Getting too much light in a room or looking for window coverings for a bedroom, theatre room or media space? Sometimes a bit of natural light is welcome, but there are many times where it is nice to block the sun from view. Luckily, blockout curtains can help you achieve this. Blockout curtains use a thick weave fabric to prevent light from penetrating into your home. They are available in a range of colours, fabrics and textures to suit almost every space. Before you purchase blockout curtains, read on below. There are a few things you should consider.
Blockout curtains versus drapes
Not quite sure what the difference is between blockout curtains and drapes? Blockout curtains are made from a single fabric layers and will typically let a small amount of light filter into the room. The fabric of blockout curtains is thicker in design and uses a weave with room darkening features. They are usually more lightweight than drapes, which are made up of more than one layer of fabric.
Drapes include multiple layers, including fabrics with room darkening properties.
Avoid UV rays
Blockout curtains, drapes, blinds and shades have a number of benefits. One of the biggest is that they will protect your home from UV rays and reduce costs. Stopping UV rays from filtering into your room will prevent a lot of the heat transfer throughout your high that will cause you to turn on the air conditioning in the summer, or a heater in winter. Whilst they can be a more costly option than sheer alternatives, they often pay for themselves just in energy savings. Additionally, blackout fabrics are capable of protecting your floors and furniture from harmful UV rays which can damage and fade them. Having light filtering fabrics in a room can dramatically improve the durability of your interiors.
Using room darkening fabrics on your window can be a great idea in the rooms of your home that get a lot of sunlight, or in places that you don’t want the light to penetrate, like your theatre room.
You can get them in white
A lot of people worry that room darkening fabrics will only be black or that they will be made from dark and heavy material, but this just isn’t the case. These fabrics have come a lot way and nowadays you will find plenty of stylish colour options available for the outside of the curtains. On the inside, the fabric with the room darkening properties can come in white. Additionally, you’ll find that modern versions of these fabrics no longer have the stiff, plasticky feel that that they used to.
Adding blackout fabric to existing window coverings
If you have some window coverings that you like quite a lot, then it’s possible to give them room darkening properties with a blackout liner. You can add these by hanging your drapes on a single rod together or adding a second rod. You will find both black and white lingers available, for a nice look on the street. These are a great option for renters who might not be able to change out the window coverings.
Tips for installing
You will find that window coverings made from blackout fabrics are installed in the same type of way as most standard window coverings. To get the best from the room darkening properties of the fabric you should measure a few inches over your window and use wraparound rods to prevent the sunlight from getting inside your home. If you’re not sure how to install yourself then we recommend getting a professional installer to help.