I can see clearly now the nose-prints are gone...
November 2, 2013 11:44 AM Subscribe
We have dogs. We have window coverings. The two do not get along. Help us figure out a solution!
The current set up is cheap white curtains from Ikea in the living room and bedroom. We keep the bedroom curtains closed all the time because our bedroom windows face the street and our neighbors' side door (both of which are unfortunately about 5 feet away). We keep the living room curtains open during the day, but we have sheers which give us a modicum of privacy so it doesn't feel like passer-bys can read our books over our shoulder.
The problem: two wonderful dogs who love to watch the world go by, both when we are home and when we are not. They jump on the couch, which is unavoidably right under the window, and poke their noses through the curtains to stare out the window. The bigger dog who can reach the bedroom window does the same thing in the bedroom. This has resulted in smudgy dog snot all over the windows, which I can live with... easy to clean. What's not so easy to live with is the brown stains on all the curtains & sheers where they push the curtains/sheers aside with their noses to see out the window. Curtains are a pain to wash frequently! I do wash the dogs frequently, but apparently they are dirty little creatures.
Basically, the curtains + dog setup is grossing us out but we aren't sure what to replace it with. Blinds seem like a bad idea because wouldn't the dogs just destroy them trying to see out / bark ferociously at the mailman / woo their doggy friends down the street?
We have thought about nice looking bamboo shades or Roman shades that wouldn't be in the dogs' way, because we don't mind having the window treatments open during the day (and in fact, want the light), but because our house is really close to the street and neighbors' houses, we don't want the windows totally bare if we can help it - especially when we aren't home during the day.
I'm pretty sure this is an impossible problem, but can you suggest a window covering that would give us even a little privacy, but still let light in, AND allow the dogs to see outside unimpeded without getting their doggy dirt all over? Or is VERY easy to clean and/or stain resistant?
[Darker curtains to hide dog dirt aren't an option because that doesn't solve the grossness problem. Plus our walls and floors are dark and we don't want to live in a cave.]
The current set up is cheap white curtains from Ikea in the living room and bedroom. We keep the bedroom curtains closed all the time because our bedroom windows face the street and our neighbors' side door (both of which are unfortunately about 5 feet away). We keep the living room curtains open during the day, but we have sheers which give us a modicum of privacy so it doesn't feel like passer-bys can read our books over our shoulder.
The problem: two wonderful dogs who love to watch the world go by, both when we are home and when we are not. They jump on the couch, which is unavoidably right under the window, and poke their noses through the curtains to stare out the window. The bigger dog who can reach the bedroom window does the same thing in the bedroom. This has resulted in smudgy dog snot all over the windows, which I can live with... easy to clean. What's not so easy to live with is the brown stains on all the curtains & sheers where they push the curtains/sheers aside with their noses to see out the window. Curtains are a pain to wash frequently! I do wash the dogs frequently, but apparently they are dirty little creatures.
Basically, the curtains + dog setup is grossing us out but we aren't sure what to replace it with. Blinds seem like a bad idea because wouldn't the dogs just destroy them trying to see out / bark ferociously at the mailman / woo their doggy friends down the street?
We have thought about nice looking bamboo shades or Roman shades that wouldn't be in the dogs' way, because we don't mind having the window treatments open during the day (and in fact, want the light), but because our house is really close to the street and neighbors' houses, we don't want the windows totally bare if we can help it - especially when we aren't home during the day.
I'm pretty sure this is an impossible problem, but can you suggest a window covering that would give us even a little privacy, but still let light in, AND allow the dogs to see outside unimpeded without getting their doggy dirt all over? Or is VERY easy to clean and/or stain resistant?
[Darker curtains to hide dog dirt aren't an option because that doesn't solve the grossness problem. Plus our walls and floors are dark and we don't want to live in a cave.]
since they won't get destroyed by dogs poking them out of the way
That's what I thought, too. The dogs bite them when they get excited. Our windows look like a first-grade class photo, there's so many gaps in the verticals.
Roman shades lowered to just slightly too high to be touched are probably your best choice. Because I am classy, I use clothespins to pin up the hem end of the curtains.
(Dark colors don't help - dog dirt is darker than light and lighter than dark, and even if you try buying medium-dark, it'll be a slightly different shade.)
Now, if you want to be really classy like me, you can keep a series of appropriately-sized open-top Amazon boxes to put on the couch against the windows so that the dogs can see over them but cannot reach the window. We have to do that because they fling themselves at the window and claw at the glass (but the glass does stay way cleaner now!). The post office kept threatening to stop delivering our mail because of it.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:08 PM on November 2, 2013
That's what I thought, too. The dogs bite them when they get excited. Our windows look like a first-grade class photo, there's so many gaps in the verticals.
Roman shades lowered to just slightly too high to be touched are probably your best choice. Because I am classy, I use clothespins to pin up the hem end of the curtains.
(Dark colors don't help - dog dirt is darker than light and lighter than dark, and even if you try buying medium-dark, it'll be a slightly different shade.)
Now, if you want to be really classy like me, you can keep a series of appropriately-sized open-top Amazon boxes to put on the couch against the windows so that the dogs can see over them but cannot reach the window. We have to do that because they fling themselves at the window and claw at the glass (but the glass does stay way cleaner now!). The post office kept threatening to stop delivering our mail because of it.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:08 PM on November 2, 2013
Maybe a patterned window film? They have clear spots that the dogs can see out of if they are up close, they'll let filtered light in, and they are probably pretty easy to wipe clean.
posted by ella wren at 12:19 PM on November 2, 2013
posted by ella wren at 12:19 PM on November 2, 2013
Coming in to second some type of window cling. I was thinking more like the film that allows light in, but has a reflective surface on the outside for privacy. Then you could hang curtains above or pull up louvered blinds during the daytime.
Now to cure the dog snot problem in the vehicle.
posted by BlueHorse at 1:45 PM on November 2, 2013
Now to cure the dog snot problem in the vehicle.
posted by BlueHorse at 1:45 PM on November 2, 2013
Put one-way mirror film on the outside so you (and the dogs) can see out during the day but other people can't see in?
posted by Jacqueline at 2:16 PM on November 2, 2013
posted by Jacqueline at 2:16 PM on November 2, 2013
Can you pin up part of the curtains so the dogs can enjoy the view without having to nose the curtains aside? Or, use the clips on rings to hang the curtains so they are easier to take down and wash. Best of all, train the dogs to wear clown noses.
posted by theora55 at 5:34 PM on November 2, 2013
posted by theora55 at 5:34 PM on November 2, 2013
Response by poster: Update for anyone reading this later who wonders what I decided to do...
Theora55's suggestion of clown noses was definitely the simplest solution... minus the whole training-my-dogs-to-wear-clown-noses thing. But for you people with very compliant dogs... genius idea :)
So we ended up buying 2.5" faux-wooden blinds from Home Depot. We keep them closed during the day, and because the slats are wide and fairly sturdy/heavy (compared to aluminum/vinyl mini-blinds), the dogs have not yet figured out that they could possibly move them out of the way to look out the window. In fact, they seem convinced that the windows have actually disappeared, and when they hear a person or animal outside they just bark confusedly at the walls.
So if you have not-so-bright dogs... just get nice sturdy blinds and keep them closed!
We like the 2.5" slats because they let tons of light in when they are open (when we are home), so we didn't really lose out of the amount of natural light we had with the curtains. We are also hoping if they DO get doggified, they will be easy to clean (in the tub or with a hose spray down) because they are plastic.
posted by raspberrE at 7:03 AM on November 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
Theora55's suggestion of clown noses was definitely the simplest solution... minus the whole training-my-dogs-to-wear-clown-noses thing. But for you people with very compliant dogs... genius idea :)
So we ended up buying 2.5" faux-wooden blinds from Home Depot. We keep them closed during the day, and because the slats are wide and fairly sturdy/heavy (compared to aluminum/vinyl mini-blinds), the dogs have not yet figured out that they could possibly move them out of the way to look out the window. In fact, they seem convinced that the windows have actually disappeared, and when they hear a person or animal outside they just bark confusedly at the walls.
So if you have not-so-bright dogs... just get nice sturdy blinds and keep them closed!
We like the 2.5" slats because they let tons of light in when they are open (when we are home), so we didn't really lose out of the amount of natural light we had with the curtains. We are also hoping if they DO get doggified, they will be easy to clean (in the tub or with a hose spray down) because they are plastic.
posted by raspberrE at 7:03 AM on November 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
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posted by sexyrobot at 11:56 AM on November 2, 2013