Sidelight windows are often narrow windows found next to the entrance doors or larger windows
The two major reasons we see the sidelight nowadays serves in the home design.
- Natural Light Enhancement: Sidelight windows are primarily designed to bring additional natural light into interior spaces. By placing them adjacent to doors or larger windows, they help illuminate areas that might otherwise be dimly lit.
- Aesthetic Appeal: They contribute to the architectural beauty of a building by adding visual interest. Sidelight windows can enhance the facade of a home or building, providing symmetry and balance to the overall design.
While people has some concerns about:
Privacy: While sidelight windows allow natural light to enter, they may compromise on the privacy as most of windows are built with clear glass.
Security: When people can easily see through from your door front via the clear glass, it raises the risk of break in.
Most common ways to deal with Privacy and Security issues
Frosty Film:
Traditionally people use frosty film to treat the glass for more privacy, however in this case you lose the ability to see through from both sides
Venetian:
Most common window covering product used in the market is Venetian Blinds which has very tiny blades about 20 to 40mm wide, and can be made in small size to fit into narrow window recess areas. However small blades make the cleaning a nightmare, over the time the dust built in and between blades and no easy way to clean them up throughout.
Roller Blind
Roller blind has minimum size requirements, so it’s very rarely you see blind used for sidelight window unless its over 200mm wide. The brackets on each side will create about 10-15 mm gap, and you would not get total privacy in that case.
Plantation Shutters
Plantation shutters can be a great choice for sidelight covering . Plantation shutters are typically adjustable louvred shutters that offer both privacy and light control.
The blades is much bigger, even we use 63mm smallest blade, which is still much bigger than Venetian, and make it much easy to wipe clean.
With hinge mount for the plantation shutter, you can easily open shutter like a door to access the sidelight window for cleaning.
With the adjustable louver blades, you can easily see from inside but outsider could not see in while you still maintain the privacy.
Plantation Shutters can be made in the same stained finish to match your existing door color, and your whole house facial has consistent look to match no matters its white or dark stained.
