Yolky Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Yes or No? For me I have to have net curtains. I live in a cul de sac and I have lots of nosey neighbours (one said to my husband a couple of weeks ago...'I see you have been going to bed later this week' ) and most of them are retired so there all day. So for my privacy (and sanity, I hate the feeling of being watched) I have to have them in the front of my house. We have been decorating our lounge and the nets have been down and I have hardly used the room since they have been down, I just can't relax in there. Blinds and not opening curtains isn't an option for me (both these things were suggested to me by people who dislike nets) because I like the light and I like to be able to look into my frontgarden with ease. I do like the look of the voiles but with 2 cats who sit on the window sil in the lounge and use the nets to sort of lean on whilst stretching they wouldn't last 2minutes in this time. So they have to be the more 'traditional' sort of nets. How about you, can you do without them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A chickychickychick-ENN!! Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 'I see you have been going to bed later this week' Blimey. I can't believe your neighbours are actually WATCHING you! Lend 'em some binoculars to make it easier maybe?! Cheek! With the front room facing an active street which gangs of chavs walk up and down, I have thin voiles so they can't see how little we have to nick, and also to give us some privacy. We also bum around in dressing gowns or less sometimes so it helps to avoid any embarrassment for passers by. Some people have got this stick-on frosted window stuff so they have the light coming in but people can't see in. Ideal for cat homes, but not if you want to see your front garden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yolky Posted April 26, 2009 Author Share Posted April 26, 2009 My husbands face was like this when he said it! I do like the stick on stuff and have it upto half way up my kitchen window which looks out to a shared side passage. My OH said he wouldn't want it in the lounge though and also it would mean, like you say, you can't look out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickvic Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 I have nets too, couldn't be without them for similar reasons! I just have normal blinds in the kitchen although I never pull them up - just open them if that makes sense But I do have long thin curtains over the patio doors (in white) from Ikea which also keep it a bit more private. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 I have cream voile panels in my living room with a brown roller blind (sounds awful but looks really nice). I leave the voiles hooked back by day but if we go out and leave the dog home or if we go on holiday we closed both voiles and the window is completely covered. We roll down the roller blind at night. I think voile panels do give you the option of privacy or open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scramble Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Nets here, but then people walk past our house and when they do they always look in It's for privacy but to have light as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 We have a lovely big front window that lets in loads of sun, and I hate to have anything restricting that. But we are also very close to the path and, although it is not very busy, it is a bit like a goldfish bowl. I have traditional nets but hate them. I like Chelsea's idea of being able to hook them back if required. I'd like venetian blinds but as the window is so big, it could be quite expensive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poachedegg Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 We have a large window in the Living Room - on it we have micro thin horizontal slat blinds - as they are so thin they still let the light through and can also be tilted accordingly if the sun is shining in.......sorry but I would not have nets, just a pet hate of mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seagazer Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 We used to have nets in our old house as the house was very close to the pavement but in this house we have a small drive but the added bonus of being a bit higher up than the pavement so you if you are sitting on the settee you can only see the tops of peoples heads. They can't see anything apart from our paintings if they look in I love looking in other peoples houses though..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa the Duchess Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Net curtains are just about my biggest hate along with uPVC windows One of the many reasons we bought this house is because it is not overlooked at all, we face directly on to a road, no houses opposite us. We have big long curtains in our living room, but we never pull them. The rest of the house at the front has matching blinds. I think my hatred of them is something to do with my childhood, soooo respectable, and all those twitching net curtains Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiggerlady Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 We live on a bus route,so plenty of gawpers as well as pedestrians! Nets for us, more heavily patterned that I would like,to hide the pussy clawmarks Hubby would like voiles but they' d last all of 5 minutes..next door has a birdfeeder outside his window,so the cats sit and lust after a takeaway all day! Would like venetian blinds but I hear they're dust traps and I wouldnt want to make myself more work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing cloud Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Nets for me at the front of the bungalow. I'm not overlooked at all at the back, so just have curtains there, but the bedrooms are at the front and no one deserves to be treated to the sight of me getting up in the morning , even if they shouldn't be looking in the first place! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyhunnypie Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 We have trees all round the house so we are lucky. Only 1 noseyish neighbour that backs onto us, but we have a hedge & cafe net up at the kitchen window. I fully understand - my parents neighbours don't miss a flippin' trick. Horrid things! Perhaps you should give them something to gawp at - wear your bikini in the front room or stick a cardboard cutout in the front window - we have a life size Mr Bean we could lend you! My mum & dad wave at the nosey ones - to let them know that they have been noticed. In your case - yes..nets are a must! Emma.x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 I too have a pet hate of nets. They get dirty so quickly, apart from anything else. My last house was only 3' from the road, I'm about 15' away now but it's a busy road and a bus route. I've always had Venetian blinds, and I have them open and then run my hand down them from about 1/3 of the way down to close the bottom bit. That way the light comes in, and you can see out, but the bottom part is obscured. Yes, they are a bit of a dust-trap! I used to take them off and put them in the bath and rinse them with the shower hose, but it's a real job to get them clean without streaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seraphine Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 It's a nay from me! We're on a back road and have a huge bay window in the sitting room and a fair few gawpers walking past, but nets are just a pet hate of mine! Plus we also have a school 5 doors down and I do enjoy a bit of people watching at drop-off/pick-up time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali-s Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 We have net curtains and I hate them. The net curtains are at both bathroom windows as the glass is not frosted, why would anyone not put frosted glass in bathroom windows The cottage is all on ground floor level and even though we are surrounded by fields there is a road across one of the fields and our only neighbour, I don't like the thought of anyone being able to look in while I am in the shower or on the loo (they would need binoculars though). The stick on frosted sheets sound like a good idea, I will have to find out more about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shirl Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 No nets for us. The back of our house is totally unoverlooked and at the front you couldn't see too much. We don't use the lounge and dining room at the front of our house so if people look as they come up the path (like the postman) all they see is a sight of near perfection. Just as well they can't see the family room! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Looney Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 We have voile curtains covering the bottom half of our front window. I have to admit that I just can't help having a quick nose into front rooms as I walk past....human nature?! We used some of that sticky frosting stuff on the doors of our tv cupboard so that if Bogwoppit runs into it it won't shatter all over the place! Interesting effect in the front room, but not totally unpleasant! Think my parents got it from Ikea.....it was really easy to use although we only fitted it on small cupboard door panes of glass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miffy Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 I used to love nets!! our last house we had them at all the windows but we were overlooked everywhere...the wonders of modern estates!! here although we are on a road we are fairly well set back and the traffic goes past so fast on a windy country road they havn't got time to look in ...I hope... so we we have only big curtains ,no blinds nor nets....and I love it...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 No nets here but my garden is overgrown. What about one way reflective film? http://www.purlfrost.com/mirror_film.php?gclid=CJv47vbKj5oCFUKK3godeDrRFQ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhapsody Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Dear god please don't! Nets are ugly and vile and about as classy as a busted matress on the front lawn. Just remember not to pick your nose in the living room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Is a tall fence or a row of leylandii out of the question? Not a lover of nets myself, but if there is no other option.............not the ones that look like frilly knickers though. Don't forget, if the light is on in the room, and it is dark outside, they will still be able to see if you are playing tiddlywinks or saying your rosary. My mother was strangely obsessed with the cleanliness of other peoples net curtains......along the lines of....'well, what do you expect - have you seen the state of her nets? ' I'm sure Les Dawson and Roy Barraclough based Cissie and Ada on her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 I'm not a lover of nets but they do have their place. We're not overlooked at all but our house can be seen from the main road and now, also, a side road since some tree pollarding in the next field. We have verticals as they can be angled both ways to let in or keep out light.....and don't gather dust as efficiently as slat blinds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A chickychickychick-ENN!! Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 I like my nets. They are plain. I don't like patterned ones. Does the universal net hatred come from the twitching associations? There are far worse house style things. Like floral chintz sofas and those anitmacassar thingies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggy Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 I hate nets too luckily we are not overlooked but in my previous house I had them for all of the reasons already said on this thread, some people are just too nosey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
