Storefront Window Film in Washington DC

Storefront Window Film on DC Retail Corridors

The District's retail lives on its corridors. M Street and Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown, 14th Street through Logan Circle, 18th Street in Adams Morgan, Barracks Row on 8th Street SE, 7th Street in Penn Quarter and the ground floors of new buildings in Navy Yard and at The Wharf. Each has a different orientation and a different crowd, but the shops share the same issues with their glass.

A boutique on the north side of M Street gets full southern sun on its display window most of the day. A restaurant on 14th Street facing west takes the late sun right when dinner service starts. Clothing, books, packaged goods and furniture fade in a matter of weeks in a sunny window, and staff behind the counter squint at a point-of-sale screen. Film addresses all of that while keeping the shop open to the street.

Storefront Film in Georgetown and Other Historic Districts

Many DC storefronts sit inside historic districts. In Georgetown, exterior changes visible from the street come under the Old Georgetown Board and the Commission of Fine Arts, and other historic districts in the District go through the Historic Preservation Office. Reviewers want storefronts to look like storefronts, with transparent glass that invites people in.

That rules out mirror and dark films for most street-facing shop windows. It does not rule out film. Clear UV films and light spectrally selective films look like ordinary glass and still cut fading and heat. For signage, cut vinyl and frosted graphics follow separate sign rules, so we check what applies before cutting a logo onto the glass.

Protecting Merchandise From Sun Fading in Shop Windows

Fading costs retailers money in marked-down stock and constant display rotations. Ultraviolet light is the main cause, with visible light and heat contributing. A storefront film that blocks almost all UV and part of the solar heat slows the process enough that displays can stay up longer.

For shops with sensitive goods such as textiles, art prints, leather or packaged food, the sunniest panes often get a light solar product and the rest a clear UV product. The display still looks bright and true to color from the sidewalk.

• Clear UV film for apparel, books and art
• Light solar film for west and south display windows
• Glare control behind registers and host stands
• Frosted graphics for back-of-house and fitting areas

Storefront Window Film for Bethesda Row and Old Town Alexandria Shops

Outside the District, the same work shows up in Bethesda Row and along Woodmont Avenue, on King Street in Old Town Alexandria, at Rockville Town Square and on Ellsworth Drive in Silver Spring. Alexandria's Old and Historic District has its own Board of Architectural Review, and its rules for storefront glass deserve a look before any tint goes up.

Retail centers and shopping streets owned by a single landlord usually have tenant design criteria covering glass, signage and window displays. We provide specs and samples to the landlord's tenant coordinator so approval happens before install day. Chain retailers often have their own brand standards for glass as well, and we work from those when the store's construction manager shares them.