Have you ever had the eerie feeling you’re being watched? – Yikes!
Feeling a lack of privacy is not a great feeling and definitely not a feeling you want to have in your own home.
Unfortunately, this feeling may be all too familiar to the residents of ground floor condo’s and apartments.
The benefits of having an apartment or condo on the first floor are numerous.
– You don’t have to use the stairs
– There is likely a back yard
– There is usually way more storage space
– First floor units are super convenient
– They are almost always less expensive than higher up units
However, these units often do not provide the same type of privacy that is possible when you’re elevated above the ground level.
Often, first floor units have floor to ceiling windows, they are located near sidewalks where people can easily see in, and they have easily accessible patios with small fences.
These characteristics can present somewhat of a privacy issue and may even have some people worried about security.
They don’t have to be a deal breaker though! Throughout the rest of this post, we’ll show you how to increase the level of privacy without giving up any of the things you love about your first floor unit.
Table of Contents
Window Shades
One of the things that is awesome about a first floor apartment windows is a lot of natural light. They often have big windows that can brighten up your home.
One way to prevent these windows from becoming a way for the outside world to have an intimate look into your home is with window shades.
If you have floor to ceiling windows, you can install window curtains like these.
However, keep in mind thicker style curtains or drapes will completely block out all light when closed so you would be forced to choose between privacy and natural light.
In an effort to have the best of both worlds, use a much lighter (almost transparent) base curtain to let in more natural light and then hang the darker, thicker curtain over the top to allow the option to block out all light if desired. Here’s what that looks like.
Window Film
Another great idea for tightening up the privacy on those floor to ceiling windows is a window film.
Similar to curtains, window film is a way to not completely lose out on the awesome natural light from your large window but limit outside visibility.
Essentially, the idea is similar to window tint that is applied to car windows. You can decide how much or how little natural light and visibility you want to come through based on the darkness of tint you select.
Additionally, you can get window film that acts as a “frost.” Frost allows about 90% of natural light to come through without allowing any visibility through the window. This is commonly used on bathroom windows. This also a fantastic idea to create a little more shade and cool down your house. We wrote another amazing article on shade ideas for some more tips.
Window film is a relatively inexpensive option and is really easy to install.
This product can also have an energy savings effect, as it will allow less heat to enter in from your windows in the warmer months.
To install a window film yourself, all you will need is..
– A window film product. (Here is the one I recommend from Amazon.)
– A glass/window cleaner
– A razor blade scraper (recommended)
– A tape measure
– Film application solution
– A window squeegee
(Here is an awesome instructional video)
Plants on the Patio
Besides the windows, the main point of visual and physical access to a first floor unit is the patio.
A lot of times, the patio is facing a heavily trafficked area like a sidewalk or a parking lot.
A great, non-intrusive way to cut down on visual access is to have plants on your patio. By purposefully placing plants (Try saying that three times fast!), you can turn your patio into an awesome green space and block out visibility from the outside world.
Depending on your preference, some of the best plants to have on your patio are bamboo, arborvitae, Crotons, and many more.
An effective strategy is to have planters with a taller plant like bamboo line the back of your patio like this..
You can also add a lot of color and visual pop to your patio with colorful hanging plants as well. These plants will work wonders in terms of blocking visibility from passerby’s.
You really can’t lose with plants on the patio, pretty much any design will allow you to create some sort of visual barricade that looks awesome and makes you enjoy your patio even more. Again, for more ideas, check out our patio shade article.
Just don’t forget to water them!
Interior Design
This last tip is a little more open ended.
One strategy to think about is how the interior of your home is set up.
If you have large windows facing highly trafficked areas, think about arranging things in a way that promotes privacy.
For example, strategically placing things like standing lamps, partitions, and interior plants can play a big role in limiting visibility from the outside.
Obviously, not completely blocking windows and allowing the maximum amount of natural light to continue to shine through is important. So, don’t think you have to board up your windows or anything but, definitely give this idea some thought.
Final Thoughts
In a lot of cases, first floor apartments and condos are fantastic opportunities for cost savings.
They are quite frequently discounted, sometimes up to 25%, compared to their more highly elevated counterparts.
This is mostly because of a perceived lack of privacy and a potential for more noise.
While the noise of of the apartment is largely based on where your unit is located within the community, first floor spaces can often be some of the quietest in the community because there is no downstairs neighbor.
Additionally, using the steps we talked about in this post and many others, you can eliminate the visual privacy issue and turn your first floor space into a fantastic, safe home with a drastically lower price tag.
We hope you found this post helpful and got your wheels spinning on how to make your first floor unit more private.
For more helpful DIY and home project tips, make sure to check out our full list of articles.