When HP moved into her new home overlooking Torbay in Paignton, she wanted to make the most of the views and the natural light surrounding the property.
But the house was overlooked from several elevations, and the south-facing areas could become particularly bright and hot. HP also wanted privacy when she needed it — without having to compromise the views or rely on traditional window coverings.
Her solution was to remove the curtains altogether and replace them with a more sophisticated approach to privacy, light and solar control.
The requirement was not simply to provide privacy throughout the house. Different rooms had different needs.
The brief was therefore to provide a complete glass solution for the property, with each room specified according to its individual requirements — delivered as one coordinated installation.
Traditional curtains or blinds would have provided privacy and light control, but they would have changed the appearance of the rooms and obstructed the views HP had specifically chosen the property for.
The challenge was to find a way of giving HP control over her environment without covering the glass — and to recognise that one type of switchable glass was not going to be the right answer for every room.
The property needed a combination of functions simultaneously:
Rather than specifying one product throughout, We Supply Glass looked at the requirements of each room and created a bespoke combination of switchable glazing solutions. The installation incorporated three different technologies:
At the touch of a button, the glass changes from clear to opaque — giving HP complete control over when privacy is required without permanently obstructing the windows.
For the south-facing areas, solar switchable glass addressed heat gain and glare without blocking views — giving HP the control to adjust to changing conditions throughout the day.
The bedroom required a different solution entirely. Blackout switchable glass creates a genuinely dark environment at night while retaining all the benefits of a switchable system during the day.
An important part of the brief was that HP wanted the different solutions managed as one overall installation package — coordinating the different glass requirements across the property so the finished installation worked as a cohesive whole.
The starting point was not simply "Which glass would you like?" — it was "What do you need each space to achieve?" From there, the appropriate glass could be specified for each individual requirement.
This included solar switchable glazing for rooflights where heat gain was a particular concern, combining privacy, tint and solar control in a single integrated solution.
A selection of images from the completed installation across the property.
The finished installation gave HP much greater control over privacy, light and her day-to-day environment. Rather than relying on curtains or blinds, she can control the glass remotely and choose when individual areas of the property are clear, private or protected from the conditions outside.
The result is a home where the views over Torbay remain an important part of the living environment, while privacy, solar control and blackout requirements can all be managed when needed. Extensive use of remote control activation makes the system simple to operate throughout the day and night.
One property. Different requirements. One coordinated glass solution.
"Absolutely fantastic, quality product. I had a mix of tinted, privacy, blackout and plain glass – all UV protected… The guys were friendly, efficient and polite. I'm super happy with the results." HP — Residential client, Torquay