Sidelights and transom

[Anonymous]

we bought a house that has nice clear glass sidelights and transom around the front door. The previous owners had them covered with sheer curtains.

Do people usually cover these or leave them open? Either way the current sheers need to come down (old and dusty). So, should I replace them or leave them as is?

Should privacy be a concern?

What do you think?

[Anonymous]

We didn't cover ours. We have a foyer, so it's not like they could see into the rest of the house from those windows.

[Anonymous]

Op here

Our house is a split foyer. So while there is a foyer, you don't look in at a wall. You see the stairs up and down. The transom is at the same level as the second floor hallway that looks into the living areas of the house.

My husband joked that if we don't keep the transom and sidelights covered you can't walk around in your pj's.

So, is it have the grandma curtains or just leave the pretty windows uncovered and who cares who can see in....?

[Anonymous]

You can do non-grandma curtains...
https://www.pinterest.com/SoniaSophiaU/sidelights/

[Anonymous]

You can also make the glass darker or not see through. They sell film that isn't tacky looking. Or you could get stained glass windows, either colored or clear. The clear stained glass windows are very hard to look through.

[Anonymous]

I have the same situation, sidelights and a split foyer. I am looking into putting plantation shutters over the sidelights, on the interior of the house. That way we can control the light coming in and have some privacy.

[Anonymous]

Op here

I like the plantation shutters idea.

Do you only have sidelights or also glass above the door?

[Anonymous]

We also have a split foyer. We covered the sidelights with lace curtains but left the transom uncovered. I actually went out to the street to check what could be seen through the transom, and it wasn't much.

My parents have a neighbor who has some sort of climbing vine that has grown up over their sidelights. It's pretty, still lets some light in, and keeps someone walking down the sidewalk from seeing in.

[Anonymous]

YOu definitely want something for privacy. If someone rings the doorbell you want to be able to approach the door, look through the peephole, and decide whether or not to open the door without having the person see you. THis is particularly true if you have kids. I don't love plantation shutters b/c they are very "all or nothing" and don't allow light filtering and privacy at the same time. My first choice would be to replace the glass with something that is difficult to look through, and if that was prohibitive, I like some of the ideas on pinterest. But honestly, I kind of think the sheers gathered at the top and bottom are probably the best choice. My taste is about as far from grandma as you can get, but sometimes the least obtrusive thing works best so you can focus the eye on other design elements in the room.

[Anonymous]

PP here with plantation shutter idea...I also went out to the street and couldn't see much of my house through the transom, only the sidelights. So I am leaving the transom uncovered.

[Anonymous]

OP here.


At the very least I would need to replace the curtains that are there.

Where does one get nice/modern/not too frilly curtains for sidelights these days?