Virginia-Highland Window Film for Bungalows and North Highland Avenue Shops

Craftsman Bungalow Window Film in Virginia-Highland

The typical Va-Hi house is a one-and-a-half-story Craftsman or a brick foursquare with a deep front porch. That porch shades the front windows well, so the problem glass is usually elsewhere: a rear addition with a wall of new windows, a dormer bedroom upstairs that faces west, or a side window that catches the low sun through a gap in the trees.

We look at each house individually rather than filming everything. Often three or four windows account for most of the heat and fading complaints. Clear UV film goes on rooms with heart pine floors and rugs, and a near-clear heat control film goes on the few panes that see direct afternoon sun. From the sidewalk, nothing changes.

Window Film for Va-Hi Rear Additions, Sunrooms and Dormers

Many Virginia-Highland houses have been expanded at the back with open kitchens and family rooms, often with large windows, French doors and sometimes skylights facing a backyard that gets more sun than the street side. These additions are frequently the hottest part of the house and the hardest to keep comfortable.

Film on the addition's glass, particularly west and south panes and skylights, tends to make the biggest difference for the investment. Upstairs dormer rooms, tucked under the roof with a single big window, are the other usual suspect. Newer windows in additions are often dual-pane low-E, so we match film to that glass and its warranty.

• Rear kitchen and family room additions
• French doors and skylights
• West-facing dormer bedrooms
• Glassed-in side porches

Storefront Window Film Along North Highland Avenue

The neighborhood's commercial pockets, at North Highland and Virginia Avenue, around St. Charles Avenue and toward Ponce de Leon, are small strips of brick storefronts with restaurants, bars, boutiques and service businesses. Many have west- or south-facing glass and sidewalk patios, and the afternoon sun hits dining rooms and display windows directly.

Light solar film cuts heat and glare without making a storefront look closed, and clear UV film protects boutique merchandise. Late-night foot traffic means some businesses also ask about security film for doors and anti-graffiti film on glass that has been scratched.

Virginia-Highland Window Film and the Oak Canopy

The neighborhood's tree cover is the reason many Va-Hi houses stay comfortable with modest air conditioning, and it changes over the year. Leaves fill in by late April and shade a lot of glass through summer, then drop in November and let low winter sun into rooms that were dim all season. Owners generally like that winter light, which is one more reason to avoid dark film on south windows.

Storms and age also take trees down, and when a big oak goes, a house can suddenly have full afternoon sun on glass that was shaded for decades. A fair number of our Virginia-Highland calls start exactly that way: the tree came down last year, and now the back bedroom is unbearable.

Privacy Film for Close-Set Virginia-Highland Lots

Lots in Virginia-Highland are narrow, and side windows often sit a short distance from the neighbor's house or driveway. Bathroom and side bedroom windows are the most common privacy requests. Frosted and reeded films let light in while blocking views, and they come off cleanly if a neighbor's house is rebuilt and the sight line changes.

Front-door glass and sidelights on Craftsman doors can get decorative film that suits the style of the house, such as reeded or simple etched patterns.