I have always had white windows and dreamt of black windows, and we finally got them (in our last apartment). I loved them and they were arched and tall and beautiful and everything I ever wanted (except for clean–ha! Window cleaners weren’t working during Covid). I always wanted to add grid to them but didn’t want to block the city view. So, when we moved into this apartment and had white boring windows I thought I’d try a DIY I’ve been wanting to do forever.
We started with the tiny little kitchen in the window to see how difficult it would be and ended up loving it so much, we did it to the windows in the back and both sliding doors to the patio.
First, we gathered all of our materials (the best part of this project because all you need is scissors and electrical tape).
Then, we cleaned the windows inside and out and started taping once they were dry.
Our goal was to take every white part of the window frame and make it black.
Next, I thought about how many grid lines I wanted in the window and decided on two. So I measured the height and the width of the window, and split the width in half and the height into thirds.
You’re going to want to do each window separately. It looks most natural if each window has separate tape. Just be sure your measurements are precise so everything matches up perfectly. I only measured for height purposes because I prefer to eyeball it. I tell Frankie all the time “I’m a really good eyeballer” because I think it’s a natural gift I have to find dead center. (But if you’re not a really good eyeballer, totally use a measuring tape.)
And then we were so obsessed we did the back windows.
And then we did the door.
And then we couldn’t stop. So we did the other door.
And then we ran out of doors and windows to tape so I was just walking around aimlessly with my tape and my kitchen scissors hoping someone would ask me to tape their windows.
All in all, we are thrilled with the results. It has made such a huge difference for such little cost. It was so easy to do and so far is holding up great.
The most frequently asked questions:
How is it holding up?
So far we’ve only had issues on the back window in a few spots where the tape started falling off. Frankie and I both think this is a combination of the direct sun beating on it for 8 hours a day and the seals on the window being bad. I also feel like I was stretching the tape and sticking it wherever it was stretched to. This could also have something to do with it. Just make sure you let the tape sit where it would normally sit without stretching it and then stick it to the window. Another tip would be to make sure you stick it further than it even needs to go, not directly on the glass where the glass ends. That way, if it shrinks at all it won’t shrink and leave a gap on the glass.
Are you still able to clean them?
Yes! And pretty much the same, only I’ve been spraying Windex directly onto the paper towel/microfiber cloth and then wiping between the tape, instead of spraying Windex on the window. They are holding up great even after multiple cleans. You may even be able to spray directly on the window but I haven’t because I don’t want to risk loosening up the glue.
Overall, this was the best project to do in a day–super fun, easy, and incredible results for such inexpensive materials. If you try it, please send me pics!!!
xx
