Nothing beats a blackout shade when you’re trying to achieve a dark room. Try to do it with non-blackout fabrics and you’ll just be frustrated.
Blackout shades are not necessary for every room. In many places in the home—family rooms, dining rooms, kitchens—room-darkening or light-filtering window treatments that provide privacy and some protection from the sun generally work best.
But there are some rooms where you want it to be very dark at times. And in these room, you’ll want to install blackout shades.
¾ʺ Single Cell Blackout Cellular Shades with Cordless Lift: Hideaway Blackout, Arctic Bird 1282
Entertainment Rooms
Blackout shades create the optimal environment for watching movies, playing video games—or doing karaoke. Movies and video games really shine in a dark room. A simple roller shade in a blackout fabric can be a great solution. Fabric drapery in a blackout fabric is a more sophisticated solution. Another sophisticated solution is a tailored Roman shade made with a blackout liner.
Cellular shades in blackout fabrics combine highly effective room-darkening with outstanding insulation properties—an ideal option for cold climates. Add room-darkening side channels that cut out the small amount of light that comes in along the sides of the shade and you have what might be the best blackout system available.
¾″ Single Cell Blackout Cellular Shades with Cordless Lift: Serenade Blackout, Subtle Touch 1723
Bedrooms
This is a no brainer. But many people don’t realize how much darkness—or lack of it—can have on your sleep. Research has shown we get better quality sleep in very dark rooms. Ambient light or light that filters into the room through shades and blinds can lower the quality and quantity of sleep for many people.
The options listed above for entertainment rooms are all good options for the bedroom. That said, there are also options for people who want shades that allow in some light but still have the option for blocking out the light. One example is a dual shade using a light-filtering solar shade coupled with a roller shade in a blackout fabric.
Another option is layering curtains & drapery over a roller shade in a blackout fabric. Not only do you get a range of light filtering and privacy levels, you have a very elegant window treatment combination. Drapery also works well with tailored Roman shades in a blackout fabric or cellular shades in a blackout fabric.
Motorized Natural Shades in Old Style Roman with a Privacy Liner: Avonlea, Canyon Stone 05084, and Privacy Liner: Taupe 2659
Any Room Where You Take a Nap
Cat naps are nice. A long afternoon snooze is better. And a nice big chunk of quality sleep is best of all.
If you want to turn your naptime into high quality sleep, you need to create the right sleeping conditions—and that means darkness.
Install blackout shades in any room where you want to create an optimal napping environment. When raised, blackout shades masquerade as ordinary shades. But when you pull them down, they become incredibly powerful sleep aids.
We just sleep better in total darkness—and blackout shades are a simple way to bring that darkness to any room in your home.
For a luxurious napping room, choose automatic shades so you can open and close the shades with a remote from wherever you are in a room. Feeling a bit drowsy? Hit the button and you have instant darkness.
Other Options for Room Darkening
Maybe you’ve decided you don’t need blackout shades, but you still want a darker room when the shades are drawn. If you have drapery that is letting in too much light, you can add a solar, roller, cellular, pleated, or Roman shade to the window. The shade coupled with the drapery will provide excellent room darkening. Likewise, if you have a shade that’s letting in too much light, layer it with a drapery. Similarly, blinds can be combined with drapery to cut down on the small amount of light that filters into the room through the slats.
Find more information about light control and order Bali shades today.
