Privacy

Many commercial buildings that were closed during the pandemic are reopening, filling vacant offices and empty desks. The hustle-and-bustle of people around the office might be a welcome change compared to working from home, but it might not be as appealing for everyone in a post-pandemic world. Commercial buildings with large areas of glass can use decorative window tinting to create more privacy and liven up the workspace. 

Where to Apply Decorative Window Tinting 

Decorative film isn’t just for windows —  it can be applied to practically any flat glass surface, making it incredibly versatile. From lobbies to kitchenette areas, you can use decorative window tinting almost anywhere. 

Conference Room Walls

Glass conference rooms can feel like a fishbowl, which doesn’t always create a productive atmosphere. Adding decorative window tinting can create more privacy, making employees feel more comfortable and focused. Some films can even double as a whiteboard, increasing collaboration and creativity. 

Cubicle Partitions 

Cubicles are commonplace in large office buildings with open floor plans. While some cubicles are more private than others, ones with glass panels or walls don’t offer much in terms of privacy. Whether you’re trying to take a meeting at your desk or eat lunch in peace, decorative window tinting or frosted film can add some much-needed division between office spaces. 

Storage Areas

Do you have any unsightly storage areas? Decorative film can easily cover glass storage room doors and walls to enhance privacy. It’s also a good option for maintenance areas, kitchen pantries, server room doors, or any other areas you may want to reduce visibility. 

Office Doors & Windows

While having your own office is a nice perk, glass windows or doors aren’t the most private. Frosted film or decorative window tinting can enhance privacy, so your office feels more like your office. If you still want to retain some visibility, you don’t have to cover the entire door or window. Partial window tinting is a good compromise that offers some additional privacy. 

Decorative Window Tinting Isn’t Just for Privacy 

Along with enhancing privacy, there are other creative ways to use decorative film in commercial spaces. You can completely transform the design of an area without the expense and downtime that comes with a renovation. Whether you’re going for a classic, contemporary, or minimalist design, there’s something to suit every taste.

Comes in Multiple Designs & Finishes 

Decorative window film like 3M™ Glass Finishes come in a variety of styles, textures, and colors. Go for a sleek frosted film or a more decorative window tint with geometric shapes or a vibrant hue. Decorative window film can also mimic the look of sandblasted or etched glass for a high-end look. 

Custom Decorative Window Tinting 

Along with preexisting designs, decorative window film can also be customized to strengthen branding, display company values, or promote a special sale. You can advertise, create privacy, and add visual intrigue all at the same time! 

Glass is one of the most leveraged materials in modern commercial buildings. It provides beneficial daylighting, connects us to the great outdoors, and makes spaces feel open and airy. Glass can enhance the beauty of a space, highlight architectural features, and more. However, high-end textured glass carries a hefty price tag. Installing it is also disruptive, as this requires the existing glass to be replaced.

On the other hand, decorative film, also known as decorative glass finishes or frosted film, can mimic the look of etched and sandblasted glass at a fraction of the cost. Additionally, it works on existing surfaces so there’s less hassle and office downtime. With countless textures, patterns, and opacities to choose from, it’s easily customizable to meet your requirements. A professional installer like Carolina Solar Security can also replace the film as often as you like without damaging glass surfaces. Here are five interesting ways to make a big impact with decorative film in your commercial building, hotel, restaurant, office, or retail space.

1 – Use Decorative Film to Create Visual Interest

Decorative film can breathe new life into your lobby, storefront, or workspaces. With numerous patterns, styles, and opacities to choose from, your only limit is your imagination. Need some ideas? We’re happy to work with you to make your vision a reality with a customized decorative film solution. The 3M™ Fasara and Crystal series are popular choices for our customers. These decorative films transform glass into frosted, crystalized, or texturized patterns, giving the same look as more expensive glass.

2 – Highlight Areas You Want to Stand Out

To create visual focal points in your commercial space, DICHROIC glass finishes are a great option. Depending on the viewing angle and the lighting, this film can take on a new color that really makes a space stand out in a unique and engaging way. Available in both warm and cool tones, this film can be printed, cut, patterned, or bent. It’s installable on both exterior windows and interior glass surfaces to add visual interest while still allowing for privacy and sun control.

3 – Reinforce Your Brand

As an alternative to traditional signage, decorative window film is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly option. Plus, it doesn’t require maintenance like other signage. For branding, use this film to display your business name or your logo. Natural light provides free illumination; no electricity required! By integrating your brand into existing windows, glass doors, or glass walls, you’ll easily promote your brand while maintaining a streamlined appearance and saving money.

4 – Enhance Privacy or Hide Areas from Public View

Decorative window film efficiently creates a sense of privacy in busy open spaces. Use it on glass partitions and walls to divide areas. Another popular application is to place an opaque strip at eye level on the glass walls of conference and meeting rooms. This provides just enough coverage so that those inside don’t feel like they’re on display to passersby. Yet, the rooms still retain that open feeling with plenty of natural light.

For spaces that require more privacy like dressing rooms, study areas, and bathrooms, decorative film can be installed on glass doors or entire walls. With decorative film, it’s easy to strike a good balance between openness and privacy with many different opacity levels to choose from. Opaque decorative film can also be very effective at hiding areas that you don’t want the public to see. Examples include stock rooms, places where sensitive files or data are stored, and maintenance areas.

5 – Boost Security and Safety

In addition to creating a beautiful aesthetic, decorative film can also enhance security. By limiting visibility into your commercial space, would-be criminals are less likely to detect behavioral patterns of occupants, preventing them from formulating thorough break-in plans. Furthermore, you can combine decorative film with 3M™ Safety & Security Window Film Exterior Safety Series, adding protective layers to windows and glass doors. These layers make it harder to penetrate the glass upon impact, deterring crime and protecting your property during storms and break-in attempts. If the glass breaks, the strong adhesive that bonds the film to the glass, holding the glass intact. This helps to protect building occupants and furnishings from flying glass shards and outdoor elements.

Want to Learn More About Decorative Film?

Both functional and beautiful, decorative glass finishes offer enhanced privacy and aesthetics in your commercial space. Whether you want to showcase your brand or foster privacy, there is a decorative film to meet your needs. Allow the window tinting experts at Carolina Solar Security to help you find your perfect match.

Carolina Solar Security is a 3M™ Authorized Prestige Window Film Dealer in Wilmington, NC. We have been providing North Carolina homeowners and business owners with window tinting solutions since 1985 and never stop working to bring our customers the best products paired with the most skilled window film technicians. Reach out to us for your free quote today!

Need inspiration for your next bathroom makeover? Browse some of our favorite ideas that can transform your bathroom into a one-of-a-kind space. From creative DIYs to jobs for the pros, you’re sure to find an idea that will add value and beauty to one of the most used rooms in your house.

The biggest factors to increase the value include updating worn-out items, modernizing fixtures, and creating a more functional space. Read on for more fresh ideas, and wake up a tired bathroom with these quick and easy bathroom updates that won’t break the bank.

Upgrade Your Bathroom Cabinets with New Knobs and Pulls

Give bathroom cabinets a facelift and spruce up your space with notable knobs and pulls. There are so many beautiful options out there, it might be hard to choose. Glam up your space in no time and infuse a polished and luxurious aura with jewel-shaped glass knobs that catch the light. Or you could go with elegant ceramic pulls for a clean, modern look. Then there are the nature-inspired knobs and pulls to lend a soothing sense of calm to your space. Think of this hardware as jewelry for your bathroom when you are looking for a simple and fast way to make over your space.

Top-Rung Towel Bars

For a quick and inexpensive DIY bathroom makeover, look to a vintage ladder for stylish small-space storage. Refresh your flea market find with chalk-style paint that matches the room’s accessories, then use it to layer plush towels in the same color. Hang metal planters on the bottom rung to corral brushes, makeup, and hair styling aids for easy access.

Add Decorative and Practical 3M™ Film to Windows and Shower Doors

Frosted film not only enhances the look of windows and shower doors, but it also enhances privacy. And there are so many options to choose from! From bold geometric motifs to the elegance of silk, find the look that suits your style in our portfolio of decorative glass finishes and privacy films. Available in a variety of textures and patterns including matte and frosted designs, 3M™ Fasara™ Series films are an excellent option for the bathroom. They’re even fingerprint-resistant so they’re easier to clean.

They will transform your space while letting in plenty of natural light. They’re ideal for giving small spaces like bathrooms an open feel. They’re also an excellent way to add a high-end finish to plain glass at an affordable price. How about etched glass or a sand-blasted look? This part of your bathroom makeover is best left to the professionals. Professional installation ensures precise measurement, the most appropriate materials, smooth application, and the best warranty.

Set the Mood with Paint

Paint is one of the fastest, cheapest, and most effective ways to change up the mood and feel of your bathroom.

Create a spa-like retreat with the coastal aesthetic of soft green seafoam paint. Buttery whites boast a lush depth that warms too-cool spaces. Incorporate the cool colors of granite and concrete into your paint for a contemporary twist on classic gray for a sleek look. When it comes to bold bathroom paint colors, navy blue is clean, classic, and noteworthy. When paired with white, it creates a stylish contrast. And don’t dismiss a bright-white bathroom as boring just yet. The classic neutral bathroom paint color can be easily dressed up with layers of texture. Look to salvaged wood and straw baskets to warm it up.

Flooring That’s Not Boring

Replacing the flooring will go far in giving your bathroom a new overall appearance. Inexpensive porcelain or ceramic tile, or even vinyl, can be engineered to look like classic wood or stone but is still completely waterproof and durable to any level of moisture. For next-level makeover magic, consider radiant heating. For less than $150 per 6 feet of mat, you can also install radiant-heat mats underneath your bathroom flooring of choice for a luxurious effect.

Vanity Options

Don’t replace your vanity—paint it! Whether you opt for a color to blend in and match the walls or an alternative bright shade to set it off from the rest, a paint job is guaranteed to give the whole room a facelift. To paint a wood vanity, you’ll need to prep and prime the original surface to ensure the new paint adheres well. With a number of thin coats, the new finish will be more durable and look better.

More Bathroom Makeover Advice

Consumer Reports recommends simple improvements like re-caulking the tub, installing new bathroom fixtures, and changing out toilets rather than a full-blown remodel, which probably won’t return your full investment at resale.

Often you can simply refresh and clean existing bits to give a whole new feel to your space. For instance, if you have broken or missing tiles, replace them. Check your exhaust fan; it may be clogged and dingy. A good cleaning will make it more efficient and look better too. If you have plastic faucet handles that have gotten cloudy and discolored, you can pop them off with a screwdriver and soak in vinegar to restore their sparkle. Check your grout lines. Scrub them with any of the commercial or DIY cleaners available to get them back to white, then make sure to seal the lines to prevent grimy buildup afterward. There are so many ways to approach a bathroom makeover, and many of them start at little to no cost to achieve.

Carolina Solar Security is a premium 3M™ Authorized Window Film Dealer in Wilmington, NC. We have been providing North Carolina homeowners and business owners with window tinting solutions since 1985 and never stop working to bring our customers the best products paired with the most skilled window film technicians. Reach out to us for your free quote today!

Do you struggle to balance your need for natural light and privacy? Windows and glass walls transmit beautiful light from the sun and foster the open-space feel that so many office environments are moving towards, but they can also compromise your privacy. Thankfully, you don’t have to choose one or the other. Decorative window film allows you to customize a space to your desired level of brightness and privacy.

Uses for Decorative Window Film

Decorative films serve multiple purposes. They help control privacy, reinforce your brand, and add visual interest on interior and exterior glass walls. Frosted films provide a similar aesthetic to etched or sandblasted glass, but at a fraction of the cost.

Control Privacy

Decorative window film allows you to tailor the level of privacy for your space. Some varieties of decorative film are nearly opaque, while others offer only a slight decrease in visibility. The more opaque the film, the less natural light is able to pass through. Perhaps your conference room has glass walls, and you feel like you’re in fishbowl during board meetings. You can simply frost the middle horizontal section of the glass that is at eye level to passersby.

Reinforce Your Brand

Many of our commercial clients at Carolina Solar Security use decorative window film to reinforce their brand. We do this by cutting out their logo or company name from the frosted film. This creates a subtle yet eye catching signage solution.

Visual Interest

Decorative window film adds visual interest to your space. With over 100 patterns, colors, and textures, the aesthetic possibilities are truly endless, and you can create a one-of-a-kind environment for your office, lobby, retail space, hotel, or restaurant.

Interior & Exterior

Decorative films can be applied to both exterior-facing windows and interior glass walls. If your office is located in a suite within a larger office building, you can frost the entryway door and emblazon it with your company logo. This also works well for glass door entrances of businesses within shopping centers or standalone buildings.

You no longer have to choose between privacy and natural light. With our decorative window film solutions, you can find the perfect balance between confidentiality and aesthetics.

Carolina Solar Security is a Prestige Authorized 3M™ Dealer in Wilmington, NC. We have been providing Southeastern North Carolina with decorative window tinting solutions since 1985 and never stop working to bring our customers the best products paired with the most skilled window film technicians. Reach out to us for your free quote today!