Houston, we have a privacy problem.

Ever since Eric and I moved into our new bedroom here in the house (the room that used to be the office) there have been a few issues that needed addressing.

Being the world’s best procrastinator, I waited around before taking care of two windows that gave our neighbors – or friends and roommates – some high dollar views of Eric and I (you’ve got to be smart in this economy and charge for stuff like that). One was the window above our bed and the other was the window in the bathroom attached to our room. For the window above our bed I chose a quick and easy fix. I measured the window, cut some fabric I had lying around from another project, used iron on hem tape to put in a loop at the top, cut it in half, and put the new curtains up with a tension rod. Simple! I wanted to only cover the lower half of the window – the part that gave the neighbors a view of something more than they bargained for – and still wanted light to flow in through the top half.

Before

After

Now, on to the main project. The bathroom window needed a different treatment. We really needed something to help with privacy in the bathroom, but I didn’t want to do a curtain for two reasons: 1) the bathroom is super small and needs all the help it can get in terms of lighting and helping the space feel larger and 2) I’m just scared of a fabric curtain in the bathroom – what if it grows mold or mildew?! 

Once Eric and I got moved into the room, our bloggy friend Rachael from Lovely Crafty Home came over to help us brainstorm some decorating ideas for the room. When presented with the conundrum of a bathroom window that gave folks who may be on our back deck a full view of things they shouldn’t really know about, Rachael couldn’t wait to tell us about gallery glass! The glass paint treatment from Plaid is pretty easy to do and pretty affordable, as well. Let me tell you how we did it!

This is what we started with…

I pretty much love everything about this bathroom. Even though it’s tiny, I love the feel it has. It’s pretty vintage-y with the original light fixtures to the home, hex floor tile, and square white tiles throughout. The wall color is a green/blue/turquoise something another. It’s bright and clean. The problem was the window – you can actually see the back deck in the picture above.

Here’s the solution…

I ended up only using one of the large bottles and about half of that little bottle. Gallery Glass comes in a number of colors and two sizes – 2 ounces and 8 ounces. Plaid also makes Redi-Lead which are premade pieces of “lead” to use for outline work on your project. You can buy it in a roll or in single strips. Since I was doing a purely geometric design, the strips were easier for me to work with. I spent about $10 on everything I ended up using for the project – I’ll be taking that one bottle of Gallery Glass back to Jo-Ann – the one I didn’t open…unless I can find something else to gussy up around the house.

I started by deciding on my pattern. I was really inspired by this photo from Better Homes and Gardens that Rachael shared on her blog post.

I loved the square look on the window and the use of color. I really wanted to go for a craftsman style on the window. I decided to go for a more simple design with a pop of color in each corner of the window, then I laid out my pattern using the Redi-Lead with a two inch border around the inside of the window.

This is the point where you’re supposed to use the liquid lead to touch up all of the joints of the Redi-Lead…of course I skipped that part because I didn’t want to pay another $3 for a bottle of something I only needed about four drops of, the window still looks good. BUT, if you’re doing a more elaborate pattern with a lot of joints, I would definitely suggest using the liquid lead to touch up all of the spots where you need it.

I started in the corner with a colored Gallery Glass called Amber, then worked on the small strips on the bottom, sides, and top, then tackled the middle last.

I opted for the clear Gallery Glass on the sides and in the middle. It does go on white, but dries translucent. The colored Gallery Glass is also a very different color from when you apply it to when it dries.

Applying the Gallery Glass is pretty simple. Make sure you do NOT shake or stir the containers (no one knows why, it just says not to on the packaging). Start at the top and fill in below your Redi-Lead border, I worked in sections, but worked quickly as the product starts to get hard after a short while. Once you have it on the window, use the tip of a toothpick to spread the paint around and texturize it.

This part on the middle of the window took awhile and Eric helped – we both worked on a side and that made it go a lot quicker.

Don’t get too overzealous with applying the paint – like someone did…it wasn’t me…okay, it was, it was me – as it can run down pretty quickly and go over your Redi-Lead and then you’ll have to wipe it off and redo the section below it and it’s just a pain in the ass.

Once the window is covered – let it dry! The Gallery Glass takes about 8 hours before it’s dry to the touch and a week to completely cure – before you should wipe it or clean it.

Are you ready for the big reveal?!

There it is! I love the way the window turned out!

I left some of the smaller bubbles, as Rachael suggested, and it really gives the window a vintage look.

I think the yellow works well in the room and I like how it contrasts with the greenish blue walls. The Gallery Glass also gives us all the privacy we need for the bathroom.

And there you have it! I really liked this product. It can be a little tough to work with – just be easy with applying to the window, work from the top down, and have some paper towels handy to wipe up any mess you may make as quickly as you can. But, overall, it’s an easy and affordable way to add privacy to a window while keeping it classy.

The best part? Gallery Glass is supposedly removable. You simply score the design with a sharp blade and it peels away. I guess we’ll find out next spring when our lease is up!

Have you tried Gallery Glass before?

What do you think about the end result?

Until next time,

Tyler

About The 20 Somethings

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