Sidelight Window and Front Door Privacy

This was one of those should-have-done-it-a-long-time-ago projects. Our front door has two glass panels that are leaded, stained, beveled, and etched. Even with all that, they don't provide as much privacy as you'd think. You can see a little from far away and a lot up close. So this short DIY went a long way to making the front of our home feel more private. 

I got the detailed instructions from House of Hepworth's blog. I followed her tutorial exactly except maybe a smidge less window cleaner sprayed on everything. Here's the before panel on the left and the after panel on the right:

I also did the big sidelight window to the left and tested how it looks from the outside. From outside, you can see if someone walks right past the door/window but you can only see blurry movement and maybe the person's shirt color. You can see best if a person comes right up to the window, like presses their nose up to the glass. Then you can definitely see who it is, but it's hazy. The best part is that if you get up close from the outside, you can't see inside the house even at night. 

The problem I'm having now is though I like the function, I don't like the look of the sidelight. In this picture, it looks decent.

But this is what it looks like in real life. It's got those creepy streaks and just looks a bit cheap. I'm toying with the idea of leaving it up but covering it with bamboo shades or the fabric I finally use for the valances over the front windows. We'll see. I definitely love it for the door panels so those will be staying.

Whatever we decide, it was no problem to try this out. The whole project only took an hour or two and cost $2.50!