Budget Ideas
The Affordable Design Detail That Adds Instant Architecture To A Plain Room (Arlyn Is Trying It In Her Rental!)
An alternative title to this post could have been: Arlyn is trying to make her beige walls and traditional architecture in her rental way more interesting without spending a ton of money. As that doesn’t really roll off the tongue very easily, or work with SEO keywords, I went with what we’ve got here today. I’ve long had a love affair with stained glass. I grew up going to Sunday service at the Methodist church where my parents were members. When I wasn’t scribbling on the notepad at the pew meant for taking notes during the sermon (for me, it was prime tic-tac-toe territory), I would zone out just taking in the sanctuary’s stained glass walls. Religious iconography isn’t exactly the design style for my home, but in that use case, it mesmerized me. I got lost watching how the light refracted through the colored glass, trying to spot where it landed within the space.
They really just don’t make buildings like that anymore. It reminds me of something I just saw online that had side-by-side comparisons of old and new buildings with the tagline: “Why did we stop caring about beauty?” A photo of a room that looks like a white modern box juxtaposed with a gothic ceiling painted in frescos…there’s no comparison.
All of that to say, I still very much care about beauty. “I want to make beautiful things even if no one is looking,” is something my uncle—a celebrated shoe designer—always has declared; it has stuck with me. So today, while I don’t have a ton of control over the structure of my rental townhome, my brain is busy trying to find ways to bring in my personality. While I’m very much in the murky middle area of decorating, where nothing is complete and everything looks kind of uninspired, I can see the end result in my mind’s eye. And it makes me so excited! One of the first things I thought to do was transform some of the windows in my living room and at my front door with stained glass window film. It’s shockingly affordable, typically around $20-$30 for a roll, if not less, and it just peels right off when you’re ready to move on. If I were more artistically inclined, I’d try my hand at DIYing a design with liquid faux stained glass.
There is no shortage of window film on the market, but I have to say, a lot of it is not what I’m looking for right now. Most feel pretty dated to me, or just too heavy-handed, so I decided to round up some sources for where to find good ones, plus my top picks for each. But first, let’s play around with my home digitally to see what *could* be.
I’m a sucker for colored blocks, and the more subdued hues used here by Bello Vetro Stained Glass are so beautiful to me! I could see picking some softer colors like this and giving them a try if I could find the right temporary application around my front door (keep reading to see a mock-up).
I do love color, but I also love just texture. Chris Loves Julia launched two window films with Wallpops this past spring that almost immediately sold out. I’m really digging that diamond faux leaded pattern. I really hope they’ll restock soon.
Alright, here’s my front door. Is it the color I want it to be? NOPE. There’s a lot of dark cherry wood in my current home (it was built around 2010, so…that tracks for the time), and while I don’t really like it, it’s not a big deal given that we don’t plan on staying here for more than a year or two. The left is looking at it dead on from one of the bottom steps. The right is more for you to understand the placement. The door opens to a small landing, then goes up to the living spaces, or down to a guest bedroom and the garage. You can see this door from just about everywhere in my house with the exception of being on the top floor with our sleeping quarters or in the kitchen.
Besides being so visible, I don’t love the clear glass on the sidelights or the transom. It’s a privacy thing for me. Every time a stranger rings the doorbell, I’m hiding behind the wall in my kitchen like a true Millennial, peeking around the corner to see who it is. Sure, frosted or reeded window film would help solve that, but…what if we did something else instead?
Since Julia’s window film is sold out, I found another diamond, textured option at Artscapes. It’s not bad, but I’m not sure I love it. I know in real life, it would look better, not fuddy duddy like it looks in my bad Photoshop work. Now, I do love the color blocks on the right!! Part of it is the texture of the glass, which I can’t really recreate with window film. They sell that in clear or frosted, but not really in colors like these. Anyone have any ideas?!?!?
Now for my living room. You’ve seen this room many times, and it hasn’t progressed much. Things are in motion, like a fabulous chair reupholstery with Calico, a new powder blue area rug, and a cute kids’ art corner that so far only has up a too-large felt board with some preschool treasures. The goal is to eventually put up some floor-to-ceiling ivory sheers as I want any window covering here to feel light and airy, but that window you see at the top left and the transoms on the door and “door” would be perfect to play with, don’t you think?
I found this beautiful window film on Wayfair, and it was actually sold out until just last night, but it’s back, and I think I need to grab it. I’ve been dying to find a way to bring in some subtle lavender as a complement to the yellow sofa, and I love this. Normally, the blinds on the other windows are open, so it doesn’t feel quite so claustrophic, but I couldn’t be bothered yesterday when snapping this photo. Sorry! Regardless, I think it adds some real interest to the plain walls. Once I get in some more textures, art, and furniture, it can really start coming together.
Where To Buy Good-Looking Stained Glass Window Film
Now that we’ve explored some possibilities for my home, I’ll let you do the same for yours! I put together some online stores with picks that I think would work in a variety of homes. Some classic, some contemporary, some eclectic or Art Deco. All beautiful. First up, Etsy:
Top row, from left: Art Deco Window Film | Geometric Diamond Stained Glass Window Film | Green Stained Glass Effect Custom Size | Bottom row, from left: Stained Glass Window Film | Art Nouveau Floral Stained Glass Window Film Frosted | Vintage Diamond Art Deco Leaded Glass Window Film
What can’t you find on Etsy, seriously? It’s not always the fastest option, as things take time to ship from all over the world, but the great part about getting a window film from here is that some vendors sell custom sizes so you can get just the right fit for your window. That way, you can do more elaborate motifs, such as the Art Nouveau Floral (bottom middle) of the Vintage Diamond Art Deco pick (bottom right). My top picks here, though, are the pastel Art Deco Window Film in the top left spot, and the Green Stained Glass Effect, as it can be ordered in a custom size, too, to get the leaded part of the design to match up perfectly with the size of your window.
Top row, from left: Colorful Diamond Grid, 78.7″ | Geometric Diamond Design Decorative Static Cling Window Sticker | Add.heres Window Privacy Film Rainbow Crystal Shards, 78.7in | Bottom row, from left: 3D Stained Glass Window Film-A Million Dreams | Lumina Rhomb, 17.5″ x 78.7″Window Privacy Film | 3d Stained Glass Window Film, Decorative Window Privacy Film Grid Order
Next up, good ol’ Wayfair. That’s where I found the privacy film I’m currently considering for my own home (it’s sitting in my cart, waiting for checkout). That’s the Lumina Rhomb I mocked up earlier in this post. If you have an interesting window shape, I’d love to see Colorful Diamond Grid (top left) put to use! For something more mid-century inspired, I think the 3d Stained Glass Window Film (bottom right) would be groovy if your wood tones are neutral. Oh, and Add.heres Window Privacy Film Rainbow Crystal Shards is so pretty with the wavy, imperfect diamond grid (top right)!
Top row, from left: Victoria Large 36″ x 72″ | Heritage 24″ x 36″ | Horizon 24″ x 36″ | Bottom row, from left: Old English 24″ x 36″ | Skyline Large 36″ x 72″ | Jasmine 24″ x 36″
Artscape has a ton of options, as window films are one of their main exports. Most lean fairly traditional or standard, but they do have a handful of others, including the six I plucked above. Skyline Large and Heritage are both for contemporary homes; one that’s just leaded glass and the other with some cool, swirling color blocks. I used the Old English in one of my front door mockups, and I do like it. This would also be beautiful on glass-front cabinets, whether in your kitchen or freestanding (don’t forget, you can use these on glass furniture, too). For a floral, Jasmine is so pretty in those subdued tones. I could see this in a picture window of a bathroom, hallway, or in a home office/library.
Remember when Em used translucent window film on the diamond pattern of Birdie’s window years ago? That’s also another option! A bit more DIY, but it works great to get just the colors you want, with plenty of control for those of us with paned windows. You can also use a stained glass paint kit with some faux leading to make basically anything your heart desires. It peels right off for when it’s time to move (or you want to dabble in something else).
From left: Plaid® Gallery Glass® Best Sellers II Stained Glass Paint Kit | Gallery Glass ® Redi-Lead™ Value Pack – 16690 | SOLYX SXB-85 Pale Pink Sand Blast
Plaid makes a paint kit with a good range of colors, some soft, some bold. I wonder if I could use these on my door side lights….Though picking some frosted or translucent colored window film could also work, like these from decorativefilm.com.
Faux Stained Glass In Action IRL
You’ll find plenty of inspiration online for people using window films and hand-painting some DIY faux stained glass. There’s truly something for everyone. Some standouts from my saved folder are two from our friend Marco Zamora, which I’ve included in a handful of my articles around here:
Mallory Fletchall from Reserve Home added some stained glass film to a piece of plexiglass in a transom she added to her home. Such a simple, affordable idea that makes a huge impact:
I’m so excited to dig in deeper into my home, even if a temporary stop along my home dwelling timeline. Of course, I’ll eventually share some more about what I’ve done, with the end goal being doing a full photoshoot of at least the downstairs. I’m also working on my office and my daughter’s room…lots going on over here! Stay tuned.
Until next time, friends…
Opening Image Credits: Left: Styled and DIY by Brady Tolbert for EHD | Art Directed by Emily Henderson | Photo by Tessa Neustadt | From: How We Transformed Our Studio Windows in One Hour + Get The Look | Right: Design by Emily Henderson | Photo by Kaitlin Green | From: How We Used Colored Window Film On Birdie’s Windows – Spoiler: It Was A Super Fast, Cheap, And Easy DIY
Can anyone comment on how this looks in person? Anything obviously faux-looking about it?
I’ve used reeded glass film, but not the more decorative ones. I thought it looked pretty realistic, even up close. You do have to be careful about cutting it to the right size. But if you get that right, it looks good.
We used the Artscape Old English film on our windows above the kitchen sink, and I think it looks quite nice! We always loved looking out these windows while at the sink, but new neighbors moved in who keep all of their blinds and curtains wide open (I can’t fault them for loving natural light), so not only could we see right into their house, but we felt very exposed in ours. This film not only gave us a sense of privacy, with the frosted effect blurring things enough that you can’t make out specific details, but we also think it adds a lot of charm to the space. The quality is great, too, as it was easy to apply and we’ve had no issues with peeling. Highly recommend!
I wanted to provide both a full view of the windows to show how the design looks in a room and a close-up to show the texture and blurring effect, but it seems I can only attach one image to a comment.
F0r the front door on the right, my fav, think you could get the old rolled glass look if you just played around with leaving more of the air bubbles? just a thought.
i don’t know how well this would hold up around the outside of the door (is it covered, too humid, etc), but would it be possible to use paint or put colored film on the outside of the window and then the clear textured “glass” film on the inside?
I put the film that is on the bottom row on the left side of the Wayfair set, although I oriented it differently (turned it 90 degrees) in the top panes of my living room bank of windows, and I think it looks really lovely. They add a little color and the parts that are white/clearish are nicely textured. My big tip is to make sure the film is really 3D and textured. I tried a couple different kinds before I realized that was the critical piece to making sure it looks like stained glass. So, read reviews obsessively to make sure people talk about the leading as being 3D and the “glass” as being textured. I also got the other two on the bottom row of the Wayfair bunch and the yellow/orange is really nice but too primary for my space. Thinking of using the middle one in my dining room bc it looks directly into my neighbor’s apartment. Either that or a simple reeded glass.
I have the same exact front door and I’ve been struggling on what to do with it for over a decade (!!!) I’m so glad you posted this. Please keep us posted on what you decide!
What a perfect timing article. I’ve been researching glass film tat looks like stained glass but also acts like a tint for the UV protection/block. There are some on Amazon that do both, but the patterns/designed aren’t my taste. I will try some of your links. Thanks Arlyn!
I wonder whether it would be possible to layer a textured film over a colored film? Could be worth experimenting!
Always excited to hear from you, Arlyn and see what you are researching.