How to Decorate an Entry With Sidelights

Window of Opportunity

• Transform your sidelights from supporting players to the main attraction with window film. You can cut the film to any size, meaning you can use it on sidelights that are single or multipanel. In addition, you can find film to match any decorating scheme. Go traditional with film that looks as if it were stained glass or bring in some nature with film that replicates bamboo. Textured frosted glass film as well as etched glass film add privacy while still allowing some light to filter in. Subtly introduce a new element into the entryway design and use etched glass film with leaf shapes.

Raise the Curtain

• Cover your entry's problematic sidelights with decorative curtains. Curtains hide unattractive sidelights, add significant privacy and provide visual interest for an entryway that reserves little or no natural light. Mount a curtain rod above the sidelights and door, ideally measuring from one side of the wall to the other. Hang curtains on either side of the door, much like you would for a traditional window, and allow them to grace the floor. Use thermal curtains, which can be pulled to cover the sidelights and the door to prevent drafts. Invest in curtains that complement the color of the front door.

Off the Shelf

• Transform an entryway with customized shelving, either built by yourself or with hired help, in the vacant corners on either side of the sidelights. Floor-to-ceiling corner shelving units provide storage for key bowls, framed photos, cell phone chargers plus other necessities and niceties. Add doors to the bottom halves of the units to resemble a Colonial-style hutch and use that space to store umbrellas, flashlights and other essentials. If space permits, add a shelf that hangs over the door and connects the two shelving units. Finish all additions with trim that resembles the existing trim, painting or staining it to match. When all else fails, bring in storage for plants or umbrellas with large, decorative urns or large, galvanized metal buckets.

See in a New Light

• Dress up your entry for the holidays and incorporate its sidelights into the decorating scheme. Hang autumn and spring shapes, such as pumpkins and eggs, cut from felt, foam or construction paper to decorate the sidelights. Use large shapes to fill the width of the panel in bright colors to make the most impact. Install a series of hooks over the door and sidelights to hang garland for Christmas and banners for other special days, such as birthdays and anniversaries. A string -- or series of strings -- of twinkle lights add soft light that enhance the decorations during the holidays and become the decorations the remainder of the year.