apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I had a similar experience and used fancy sheets of paper from the papersource. I had smaller panes so I was able to use the smaller sheets and cut them up. As for the permanence issue, I too am a grad arch student so I say use drafting tape! Make a frame of drafting tape on the pane, then affix the double sided tape or whatever that could do damage to that. Drafting tape seems to be the best to remove after, I just warn if it is up for more than 2years, or it is very dry, you may need a razor blade to help peel off afterwards.

tis the season!
How about some beautiful heavy wrapping paper (non seasonal) i'd start with double sided tape (on the glass pretty much anything will be removable). Start with one side and then go to both if its not heavy enough. if you put paper on both sides rubber cement will be a more durable adhesive.

if you don't mind spending a bit extra, roman shades are a nice idea, not quite as frilly looking as curtains. i have them on my glass door to a shared patio (although i let some light in at the top of the door by hanging the shades down about a foot).

otherwise, i'd recommend paper, fabric, or paper shades (cheap from home depot).

I'd construct some panels that are slightly larger than the window areas out of foam core, and cover them with nice fabric. Place some holes in the corners (perhaps get a grommet maker from a hardware store - easy to use) or even securely attach some fabric or elastic tabs at the corners, and then hang them off of a set of the 3M Command hooks. You'd be able to remove the entire panels when un-needed, and removing the tabs won't harm the doors.

I used that spray on 'frosted glass' on my windows and it worked great. I like it because it looks super clean, inexpensive, holds up well, and can be cleaned with a wet sponge if necessary. You definitely have to tape off carefully around the frame, and it takes several coats to get a nice opacity, but it comes off easily with a razor blade so it's great where you can't permanently alter the windows.

wood blinds look tidy and can be opened and closed as needed. that's what i would do.

I've used fabric panels attached with velcro (along the top only). Sticky backed piece on the door, then the other piece sewn onto the fabric. Obviously just take care whether you use fabric or paper to use something properly opaque since light is the issue.

Are you willing to have coverings that NEVER allow light in the bedroom? If not, I think curtains are your best way to go. Other options (other than Roman shades) mean darkness all the time.

window film will attach to the glass with a squeegee and soapy water. simply cut to fit each pane. to remove wet and peel. google "window film" for 100's of choices, some pretty horrible, but i've used sandblasted and milk glass varieties in the past.

i hate to say it, but this is one case where i might actually recommend curtains. i'd miss the transparency lost with other choices.

If you're looking at blinds that attach to the doors themselves, check how flush they sit against the doors and consider how much light would get through the gap. And whether wooden blinds would rattle against the doors!

Are you at all creative?

Why not use regular paint to create colorful backpainted designs on the glass panels themselves? Do this on the bedroom side and the patterns of the backpainted glass will look beautiful from your living room - for the bedroom side, you'd simply paint over the colors the same color as the doors themselves to give the appearance of standard paneled doors.

All you'd have to do when you move is scrape the paint off the glass with a razor.

You can stick paper to the glass with laundry starch or a rice or corn starch/water mix. It will basically wipe right off with warm water when you remove the paper. Washable white glue would easily come off of the glass as well. Rubber cement or tape would work, but you'd see it on one side and I would personally hate that. You have to make sure you use a light color of paper that will camouflage the glue, so for light-blocking you'd use a dense (but not heavy) paper. Actually, if you wet down rice paper with a spray bottle it will stick on its own with very little residue later on, and that gives you more color/contrast options.

If too much light is the only problem, there's the solution of eye shades! I got used to a dark room from previous houses where the sun was on the front of the house. In my new house it gets direct morning sun that woke me up at the crack of dawn. But I didn't want anything on the windows. I bought fabric eye shades from the drug store and also sewed some round rubber "powerpuffs" or make-up sponges under the edge where it sits on my cheeks. Problem of too much light waking me up solved.

(if the issue is also hiding the bedroom, I like the paper idea -- I've seen some beautiful Japanese papers that would be lovely.)

I second (or third) the eye mask. They're great and totally glam. I often opt for total sensory deprivation and go for ear plugs as well.

I say what's wrong with curtains? They offer much more versatility. Are you against fabric entirely? If not, sleek panels that can be hooked or rolled up would look great and give you the option to let in light when you're in the mood for it.

I have a similar setup between my bedroom and living room. I used a long tension rod on the inside of the doorframe with long curtains. It gives you more options in terms of letting light through and controlling air flow.

I used some great roman shades from Ikea that i never roll up. They won't give you total darkness but they will fit exactly against the glass frames and provide a sleek covering. See the LA house tour "maria's oh so you bungalow" to see what i did.

I would not do anything that will require razor-blading off later. The day you move out you'll be cursing the day you decided to paint/tape/whatever, as you spend hours scraping each pane of glass to get your security deposit back.

I think curtains that extend beyond the doors (mounted on the bedroom side) are the way to go. They you won't see them from the living room when they're pulled back. They'll add coziness and even a little sound insulation to the bedroom, especially if they're a heavy fabric like velvet.

Ditto kittysavant's comments. And some other things to keep in mind:

---The doors actually have a quite a lot of surface area. Anything that requires a razor blade for later removal (such as paint) would be very tedious. I've done it and would not want to do it again.

---If you decide to adhere paper or fabric to the glass, remember that both sides will be visible. Try to choose something that does not have an unattractive reverse, or is the same on both sides.

---I have covered windows with paper with great results. I used a hand made paper embedded with horizontal slats of wood. Amazingly it has held with double stick Scotch tape for 4 years now (on Western exposure windows in LA). Also surprising was the fact that the tape does not show from either side (they are casement windows that open in, so this was a concern). I think this is because the paper is very heavily textured.

---Window films are very practical and attractive. They are also easy to adhere and remove. Most just filter the light; I don't think most offer a blackout option.

Frankly, a 'permanent' blackout effect would be very confining and would alter the light and open feeling of your lovely apartment.

Give the curtains a second look, since that option probably gives the best light control. And remember that curtains do not have to be attached to the doors... you could put a long rod on wall above the doors, and the curtains could be opened to the sides of the doors so you could have full full light control.

We had windows that we needed to cover because of a poky neighbor! We covered the windows with colorful tissue paper, just using ordinary glue stick round the edges. Before we stuck the paper down we printed patterns on the paper using bleach and potato prints... they turned out really really pretty.

There are some pictures of the sort of paper in a recent post here: http://www.se7en.org.za/2008/11/28/clearly-christmas-se7en-gift-wrap-ideas

Good Luck!

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/good-questions/good-questions-affordable-window-shade-kits-070879

How about rollershades mounted on the bedroom side of each door? I have some with a very simple valance that covers up the roller mechanism.

Go for the eye mask! We have the same situation, and I really love the light through the doors during the waking hours. I would hate to cover it up!
Plus- the eye mask is definitely the most economical solution!

I would go with a textural fabric and probably do it on both sides of the pane. I would use a light spray glue, maybe just the stuff elmers makes? It could be cleaned off glass I would think with some goop off. Also, I would cut it with extra size and then trim it down with an exacto knife after it was glued in. I think a nice simple thick linen in either white or a contrasting neutral would be nice. You might want to test if it will not let any light through one one pane, and if it fails use contact paper behind it? My 2 cents.

Why not put a couple of solid folding screens in front of the door while he is working?

You could also velcro blackout fabric over the windows while he is working and take it down in the morning when you get up. It won't look as elegant as curtains, but you also won't have it up when company is over (or when you are awake to look at it) so who cares.

I've been pondering a similar conundrum and I think we've found a solution. We're going to try hanging a curtain rod from the ceiling. Would your landlord mind (or notice) a little bit of spackled ceiling when you leave? If not, consider hanging a rod that would go beyond the doors, and hanging curtains (or you can pick your own fabric, allowing for freedom of expression). You'll have to choose the fabric carefully so it isn't annoying-to-walk-through. But these could also be tied to the side when you need the curtains to be out of the way.

Hey, thanks so much for all of the great ideas, I'm thrilled with the feedback. I'm not sure which way we'll end up going, but you've given me lots of fabulous options to choose from.

And no matter what, I think you've convinced me to invest in an eye mask.

Can the bed be moved so it's not directly by the door or facing the lit up room? How about a canopy bed/ something where the curtain is part of the bed? I have similar doors in my apartment. I don't share, but I know I wouldn't like putting curtains (or shades or blinds) over them just because light was an issue. I also liked the idea of the folded screen you can put up there as needed, in addition to the eyemask.

You can use the liquid fabric starch to hold up paper or fabric on the glass or you can sponge on artists "Matte Medium". You would sponge on layers of the medium, letting it dry between coats to get the coverage you need. You can even embed small thin objects (ie leaf skeletons) for decorative purposes. Yes you will have to scrape it off, but the doors do not have that many panels.

I have the exact same place, maybe we are neighbors. A few ideas: I currently have a steel tension cable across the inner door frame (doesn't protrude into the room or minimize space) with a semi-transparent curtain, all from ikea, total of about 15 bucks. It doesn't totally cover the fact that there are doors there but adds privacy and I can sleep even if the light is on in the living area. Another thing I might try is contact paper, which can be cut to size, placed over glass and then easily removed, oh and cheap! You can purchase transparent or a funky pattern. Also, you can cut out your own design to personalize. Many posts on contact paper are on AT. Finally, if you want total black out, the roman shade idea is great. I purchased the very cool and cheap ones from ikea, took off the fabric, and put on my own blackout fabric. Works great 4 years later. Good luck!

I had a recollection of a post and found another that uses a movie screen over, in one example, a large window, and in another, a pair of French doors similar to yours. It's not necessarily practical for you, i.e. it's probably not the most optimal material to put through that kind of daily wear, but the idea can be used to construct some kind of shade to pull down over the glass:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/small-cool-2007-entries/8-karelas-crib-of-creativity-021066
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/small-cool-2008-east/east-1-satyas-no-compromises-in-convertible-share-046808

Karela's apartment also has curtains on the doors if you want to reconsider how that would look. I still prefer mine bare, but that doesn't look as bad as I had imagined.