How to Make a Fake Window With a Projector

What Is a Fake Window Projector?

A fake window projector is exactly what it sounds like: you point a mini projector at a blank wall and play a looping video of a window scene. Rain trickling down glass. Snow drifting past a cabin window. A neon-lit Tokyo street at 2am. The projection creates the illusion of a real window, and it completely changes the feel of any room.

This trend properly blew up on TikTok when people in windowless rooms, basement flats, and dark rentals started showing their transformations. Someone projects a rainy London scene on their bedroom wall, adds a sheer curtain and a warm lamp, and suddenly the room looks like something out of a Pinterest board. Millions of views. And the cost? About fifty quid.

The reason it works is contrast. In a dark or dimly lit room, a projected scene is bright enough to read as genuinely real. Your brain does the rest. It fills in the depth, the glass, the sense that there's a world outside that window. It's the same reason cinema works -- you know it's a flat screen, but your brain suspends disbelief because the image is bright and the room is dark.

Whether you're in a windowless office, a basement bedroom, a rented flat with a grim view, or you just want to pretend it's raining outside on a Tuesday evening -- a fake window projector does the job. And it takes about sixty seconds to set up.

What You Need (Shopping List)

Good news: you probably already own half of this. Here's the full kit list, split into essentials and nice-to-haves.

Essential kit

• A mini projector -- the only thing you might need to buy. A budget one from Amazon for around fifty quid does the job perfectly in a dark room. You don't need 4K, you don't need HDR, you don't need smart features. You need it to point at a wall and show a picture. That's it.
• A blank wall -- white or light-coloured works best. Flat is ideal, but slightly textured walls are fine too (some people actually prefer the slightly dreamy look). If your walls are dark, a cheap white bedsheet pinned flat works as a projection surface.
• A video source -- your phone with an HDMI adapter, a laptop, a Fire Stick, or the projector's built-in apps if it has them. You just need something that can play YouTube.
• A dark room -- this is the one thing you can't skip. Projectors rely on darkness to create a convincing image. Evening time works naturally, or use blackout blinds during the day.

Nice to have (but makes a big difference)

• Blackout blinds or curtains -- if you want to use the setup during the day, or if your room catches street light at night. Even cheap stick-on blackout blinds from Amazon (about a tenner) make a noticeable difference.
• A Bluetooth speaker -- built-in projector speakers are tinny. A proper speaker makes rain sounds genuinely immersive. A JBL Clip or similar portable speaker for about thirty quid is plenty.
• Sheer curtains or voile -- hang these over the projection area and the whole thing looks dramatically more like a real window. This is the single best upgrade for realism. More on this in the tips section.
• A warm lamp or candles -- a warm light source next to the projected window completes the atmosphere. The contrast between the cool projected scene and warm room light makes everything feel cosy.
• A shelf or stack of books -- to position the projector at the right height. You want the projection sitting where a real window would be, roughly head height or slightly above.

Step-by-Step Setup

This genuinely takes about a minute once you've done it once. Here's the full process.

1. Choose your wall. Pick a blank section of wall where a window would naturally be. Avoid walls with shelves, pictures, or textured wallpaper if you can. White or cream is ideal. The area needs to be roughly 1.5 metres wide and 1 metre tall for a convincing window size.
2. Position the projector. Place it on a shelf, chest of drawers, or stack of books facing the wall. You want it roughly 1.5 to 2 metres away from the wall -- this gives you a projection size of about 60 to 80 inches, which feels like a real window. Position it at waist height and angle it slightly upward so the projected image sits at head height or above.
3. Connect your video source. Plug in your Fire Stick, connect your laptop with HDMI, use a phone with a USB-C to HDMI adapter, or open the projector's built-in apps. Whatever gets YouTube on screen.
4. Find your scene. Open YouTube and search for what you want to see outside your fake window. Good searches: "rain window ambience", "snow window ambience 4K", "city night window", "autumn forest window". Pick a long one -- most are 3 to 10 hours so you can set it and forget it.
5. Adjust the focus. Most mini projectors have a manual focus wheel on the top or side. Turn it slowly until the image sharpens. If the image is wider at the top than the bottom (trapezoid shape), use the keystone correction -- usually a slider or dial next to the focus wheel.
6. Darken the room. Turn off overhead lights. Close blinds or curtains. You can leave a candle or warm lamp on -- in fact, a warm side light actually helps sell the illusion. Just kill the main ceiling light.
7. Set up audio (optional). Connect a Bluetooth speaker and let the ambience video's audio play through it. Position the speaker near the projection so the sound feels like it's coming from the "window". Rain sounds from the direction of the rain scene = chef's kiss.
8. Press play. Sit down. Done.

Best Projectors for Fake Windows

You don't need anything fancy. Here are two solid options depending on your budget, with a link to our full reviews if you want the deep dive.

We've tested five projectors specifically for window ambience use, from fifty quid to four hundred. Read the full reviews here if you want a proper comparison.

Best Free Ambience Videos

The content you project matters as much as the projector itself. Luckily, YouTube has thousands of free videos designed specifically for this. Here are the best sources.

YouTube channels to follow

• Ambient Worlds -- stunning fantasy and nature scenes. Their "rain on window" and "cosy cabin" videos are some of the most popular on YouTube. Most are 8+ hours long. Gorgeous quality.
• Calmed by Nature -- focuses on realistic nature window views. Rain, thunderstorms, snow, ocean waves. Clean, high-quality footage without any gimmicks. Some of their 4K rain videos are the best available.
• Autumn Cozy -- specialises in seasonal cosy scenes. Autumn leaves falling past windows, Christmas snow, spring rain. They nail the "warm inside, weather outside" feeling that makes fake windows so satisfying.

Best search terms

Pop these into YouTube and sort by view count to find the most popular (and usually best quality) options:

• "rain window ambience" -- the classic. Thousands of options. Rain on glass with the sound of rain. Works brilliantly projected.
• "snow window ambience 4K" -- gentle snowfall past a window. Perfect for winter evenings.
• "city night window ambience" -- neon-lit city streets, Tokyo at night, New York apartments. Great if you want an urban vibe.
• "cosy cabin window" -- forest views, fireplace sounds, the works. Maximum hygge.
• "ocean window ambience" -- waves, beach views, coastal cabins. Surprisingly calming projected on a wall.

Beyond YouTube

• Pexels -- free stock video site with loads of 4K window-view footage you can download. Handy if your internet is dodgy and you want to play locally without buffering.
• Pixabay -- similar to Pexels, free 4K video clips. Search for "rain window" or "snow window". Download, loop in VLC, and project.

Tips for Making It Look Real

The difference between "there's a projector on my wall" and "wait, is that a real window?" comes down to a few simple tricks. These are the things that make people do a double-take.

1. Hang sheer curtains over the projection

This is the single biggest upgrade you can make, and it costs about eight quid. Hang a sheer curtain or voile panel over the area where you project. The fabric softens the edges of the projection and creates the illusion of a window behind curtains. Your brain stops seeing a projected rectangle and starts seeing a window. It's remarkable how effective this is. Use a cheap tension rod or stick-on curtain hooks -- no drilling required.

2. Add a warm lamp beside the "window"

Place a warm-toned lamp or candle near the projected window, as if sunlight or streetlight is spilling into the room. This creates the lighting you'd expect from a real window. The warm-cool contrast (warm lamp, cooler projected scene) makes both the room and the "window" feel more real.

3. Get the height right

Real windows sit at roughly waist to head height. Your projection should too. If the projected image is at floor level, it looks like a TV. If it's near the ceiling, it's weird. Aim for the centre of the projection being at about standing eye level. Use a shelf, stack of books, or wall-mounted projector bracket to get the height dialled in.

4. Match the audio to the scene

If you're projecting rain, you need to hear rain. If it's a city scene, distant traffic sounds. Position your speaker near the projection so the sound direction matches the visual. This spatial consistency is what makes the scene feel immersive rather than disconnected. Most YouTube ambience videos have built-in audio, which makes this dead easy.

5. Darken the room properly

The projection needs to be the brightest thing in the room (or at least one of the brightest). Overhead lights kill the illusion instantly. But you don't need total darkness -- a candle, a warm desk lamp, or fairy lights all work fine alongside the projection. Just switch off the big ceiling light.

6. Add a window frame or ledge

For the truly committed: add a simple frame around the projection using washi tape, a cheap IKEA picture frame (with the glass and backing removed), or even a piece of wood trim. Some people add a small shelf at the bottom of the projection as a "window sill" and put a plant on it. This is optional, but it sells the illusion hard.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

We've seen hundreds of people set these up. Here are the mistakes that come up again and again.

1. Room is too bright. This is the number one killer. Overhead lights, uncovered windows letting in daylight, bright screens nearby -- all of these wash out the projection. You need the room to be dark or dimly lit. If you can still clearly see the colour of your walls, it's too bright.
2. Projector is too close or too far. Too close and the image is small and intense (looks like a bright box, not a window). Too far and it gets dim and loses sharpness. The sweet spot for most mini projectors is 1.5 to 2 metres from the wall, giving you a 60 to 80 inch image. That's about the size of a real window.
3. Projection is at the wrong height. If the image is sitting at knee level, it looks like a telly on the floor. Real windows are at chest-to-head height. Raise the projector up on a shelf or angled mount so the projected image sits where a window naturally would.
4. No audio. A silent projected scene feels flat and lifeless. The rain looks nice, but without rain sounds it's just a picture. Use the video's built-in audio through a speaker. The sound is what makes the scene feel alive and present, not just decorative.
5. Wrong aspect ratio or zoom. If the video has black bars on the sides, or the scene is stretched and distorted, it immediately looks fake. Make sure your projector's aspect ratio matches the video. Most ambience videos are 16:9 -- set your projector to match and you're sorted.
6. Projecting onto coloured walls. Blue walls make everything blue. Red walls make everything red. The projection takes on the colour of whatever surface it hits. White or cream walls are ideal. If your walls are dark or coloured, pin up a white sheet.
7. Forgetting to loop. You're deep into a relaxing evening, rain pattering on your fake window, and then YouTube autoplays an advert or a completely random video. Set the video to loop, or use an ad-free setup (YouTube Premium, downloaded videos, or a playlist set to repeat).

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a fake window projector setup cost?

You can get started for around fifty quid. A budget mini projector like the Yaber V2 costs about £50, and the ambience videos are free on YouTube. Add a Bluetooth speaker for £30 if you want better sound, and a sheer curtain for £8 if you want extra realism. The whole setup can be under a hundred quid.

Does a fake window projector look realistic?

In a dark or dimly lit room, yes -- it looks surprisingly convincing. Your brain fills in the details. Adding sheer curtains over the projection and a warm lamp beside it makes it look even more like a real window. It won't fool anyone who walks right up to the wall, but from a few metres away, sitting on a sofa? It creates genuine atmosphere.

Can I use a fake window projector during the day?

Budget projectors need a dark room, so you'll need blackout blinds or curtains over any real windows to block daylight. Brighter projectors like the XGIMI MoGo 2 Pro can handle some ambient light, but even they work best in dim conditions. Most people use this as an evening setup, which works naturally.

What videos should I project for a fake window?

YouTube has thousands of free options. Search for "rain window ambience", "snow window ambience", or "city window night". Channels like Ambient Worlds, Calmed by Nature, and Autumn Cozy specialise in high-quality window scenes that loop for hours. Check our free ambience videos section above for the full list.

Will a projector damage my wall?

No. A projector is just light -- there's no heat, no contact, nothing touching the wall. You can project onto any surface without any risk of damage. It's completely renter-friendly. This is one of the main reasons the trend took off.

What size should the projected fake window be?

Aim for roughly 60 to 80 inches diagonal -- about the size of a real window. Too small and it looks like a tablet propped against the wall. Too large and the image gets dim and you lose the window illusion. Position the projector about 1.5 to 2 metres from the wall to get the right size with most mini projectors.

Can I make the projector quieter?

Budget projectors have audible fans. You can reduce the noise by running the projector in eco mode (dimmer but quieter), placing it on a soft surface like a towel or mouse pad to absorb vibration, or simply letting the ambience audio mask the fan noise. Mid-range projectors like the XGIMI MoGo 2 Pro are significantly quieter.

Does it use much electricity?

Mini projectors typically draw 30 to 60 watts. That's about the same as a standard light bulb. Running it for 6 hours a day would cost roughly 3 to 5p in electricity. Negligible.

More from Projector Windows

• Projector Window Ambience: The Complete Guide
• Best Mini Projectors for Window Ambience in 2026
• D&D Projector Ambience: Transform Your Game Night

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