"A Poor man's stained glass?" We spotted this amusing idea on the Readymade blog. One of the editors needed some temporary window coverings when they moved into their new place. Since they had a ton of bubblewrap laying around, they placed it up. It filters the light and gives some privacy. Has anyone ever tried this?
Read the entry here.
Image from Readymade blog
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Comments (16)
No I can honestly say that I have never tried this. So why did you have so much bubble wrap around?
Wonder how well that would insulate around the edges...
I used waxed paper to cover the windows in an apartment temporarily. Produced a wonderful filtered light, with a soft blue tint.
also wondering about insulation possibilities!
@labchick - because they were moving in - or were you being rhetorical, sorry.
eeek.
We're talking one or two bedroom windows -- if you've just moved any quantity of lamps or pottery, you'd have enough bubblewrap for that.
There's a certain level of young and thrift-store funky that you'd have to be to get away with that one. (That may be why conventional apartment complexes typically forbid anything other than blinds or proper curtains.)
Gee, and I thought I was so clever and original. I had put a couple layers of bubble wrap on my store front windows before I could decide on how to do something more permanate. I used a couple of layers because with just one, people could still see in while work was in progress.
permanate?
Permanate!
The elusive substance that will wear beautifully, never fade, never pill, and look just as good 20 years from now as it does today.
Sorry but this looks really tacky to me. It's a crafty idea for coverage in a pinch but you better buy some real window treatments in the morning.
I think it looks kinda cool.
It looks like a step up from the clear plastic we fastened across our windows for extra insulation when I was a kid. That stuff always wrinkled and created mind-bending distortion. The only good part about it was enjoying the normal views when we took the plastic down in spring.
I'd consider the bubble wrap idea if I needed a no-budget boost to my R-value.
The more I think about my gas bill and the predictions about heating costs this winter, the more I think this looks funky, amusing and practical. I hate putting up that plain plastic, and I bet bubble wrap would be a much better insulator
Bubble wrap actually could produce sugnificant insullation benefits, though probably not in this size. The smaller bubble wrap that has plastic on both sides, provided that it was properly affixed, would provide useful insullation by letting light in and creating an air pocket between warm and cold. This is what a "solar blanket" for pools and jacuzzis does -- it is basically just a large piece of bubble wrap.
As for looks, that is in the eye of the beholder.
this would be perfect in the bathroom of my loftshare, which has large windows overlooking a very busy brooklyn street. i think it looks cute, and the whole place has a diy on-the-fly vibe, so it would fit right in.