Banish the Curtains

My office gets a decent bit of light in the early to late afternoon; but, since there is a house right next door, separated only by a very narrow alley, keeping the curtains open wasn't an option.  I had some gold/yellow moire fabric curtains that did little to improve the light situation.  I tried to change it out with a white roman shade, but that didn't offer much of a solution either.  

Here's a before:

Ignore the chaos on my desk:  I was filing things when I took the photo

The awkward window trim right next to the wall definitely did little as far as getting a curtain rod with pretty finials:  the one closest to the wall would always have to be removed.  Each window has fantastic hand-carved plinths, with 4-inch belly board trim around them; it bothered me to cover it all up.  

I thought about applying etching cream to the windows, then decided that'd be too permanent, and likely, too messy.  I did the next best thing:  I ordered a couple of rolls of Con-Tact "Frosty" Roll Adhesive Liner.  It isn't quite wide enough to cover my window in one sweep, so there is a tiny bit of a line where the seam meets.  It makes a vast improvement, though!

The gorgeous, streamlined AFTER

To prep the windows, all I did was wash them with vinegar and dried them well.  Then, I measured each pane, and simply cut the Con-Tact paper to fit.  Peel, apply carefully, and push out any air bubbles with a flat edge (I used my bench scraper).  Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy.

Plenty of light comes through, and my neighbors cannot see me working away late at night while I'm in my pajamas (or dancing along with the Ellen Show, for that matter).