Window tinting is most associated with vehicles, but it is also growing in popularity in residential homes and businesses. Of course, the government has been tinting the windows on their buildings for decades, but there are more benefits to tinting your windows that just spying and secrecy. Among the top reasons for tinting your windows: blocking sunlight to reduce power costs, protecting your furniture from UV rays, keeping your rooms a consistent temperature, and ensuring some privacy are the driving factors in darkening the glass.
When deciding on how to tint your windows you have a variety of options–conventional and not. There are numerous colors and opacities to choose from when tinting your windows. Of course, there is also the more ‘cost effective’ method of ‘tinting’ windows that include the use of colored plastic, plastic wrap, towels, tinfoil, and other assorted ‘white trash’ means to filter and obstruct the incoming light. Here is a rough guide for getting creative with your window tints.
Choose the opacity- ‘Opacity’: this is a big word for some in the ‘do it yourself’ crowd. Basically, opacity refers to the degree to which light is allowed to travel through an object. Impenetrability is another way to put it. Opacity in window tinting deals with the density of the tints. Lighter tints block fewer UV rays, or sunlight, as it is commonly known. Darker tints block more rays and, consequently, add more privacy.
The cranked out ‘I use tinfoil on my windows’ population clearly take the latter approach to UV protection. Tinfoil, however, to the dismay of many, is not considered a tint. If anything, tinfoil on windows is a red flag that you’re probably engaged in some illicit activity or are, in some way, mentally deficient.
Find the best color- Yes, it is true: you can actually tint your windows any color. The most common window tints are silver, gray, and black, but that doesn’t mean you have to be common. Yellow and green tints are a great way to brighten up a room and can add a warm hue to the entire room when the sun hits. Matching the appearance to the interior and exterior of your room is sound advice in order to avoid a hideously contrasting color sequence. This advice is, of course, relative to how much acid you have done when installing the tints.
If the idea of professionally or even semi-professionally tinting your windows appalls you; or if you don’t even have a working concept of the word professional, a ghetto favorite is to hang colored plastic from the windows. This is pretty and emits the sublime tranquility of a murder scene.
Is pattern tinting for you? Again, to the surprise of many, tinted films also come in an array of patterns. From stripes to stars to flowers, patterned tints can complement your home decor or look incredibly gaudy. The line here is dangerously thin and if you are considering opting for a patterned tint, carefully consider the aesthetics of the surrounding space and the psyches of those who have to gaze upon your glass ‘project’. The good thing is that you can remove a tacky pattern relatively easily, but as you’re laboring to take it down think about the consequences if you make the wrong decision again.
For the lazy, incompetent, or financially strapped, hanging floral sequences linen sheets is a popular substitute. While this is considered to be more of a curtain, for the purposes of this discussion, we’ll ignore this fact. Although this method of ‘tint’ solves very little and will only damage the fabric and single you out for the ghetto individual you are, it can provide some privacy and relief from the sun. To reiterate, this is very white trash and should only be considered in emergencies or zombie apocalypse. In every other scenario, you’ve failed.
Featured images:
- Image courtesy of Cheap photo stock
Ben Vaughn
Ben Vaughn is an expert of the cost of window tinting. He writes on the financial, material, and social costs to your reputation when deciding to tint your windows.
