead of two, so that we can close them with bunching for total privacy, or push them back when we want light.

you want people's advice so you can slam them again?? Wow.

how big are these windows??
or is your front door all glass??

Is this what your front door looks like?

https://ciprianicharlesdesigns.files.wordpress.com/2014/0...

or this?

https://www.nicksbuilding.com/Mahogany_Exterior_Doors/Ent...

here are some ideas from professionals about covering your sidelights

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/cover-sidelight-window-4349...\

here's another idea

https://rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/entriways/

why not just replace the broken hardware and put curtains back up?

i myself would not want any sort of window cling on my front door glass. kind of cheap and tacky.

you could get a stained glass artist or glass paint artist to do a mural for you. probably pricey, though.

i guess i'm not understanding why you can't put up simple curtains- even beads- that will let you push them aside and look out when you want to. what makes them blow who-knows-where?

khairete
S.

Are you opposed to shutters, shades, or window treatments other than curtains? There are so many options to help with your problem.

Check out places like blinds.com and 3-day blinds. They will custom make a solution for your windows. The fabric and material options available now are so numerous, it can be hard to choose. Some places will come out and measure for you, and others will walk you through the project step by step. The materials are weighted and won't blow when you open the front door. Many places also have window treatments that are motorized and controlled by a remote or other smart-technology if that is an option that appeals to you.

If you really need to see who's approaching your house or at your front door, consider a Ring Doorbell or similar product. You'll be able to see who's outside right from your phone without going near those windows that are at your front door. It's much better than a peephole.

Oh. I just remembered-when we lived in NJ we had front door with side panels the entire length of the door.

Well until we bought the home we did not realize that they were clear glass that just had these glass “sticker” put on. They are sold at Home Depot! I swear they looked like mosaic glass. Now they have different styles more privacy, less, design or just plain .. I only recognized them when went to Home Depot to repaint my hallway.. they are by the paint department. You might have to cut them but look really cool!

Good luck!

When you have curtains up - besides a rod on top don't they have a rod on the bottom too?
I think they call them rod pocket curtains - rods hold them top and bottom and they can't blow around or get caught in the door.

Consider cling film that will blur what gets viewed - make it look like frosted glass or wavy glass.
People wont be able to see much looking in and you'll be able to see there's a person there but maybe not so clearly that you know who they are.

I got some film from Amazon. It comes in sheets. You cut it to fit, wet the window, press out the bubbles and it stays. I’ve had one on my bathroom window that looks onto the pool deck for 10 years.

One solution for the problem of curtains “blowing who-knows-where” is to hang them on the *inside* of your house.

Also though, maybe consider panels of frosted glass?

My friend just went through this with a door - and she was able to purchase at Home Depot I believe (mind you, this was for the door, but they had them in different shapes and sizes for different kinds of doors, so perhaps the would have them for sidelights), blinds that somehow snap ONTO the glass. You can leave open during day and close during night.

They look like the blinds that come INSIDE glass nowadays. I have friends who have those but pricey. I suppose, worst comes to worst, you could look into replacing the whole panel with those .. depending on if this is your forever home. However, these snap on blinds - if you go down the Home Depot outdoor door aisle - they are usually on display (here anyway) where they show them mounted to an outside door by the patio door section.

I just think they likely would have something like that for sidelights. I honestly didn't really notice it much at my friend's house and she loved the solution. Much neater (streamlined) than curtains and she's had it up for over a year with no issues. I also don't think it was that expensive.

Oh - here they are, and the have different sizes. They'd probably have more sizes you could order from if needed (custom) at the store. As I said, different stores in your area would likely have more to chose from - that's just what I'm familiar with. These are just around $100.00 so very reasonable, and honestly, look like they go with the trim.

This is a safe site, Home Depot, but if you'd feel better - just go to Home Depot and type in Sidelight Blinds.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/ODL-White-Cordless-Add-On-Enc...

Good luck :)

**The other option I've seen are those curtain rods like this

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Achim-Brent-20-in-L-36-in-L-I...

that swing across - you can get in different sizes so that some are very short. You could have a small single panel you swing across at night for privacy? Out of the way during the day. Use tie backs to keep out of way of door.

What we did at one home was buy nice seaside art blown glass to hang in the window - it goes with out house decor, and we hung at eye level (not on the bottom, where it would have gotten broken). It gave me the illusion of privacy which was all I really needed. I think people would have had a hard time seeing in. I had fish hanging, etc. You can pick things like that up at craft fairs etc. and they make easy things for your kiddos to give you for Mother's Day gifts etc. I used those suction cup hangers to mount them.

I don’t have anything on mine. I hope people aren’t peeping in at night though but why would they?

Go to a stained glass store (or shower door store) and have textured glass put in. Those on the outside will only see shadows at night.

Also, my husband just installed a Ring doorbell on our daughter’s apartment door since she didn’t have a peep hole either.

A friend turned her side window so it would look like a stained glass collage
She cut out several strips from an old piece of furniture. She placed them randomly so they were in a collage style window. Then she painted the glass portion with different colors using paint made for glass.

She layed out the strips on a piece of paper the size of the window until she found a layout she liked. I don't remember how she attached the wood. You could paint lines with something looking like the seams in a stained glass window.

If your door is solid and can be drilled, installing a peep hole is easy. You could hire a handyman to install it.

Have you searched the Internet for ideas? I often look at pages that talk about hacks.