Decorative window film has been used in commercial buildings for many years, they were kind of the “early adopters” of this whole trend. What has changed recently is HOW they’re using window film.
Most office spaces have some kind of issue with lighting. It would be ideal if there were natural light throughout every office suite, but that very seldom works out. The offices on the outside of the building have windows and great light, everyone else is stuck with fluorescents. So, to try to alleviate this problem, architects have been leaving a lot of open space, rather than filling up the center space with a rabbit warren of small offices. This is where the ubiquitous cubicle comes in. Lately designers have even begun building the cubicles out of glass.
And the reason for that is that the trend in the last few years has been to use a LOT of glass….it lets the natural light from the windows along the outside filter into the middle of the office space, it makes the space look bigger, and since the trend in business culture has gone to a more informal, open door policy, it allows everyone to see what everyone else is doing. And there is the issue…. not everyone wants to feel like they’re in a fishbowl all of the time.
So, Interior Designers have been using decorative window film to give their clients the privacy that they want, without blocking the natural light that is so necessary. An office with a large front window looking out on the floor still looks inviting with decorative window film on the window wall, it looks much more open than if it were a solid office with just an open doorway. A glass conference room in the middle of an office space looks even better with window film applied, that leaves a lot of space for a designer to use for design elements.
And that is the most important point of all…. yes, decorative window film takes care of the natural light issue, and it definitely works for the privacy problems…but the bottom line is that it JUST LOOKS PRETTY! Decorative window film comes in every color of the rainbow; it can be integrated into almost any design scheme. It can be custom printed with your business logo, in translucent white if you’re going for that etched glass look (at about one-third of the cost, I might add!) or with your logo colors. Decorative window film comes in almost every pattern that you can think of…. from one that looks like rain on a window, or a very slight etching on clear glass, to one that is a solid black.
The newest film that has come out is a film that serves as a whiteboard!! Talk about convenience! You take a glass conference room in the middle of an office. With glass walls there really isn’t anywhere to hang a whiteboard, and everyone has gotten pretty tired of feeling like they’re holding every business meeting in a fishbowl…so the thought was born to just turn the glass walls INTO a whiteboard…. both problems solved with decorative film. Plus, just imagine what creative ideas could come out of an entire room of whiteboards!
In a foodservice or retail space, decorative window film is an obvious choice for things like glass surrounds enclosing tables… add deco film and you have privacy for the diners plus an additional space for design elements. In retail spaces, the shop owners want to bring whatever natural light is available into their space, but don’t want their shoppers to be under a microscope…decorative film takes care of that, plus is gives interior designers additional design space.
Decorative window film is one of the most versatile, cost effective, and useful design elements on the market today. There are so many practical uses for deco film that I feel like sometimes everyone forgets that it is, first and foremost, for decoration. Remember, IT’S A REALLY PRETTY DESIGN ELEMENT! The aesthetics are up to you; deco film is really only limited by your imagination. Go ahead, have fun with it, brighten up the office, add something on your entryway glass wall that will make your visitors or customers smile…. or think, or whatever feeling or mood you might want to create. With decorative window film, it’s all up to you.
If your commercial (or residential) space could use some attention, give us a call at (623) 780-4950 if you’re in Central or West Phoenix, or at (480) 730-5566 if you’re in the East Valley.
