Blackout Blinds vs Curtains: Which Is Best for Your Room?

Blackout is a term that is often misunderstood when it comes to window dressings. Complete blackout is exceedingly difficult to achieve unless you have a fully sealed system, because even the smallest gap around a blind or curtain can allow light to enter - and blackout lining can make that light bleed more noticeable.

It is also worth remembering that a window that feels adequately dark in winter can behave very differently in summer, when stronger sunlight, earlier mornings and later evenings put much more pressure on your window dressing.

So, should you choose blackout blinds or curtains?

The first question I would ask is who is using the room and how sensitive they are to light. A baby's bedroom, for example, may benefit from as close to a blackout environment as possible, whereas in an adult bedroom a small amount of ambient light may not be an issue.

For most homes, I would choose the window dressing based on the balance between blackout performance, appearance and practicality, rather than assuming one product is automatically better than another.

Blackout roller blinds

A standard blackout roller blind can be highly effective at reducing light, but it will inevitably have some light bleed around the edges. The fabric sits slightly in front of the window, and inside the brackets, so light can come through at both sides and around the top and bottom. I recommend ‘reverse-rolling’ to bring the blind closer to the window.

You can improve this considerably by making the blind wider and taller than the window opening. Another highly effective solution is to layer the roller blind with curtains or a Roman blind.

For someone who needs the highest possible level of blackout from a roller blind, there are also cassette systems with side channels and a headrail which enclose the blind more completely. These are remarkably effective, although they have a more utilitarian appearance, and even these systems may be described as ‘dimout’ rather than guaranteeing absolute blackout.

Roman blinds

Roman blinds have many of the same challenges as roller blinds, particularly light coming around the sides and underneath the blind. The construction can also mean that light bleed at the bottom is quite noticeable.

A Roman blind can be improved by fitting it close to the window and using a narrower batten rather than a conventional side-winder mechanism. Making the blind wider and taller than the window will also help.

For a bedroom, I would always recommend blackout lining and interlining. A Roman blind can also work beautifully layered with curtains, or with a roller blind recessed behind it. A pelmet or lambrequin can be particularly useful because it can conceal the sides and top of the blind and dramatically reduce the amount of light escaping around it.

Blackout curtains

Curtains offer much more scope to control light because you can design the whole window treatment around eliminating gaps.

Blackout lining is essential, and interlining can add another layer between the room and the window. I would also be generous with the width of the curtains so there is plenty of overlap in the centre, where the two curtains meet.

The way the curtains are fitted is just as important as the fabric. Returning the curtains back to the wall at either side prevents light from travelling around the outside edges. A covered lathe or pelmet can also reduce light coming over the top, while recessed tracks, ceiling fixing and a curtain fitted as high and wide as possible can all improve the result.

For the best blackout, a pelmet is particularly effective because it helps close off the top and sides of the window treatment.

Wooden shutters

Solid wooden shutters are one of the most effective individual window dressings for controlling light because they form a much more substantial barrier across the window. They can also look incredibly beautiful - Georgian shutters can be a wonderful architectural feature in a bedroom.

The ultimate blackout solution

If someone tells me they want 100% blackout, I always explain that without a completely sealed system there will usually be some glimmer of light somewhere. It is the gaps around a window dressing that are often responsible.

For the closest thing to a true blackout environment, my preferred solution would be a blackout blind underneath blackout-lined and interlined curtains, combined with a pelmet or another method of closing off the top and sides.

It may be more than most people need, but for a baby's room, a very light-sensitive sleeper or anyone who works night shifts and needs to sleep during the day, layering your window treatments can make a significant difference.