In today's crowded urban and suburban neighborhoods, it seems as if you can't even sneeze without the whole block knowing about it. Maintaining a certain degree of privacy at home is a real challenge these days; but short of building a moat or isolating yourself inside your high-fenced fortress, how do you achieve the right balance? Here are some tips.

--Create a hedge "wall." If you don't like the idea of erecting a tall 6 foot fence in your front yard, you can plant hedges along the perimeter of your lawn instead. Choose hedges that only grow to about four feet tall and that will blend together nicely as they come to maturity. Planting them along the sidewalk areas will keep pedestrians off your lawn and afford a little more privacy: plus, they are extremely attractive and will add considerable PVC Door Sweeps Suppliers curb appeal to your home.

--Plant trees in front of bedroom windows. This requires patience to be sure, but in time you will have lovely shade during the hottest times of the day plus you will enjoy greater summertime privacy when the trees are in leaf. For year-round privacy, choose non-deciduous types such as firs. Planting trees too close to the house, however, can result in problems later during wind storms or heavy snow periods; so make sure to plant them at a safe distance away from the structure: strategy in placement is everything.

--Frosted glass front door. If you like to have natural light coming through your front door but you don't like everyone in the neighborhood being able to see in, consider having frosted glass installed on the door.

--Window tinting. Window tinting film allows you to let the light in while enjoying completely unrestricted visibility from the inside out! The exterior reflective properties of the film keep people on the outside from being able to see in both in broad daylight as well as during the nighttime hours: even when you have your lights on. In addition to increasing privacy, window tinting blocks out up to 80 percent of the sun's heat and 99 percent of harmful UV rays.