To See and Not Be Seen

Rose Gilbert
Sun, 07 Dec 2014 21:00:00 -0800
Lifestyle

Q: We loved the picture window in the master bath of our new house — that's one reason we bought it. We didn't know it was a problem until after we moved in and realized our neighbors could look right in. We hate to give up the view from the tub, but what to do about that big window?

A: I could tell you the story of a friend who went to a famous spa in Germany, not realizing that nudity was the dress of the day in the sauna, no options. So she took the one small towel allowed and covered her own eyes with it.

Better to cover your window. And you do have options. You could have the entire glass covered with a one-way window film: you can see out, but no one can look in (good sources include 3M and Vista Window Films).
Updated: Mon Dec 08, 2014

Q: We loved the picture window in the master bath of our new house — that's one reason we bought it. We didn't know it was a problem until after we moved in and realized our neighbors could look right in. We hate to give up the view from the tub, but what to do about that big window?

A: I could tell you the story of a friend who went to a famous spa in Germany, not realizing that nudity was the dress of the day in the sauna, no options. So she took the one small towel allowed and covered her own eyes with it.

Better to cover your window. And you do have options. You could have the entire glass covered with a one-way window film: you can see out, but no one can look in (good sources include 3M and Vista Window Films).

There are also translucent window shades and roller blinds that effectively filter the view but not the light. Another option is a top-down, bottom-up shade like the one we show in the photo here (it's a Latour semi-opaque cellular shade from Budget Blinds/Home Franchise Concepts). The shade is cordless and adjusts easily to protect your modesty without blocking the entire window.

For more ideas on window wizardry, visit their website.

Q: Hate to exercise? Sit down and read this.

A: Exercise balls have been around for decades — they started out as heavy so-called "medicine balls," remember? And they sure looked the part of grunt-work accessories.

Here's news. Today's version has gone high style: Balance ball-maker Gaiam has introduced a new collection of personality colors and patterned slipcovers for their balls and ball chairs made of cotton and silk, even. The idea, the company says, is to make your exercise ball an integral part of your home decor scheme.

Therefore, they believe, you'll be inspired to practice "active sitting" in your home office, great room or living room, "getting a powerful core-strengthening workout" while you compute, consume TV, or, ahem, have a ball while entertaining friends.

Q: What American art form has gone from bedridden to rock-stardom in the past three centuries?

A: Quilts, of course. A craft almost exclusively perfected by women, quilts have long-since outgrown their humble beginnings as a way to recycle old clothing and household fabrics into practical furnishings to keep families warm.

As the women designed and worked their quilts — in frontier cabins, elegant New England homes or sophisticated Southern plantations — they were taking stitches in time, literally, creating fabric masterpieces worthy of wall space in a museum. Which is exactly what's happening in Virginia, where "A Celebration of American Quilts," an exhibit of American quilts spanning three centuries has opened at the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, one of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg.

The exhibit includes a dozen especially fine quilts drawn from the Museum's collection and stays open through June 30, 2016. The next best thing to seeing the quilts in person: "Four Centuries of Quilts: The Colonial Williamsburg Collection," is a collector's dream of a book by Williamsburg scholars Linda Baumgarten and Kimberly Smith Ivey.

Learn more at colonialwilliamsburg.com.

Photo courtesy of Budget Blinds

Shades of modesty: Top-down-bottom-up shades cover you, not the view. Photo: Budget Blinds.

Rose Bennett Gilbert is the co-author of "Manhattan Style" and six other books on interior design. To find out more about Rose Bennett Gilbert and read features by Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at CREATORS.com.