Help! Do you have good blackout window treatment suggestions?
Since it's Memorial Day, I wasn't going to post today, but I need some help from you guys!
Mr. FG works some odd hours no matter what shift he's on, which means that we are frequently getting at least part of our sleep when the sun is up (especially during the longer days of summer).
So, we've been wanting to buy some blackout window coverings for our bedroom.
I'm having a dreadful time figuring out what to get though, and I was hoping maybe some of you would have recommendations for us.
Here's a poorly-taken quick snapshot of the type of windows we have:
We have three of these to outfit.
I've looked at covers that you velcro up, and while these are inexpensive and seem to work like a charm, I don't like the idea of having to take them down every day (I really don't want to leave my bedroom pitch black all day long.)
I looked at Roman shades, but I read conflicting reports about how well they block light. The blackout versions tend to be quite expensive, and I'd hate to pay a bunch of money for something that doesn't work much better than our current blinds.
I've also thought about blackout curtains, but I'm having trouble finding some with a light-colored front panel. Our room has burgundy walls and is on the north side of the house, so if I put dark curtains up, I'm afraid it will feel very, very dark.
I did find a few white versions, but reviewers complained about the shower-curtain-ish feel of them.
Another option is to buy regular curtains and sew a blackout lining (using fabric like this) onto them.
Oof.
I'm having major decision fatigue, so I would dearly love some advice from you. Help me figure out something that's not crazy expensive, ugly, or inconvenient. 😉
(If that's even possible!)
We had cellular shades in our house in WI. Got blackout ones for our bedroom as DH also sleeps odd hours. They were pretty good!
We bought these for our windows in "Cool White." While they aren't 100% blackout they are pretty good, especially if you leave your current treatments behind them to do double duty. I think they look nice and not shower curtain-y. The cool white color is sort of a soft gray and has a little shimmer.
http://www.jcpenney.com/gift-registry/wedding/add-our-gifts/featured-brands/royal-velvet/royal-velvet-plaza-blackout-lined-grommet-top-curtain-panel-/prod.jump?ppId=pp5001340489&catId=cat100260235&
With the windows you have already covered in blinds, I would suggest curtains with the blackout lining. Then you can have light colored curtains to coordinate with your darker wall color. And you can pull them back during the day. The lining would be easy to make...just straight seams.
Let us know what you decide and a photo of the results!
We hung the simplest white blackout curtains behind some pretty curtains, clipping them together with curtain clips and hanging them to a single rod. That's a removable solution. You could do this and see how you liked it.
I did something like this in my daughter's room (we're in Alaska, with all night light). I got cheap blackout curtains from Burlington Coat Factory ($20-ish), with the rings sewn into the top for the rod. I got another set of very light purple, regular curtains that have the same rings. They work together like a charm, and I can't see the dark blackout curtains, so it doesn't look weird. It was cheap, super fast, and can be taken apart in winter.
I was also going to say blackout curtains with a pretty curtain in front. I think we got our blackout curtains at Bed Bath & Beyond (they are white). They are indeed a little shower-curtainy on their own, so something in front would be nice.
I bought a pair of white (shower curtain like) black out curtains from Bed Bath and Beyond years ago - and I lost them and am desperately searching for them again. I read in this post that you may have bought similar curtains? With a magnet on the edge of them? If so please please tell me the brand/any info on the curtains so I can search and try to find them again
Sierra Trading Post often has great deals on curtains.
Our bedrooms in both houses we've owned have faced south and had big windows so I've struggled with keeping the light out. I've installed these curtain rods - http://www.target.com/p/umbra-drapery-rod-bronze/-/A-14151118#prodSlot=medium_1_53 - which make the curtain go right to the wall, leaving only a bit of uplighting from the windows. If you got long enough curtains to hang them at ceiling height they would do an amazing job of keeping out all light.(We have 4 windows in our bedroom and high ceilings - getting that many heavy curtains that long would have added quite a bit to to the cost!) I also found these curtains - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008CFMS78/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1 - that do a wonderful job of keeping out the light. I previously used Country Curtains blackout curtains, which did the job but are VERY heavy and I found them difficult to deal with. They were not very attractive, but again, did the job. I hope you find a solution soon - good luck!
I sewed some simple blackout curtains for my daughters' rooms to help with nap time and those summer bedtimes when the sun is still shining and the girls think it is way too bright to go to sleep
I just used a cotton quilting fabric for the front and a heavier dark colored cotton for the lining. I learned the hard way to be sure to use fabrics of the same material blend as on one set of curtains, the lining shrank more than the decorative fabric. Also, I hemmed the lining and outside fabrics separately, but I sewed both layers together for the side seams and at the top to make the pocket for the curtain rod. We have metal curtain tie backs and I have found that I can slide the sides of the curtains in between the tie backs and the wall (the opposite of where you would normally tuck them) and it holds the curtains against the wall so less light peeks in.
Hopefully all of that made sense! While it is not pitch black, it is dark.
Good luck!
Use "thermal" curtains. They're a lot more options available for these than for "blackout" curtains. I had them in every room when I lived in Arizona to help block the afternoon heat in the summer, and they blocked out the light completely. I got mine from the JCPenney catalog, but I've seen them in Target and Walmart.
IKEA Tupplur are high quality, inexpensive, and have the better darkening than the hardware store brands.http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80228462/
I've gotten some sand/tan colored blackout curtains from walmart. The materi is heavy, but they look nice and when I tie them back to let the light in my bedroom, they look like your average curtain. I believe they're about $9-$14 a panel: they're the Eclipse brand, but either them or the walmart brand are about the same, I've purchased both to keep things cool in my upper apartment. Hope this helps!
We have the Eclipse ones from Walmart. Reasonably priced and have lasted several years.
We got these at target.
http://m.target.com/p/threshold-uptown-stripe-light-block-window-panel/-/A-14368563
They aren't called black out, they are called light block but they work for us. I frequently go to bed much earlier than the sun, and these keep most of the light out. (Enough that if I have them closed during the day I have to turn the light on in my bedroom to see.)
I just bought thermal black out curtains off of Amazon.... My sliding glass doors that face west I bought burgundy ones.... We already can tell the difference on the warmer days...I bought mine to save on my electric bill.... I was so happy with them that I went and bought more but in beige for the front window in my living room and the side window in the living room.... I will be buying more of them for the bedrooms that face west... And they do a great job keeping the light out of the rooms....
We use insulated curtains. They are very thick -insulated - come in all kinds of patterns and colors and are very effective at blocking out the light. As an added bonus you can also pull them across during the cold winter nights as extra insulation for the windows against the cold or on fierce hot days to help keep the heat out! And when you need them you just pull them across. Finished, pull them open. Easy. No messing with Velcro. You will want to overlap them well each side of the window to keep out maximum light. Good luck, and good sleeping. I used to hate working nights and sleeping days.
Ikea has a blackout liner that you can connect to any of their curtains - we use those in our son's room and they work well - not 100% block but they're good and you can't tell from the front that they're blackout. Or, Walmart has some colored blackout curtains that I paired with a sheer for our room, also recommend. And in our nursery I just found some cheap brown curtains at Target and they work just as well as the actual blackout options.
I'm having the same dilemma with curtains for my daughter's room!
I bought "room darkening" curtains that blocked "98%" of the light (that 2% that got through was super bright....) but returned them.
My plan at the moment is to make curtains and use the backing from Joann's. I'll make them with loops so we can open them during the day. I don't know if it will block ALL the light, but it will be better than the fleece blankets we have pinned to her curtain rods currently. 😉
Roman shades are not that difficult to make, and would not be expensive. Then you would have much more options for fabric and could truly make them custom-fitted to your windows. Curtains or shades with blackout fabric would work. I think the choice is more what works better with your decor.
I'm glad you're asking around first, as you can spend a lot of money on window treatments, often unnecessarily. My husband has worked night shifts for 17 years and we've tried many frugal things. The light always seems to sneak around or up the top of the window, no matter what we tried. THe only thing that worked is the ugly process of putting something in the window -- his night crew's choice is black plastic (bag) covered thin styrofoam sheeting (I think 1/4 inch thick) being sure to leave some duct tape as a tab sticking out for edge -- otherwise it fits so snugly into the window it's difficult to remove). THEN, after all of those years of struggle, we finally discovered the beauty of using a night eye mask instead. Cheap, easy; and doesn't take very long to get used to -- becomes difficult to sleep without them, out of sheer habit! Great for travel too with those pesky hotel curtains that never keep out the light either! Good luck with whatever you choose .........
I second the night mask!
I use one of these and its pretty fantastic as long as you stay pretty still when you sleep. I move around on occasion, and mine will come off. As long as I sleep still though its great.
Our bedroom has blackout lining attached the curtains but a lot of light still gets around the top as the rail is outside the frame. The kids room has a roller blind, a curtain and an additional blanket tightly tucked in around the frame. At this time of year we get around 5 hours of darkness so they're pretty essential.
I work nights as a nurse so three to four days a week I sleep during the day in a previously light flooded bedroom. Our dresser sits in front of our bay window so my husband came up with a great idea to block the light. He bought a standard blackout roller shade and hung it behind the dresser and added two small hooks just above the top of the window frame. When I go in to sleep I pull the shade up to the top of the frame and hook it. When I'm not sleeping the shade is hidden behind the dresser.
Kristen, when I worked third shift I temporarily hung a dark, dark heavy sheet, I believe they were navy or burgundy over the windows on small hooks that were barely noticeable when I took the sheets down which I did every day when I woke up.. By doing this my monetary costs were inexpensive as I bought twin sheets on clearance. Also they took up little space folded when not in use on my days off. Good luck to you!
Living in Arizona, I need these on the west side of my house to reduce the heat coming in. Move your blinds in towards the room enough to allow you to put in a rolling window shade. You can get black out ones, even in white. The top of your blinds will hide the shade when it is rolled up. It works really well for us.
We have backouts in our son's room. What we did was get fairly inexpensive ones from target. They come a myriad of colors... we went with a light tan. We then got some pressure rods, and I simply hemmed the curtains to the specifics of our son's windows... and mounted them behind the blinds. When I want to use them, they open and close easily and I close the blinds. Can't tell that we even have curtains at that point, but it serves the purpose of blacking out the room.
I love my eclipse curtains, and you can get a better choice of colors on amazon. For such a little window, you may have to alter them, but they're very worth the price.
Since you sew, I recommend Warm Window. It can be pleated vertically, drape style; or horizontally, Roman-shade style. When assembling, you can also add magnetic material to adhere it to the wall, but if you weight it properly, it doesn't necessarily have to be adhered.
I second the Warm Window shades. I have them in my bedroom, and they are great for keeping out light, cold and heat. They're not difficult to sew, and your choice of fabric is almost limitless. In addition, they look beautiful and professional. I'm planning to make a set for my living room to keep the sun off our newly installed walnut flooring. I would suggest the outside mount to get the most room darkening effect.
Warm window is not s blackout lining even though it is advertised as such. Every 6 inches they have a row of fused dots that lets light through. You wind up with tons of light. Makes me think the insulating value us not that good either, given the amount of light coming through. Stick with blackout lining and bump for both insulation and blackout. Very disappointed as it took days to make. I was covering a 106" wide window. Any one have a blackout tape product to recommend? I need to take the whole thing apart now.
I found a wonderful deal on blackout curtains at Big Lots and Garden Ridge (not sure if you have either of these). Both places had light color curtains. They work great.
I bought some from Wal-Mart before but they are not as thick and do not work as well, in my opinion.
We bought ours at big lots, too.
You might re-consider dark curtains - if you can coordinate with wall color, and overhang them so you can totally free up the window (get all the light) when you open them, it wouldn't necessarily feel any darker or more closed in. We had dark colored (just lined, not blackout) curtains in our room, then switched them for light-colored blackout ones... We ended up regretting that; in our case, the dark ones worked SO much better at keeping out that morning sun!
For total black-out, (and insulation) what I have read is you want an "outside mount" on whichever you choose, which means the hardware would go either on the window casing or the wall, and not inside the framing as you have with your current blinds (that's an inside mount).
I sewed drapes with a thermal lining for our bedroom and it still wasn't dark enough. So I wound up buying blackout curtains (from Target) to sew to the backing of the drapes that I had previously sewed. For my daughters' room we ordered blackout roller shades. Pretty good at darkening the room, but not much in insulation.
And don't forget, if you do an outside mount, you may also need some sort of cornice to catch the light that leaks out at the top of the drape/curtain/shade. There are lots of easy ideas on pinterest for making foam core cornices or lightweight plywood ones, then pad with batting and cover with fabric.
Good luck!
Another option would be to use a blackout roller shade (exterior mount to avoid light leaking in through the sides) and to make the cornice to cover the ugliness of the shades. I don't like the look of shades, but they do a great job of blocking light. Then you can make the size and use the fabric that suits your tastes. I recently made cornices out of foam core with batting and fabric--I am NOT a seamstress, BTW--and they look fabulous! You can pull off a seriously professional-looking window treatment with very little money and without any great DIY skills. If you mount the cornices a little higher, it will make your ceilings look taller. Check out http://valfrazier.blogspot.com/2011/04/dyi-easy-cornice-board.html. This was one of several blogs that I referenced when making mine. Good luck and let us know what your solution is.
Definitely buy some you like and place a black out curtain liner on the back I had to do it on all our windows because of the amount of heat it blocks for our rooms and its spectacular! Totally worth the effort and then you get something you really love and like.
I'm actually having this same problem. We had some nice metal blinds that blocked light really well, but I couldn't clean them. So eventually they just got super gross and we had to throw them out. I bought a curtain panel that's supposed to block the light. I got it on clearance! So now I'm in the process of deciding whether to back some normal curtains with it, back some homemade roman blinds with it, or just plain make blinds out of it.
I made mine years ago & have loved them.
Our house faces full west & we have a terrible time keeping it cool from the summer sun. Plus, I've had 3rd shift workers a few times over the years as well.
In the main rooms & master bedroom I bought white blackout lining. I cut them to fit the inside of the window adding a few inches on the top & bottom to hem - you don't need to hem the sides because it doesn't unravel. I hemmed the top & bottom, bought two tension rods & slipped them into the pockets I made with the hems. One rod fits snugly at the top, the other at the bottom. To open them simply move the tension rod that's on the bottom to the top basically folding the blind in half, then neatly fold it again over that rod - as many times as you want for as high as you want it. I usually do it twice & it's enough for me. It looks like the traditional pull down blinds without the roller. Then I just hung my regular drapes or curtains like I normally do & close them for extra filtering around the edges of the black out blind. I've thought about painting these or stenciling a pretty border on them.
In my bathrooms & some bedrooms I made window quilts. (do a search on these for tutorials) You can buy a filtering lining for them but I just used a quilted fabric (so I could machine wash them) for the back & a decorative fabric that matched the room for the side facing in the house. I made them to work the same way with pockets at the top & bottom for tension rods & hung a valance at the top with no curtains. They don't block out as well as the drapery lining but they are much easier to wash - just toss them in the laundry. The lining I wipe down by hand & spot clean.
I'd love to see what you decide to do. I've been using mine for over 10 yrs & absolutely love them. On bright summer days the bedrooms are almost night time dark & much easier to keep cool for day time sleepers.
We recently redid our son's room since he moved out last year. I had just window quilts & a valance on his windows (a south & an east facing window) & I decided to add a simple tab - curtain panel as well. My husband sleeps there when he occasionally has to work at night. The extra panel has really added to the filtering making it much darker in there during the day. That gives me three tension rods at the top when they're open - the two for the quilt & one for the tab curtains - but the valance covers those & it doesn't look messy at all. Best of all everything is machine washable, I reused my son's old window quilts & valances & bought the panels at a thrift shop for $6 making it just $3 per window to update it & make them work better!
Hi . Just read an old post regarding room darkening shades you made. Not sure if I can get this to work on my daughters windows. She works noghts and struggles with keepung the room dark. Could you possibly email me some pictures? Mikebecky@hotmail.com
Thanks!
Becky
My whole house is decked out in blackout curtains for two reasons: blocking light and helping insulate in extreme temperatures.
My favorite solution has been:
1. For ultimate light blocking, buy this rod http://www.target.com/p/umbra-drapery-rod-bronze/-/A-14151118. Otherwise, buy a decorative rod that allows also you to use drapery clips.
2. Buy a curtain that makes you smile 🙂
3. Go to Joann's or Hobby Lobby and use your coupon to buy a huge piece of blackout fabric.
4. Go home and cut your blackout fabric to be just a touch smaller than your curtain (with your short windows, you don't have to make the blackout go nearly as long as your curtain) (blackout fabric doesn't fray so you simply need to cut it!!).
5. Hang your curtain rod fairly high above your window (this is to help reduce light coming in the top of the rod and makes your ceilings look taller).
6. Hang your curtain rod several inches to the side of your windows to help block light and to allow the curtain to not block any of the window during the day so that maximum light can come in.
7. Clip your blackout fabric behind your curtains!
8. Take a nap in the middle of the day to test out your new curtains!
This is probably a dumb question, but what about that particular rod makes it awesome?
And what clips would I use to attach the fabric to the back of my curtains? Is it better to clip it than to sew it?
Kristen, I went ahead and just wrote a blog post with pictures to answer your good questions!
http://www.feedingourlives.com/2014/05/step-by-step-method-to-darken-your-room.html
Good luck darkening your room!! Keep us posted on what you decide!
-Renee
Thank you! I'll go check it out.
Renee, I love your method! I wish I had known about these curtain rod/clip option when I adapted my curtains. I hand-sewed my blackout material onto my existing curtains (I don't have a sewing machine). It works quite well, but I have the issue where light comes through at the sides of the windows. I also love the ease of changing out curtains/washing them!
We have custom plantation shutters( danmer), we love them. We got a tax credit because they are energy efficient. They weren't cheap, but they keep the house a lot cooler in the summer and they block out all light.
I am a nurse and worked night shift for many years. For the first few years I tried sleep masks and dark-colored roman shades, which were so-so. Then I found these: http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Solid-Insulated-63-inch-Blackout-Tie-Up-Shade/3245240/product.html?searchidx=3. I have them in the sage green color. I hung them on a curtain rod from the window frame over the roman shades (which are inside mount like yours), and between the 2 window coverings, we have very good light control. Can't believe I waited so long to buy these! Relatively cheap too. Lots of color options for you to choose from, and I think they are attractive in a casual sort of way.
What we did was cut a piece of plywood to exactly fit in the window and painted it black. We also put a small hole in the top so we could easily grab it and pull it out. Worked like a charm. We tried a lot of different options before thinking of that one. None of the others worked.
You could paint the inside of the plywood to match your wall color. In fact the outside doesn't have to be black at all. The wood blocks the light, not the color. LOL
It's weird. I submitted this comment very early this morning. I got the comment back in an email sent to me and it was never posted???
That's a great idea for me, just have to measure very accurate for two 6' W x 34"L clerestory windows in our bedroom. Then we have 2 glass sliders 6' W x 96"L that meet in the same corner under the clerestory windows. Can't use wood there, but blackout drapes over the 2" horizontal blinds. This has been such a window treatment nightmare!
I bought curtains I liked and then had a seamstress sew blackout fabric from Jo-Ann Fabric onto the back of the curtains to create blackout curtains. (Unfortunately, I never learned to sew and had to pay for a seamstress to do this work.) This worked great because I got the curtains I wanted and the blackout feature I needed. The bedroom is now dark and peaceful, even in the morning when the sun comes up.
Another blogger I follow recently raved about some blackout curtains she purchased for her toddler's room. She liked them so much she bought them for her master bedroom. She bought her curtains from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001A67EHA/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1&tag=wwwshopstylec-20&ascsubtag=980563725&tag=wwwshopstylec-20
I purchased some blackout curtains at Bed Bath Beyond to use with our wood blinds in our guest bedroom and they work beautifully. They're decorative AND serve their purpose for keeping the room dark if someone wants to 'get away' for a nap during the day 😉
Can you replace the blinds with a roller shade? We did that in our bedroom and it works great to block the light. With a nice window treatment at the top of the window, you wouldn't even see the shade when it's up.
I lined fabric I liked with black out fabric for the windows in my kid's rooms. My parents have those vinal shades on a roller, which doesn't look as bad I would have thought. I've never seen blinds that effectively blocked light. Good luck!
We got black out shades for my kids room, and just replaced our blinds with them for now. They were reasonable and do a good job.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Blackout-Fabric-Cordless-Cellular-Easy-Lift-Shade-White/17772641
I bought white, light-blocking pleated shades from JC Penney when they were 50% off. We love them. I think Home Depot sells them too, but we have odd-sized windows so couldn't get the ready-made.
We simply use a blackout curtain w/a decorative front w/ two push tension rods. top and bottom.
easy to close, easy to open if you need a tiny breeze at the bottom and easy to push up mostly fully open. If you use a cafe style top curtain, hides everything.
The curtain folds over edges of push rods entirely,
good luck!
Lynn
I have these cream colored velvet curtains from target.
http://www.target.com/p/threshold-velvet-light-block-window-panel/-/A-14368465#prodSlot=large_1_8
It is not pitch black in my room but it is very dark and I think these work just as well as the dark brown light blocking curtains I had before these.
As others have mentioned it helps to hang the rods outside the windows and higher than the window trim. I just did a little test in my bedroom and most of the light was coming in at the top of my window. My curtain rod is right above the window trim and I'm using the clip rings which makes the curtains hang down a little bit.
Incidentally, I like the clip rings for hanging heavier curtains so it is easier to open and close them, my daughter has some insulated rod pocket curtains and it is very hard to push them open.
My sons have a Roman, blackout shade (stringless/ blue stripes) from Country Curtains. Though it was a bit pricey, it works great.
Kristen,
I have dark roller shades in my kids windows so they're nice and dark for naps, etc. They aren't he most decorative or even fancy things in the world, but they do the trick and they're cheap. We got ours at Blinds To Go, in Michigan, but I know they have closed all MI stores. I'm not sure if other states have them open still...but I'm sure you could find something similar elsewhere. I love them and my kids sleep awesome in a nice dark room even in the middle of the day!!!
Kristen,
Andrea from andreadeaker.com wrote this post about her choice of black out blinds. When I read your post this article came back to mind.
http://andreadekker.com/favorite-things-9-13/
Hope it helps in making your choice.
Ooh, that looks perfect and I was all excited until I saw that they don't come in my window width. I have an oddly shaped window, which is 33.5 inches wide. Boo.
I just made curtains for my pack and play since my little one can't sleep when it's light out and I used that fabric from Joann and this tutorial:
http://www.tenjuneblog.com/2012/08/diy-blackout-panel-curtain-tutorial-how.html
It was really easy and only took me 2 days to make 4 panels and a cover for the pack and play. You could whip up 3 curtains in no time doing this.
We put up a set of cheap black-out redi shades in our bedroom years ago--they just peel and stick on and you clip them up when not in use--they are really small and not very noticeable. You could put some sort of valance or box over the top if you wanted. We only use them in certain seasons when the trees aren't leafed out and the sun is coming up at just the right angle. But they work fine, are super cheap, and really easy to put up (or take down). I think we paid about $5-$7 each for them at Home Depot about 6 years ago.
http://redishade.com/store/rs_blackout.html
Could you skip the blinds and try a mindfold? http://www.mindfold.com. It's a sleep mask made so that you can open your eyes while wearing it. We've used them for years because we live in a city where it never gets really dark. They're very comfortable, really black out the light, wonderful for taking naps and traveling, won't mess up your windows, and cost less than three blinds, even with one for each of you! We give them as presents when our friends get jealous.
Bed Bath & Beyond has blackout panels you could cut to length
I prefer using thermal curtains. Especially if you allow lots of folds, it really blocks out the light and does a great job insulating the rooms with regards to heat / cold. You also get some awesome colors 🙂
Not a big fan of blinds. Always lets in light somewhere
See black out lining behind your existing curtains. It's so easy really. Buy he black out lining fabric from jo Ann's. If you don't have one, you can order online. Use a 40% off coupon that they regularly offer in the circulator. Match up the fabric with the length of the curtain drape you already have. See a straight line along the top. So easy and done. I have done this for several rooms and it is a very In-expensive option
We use blackout curtains purchased at IKEA for my son's room. They are silver on one side and (nearly) black on the other. They are quite large, so I hung them lengthwise and double behind the existing curtains. I alternated clips/rings on the rod between the regular curtain rings so they all pull back together.
I had a similar problem when I wanted to replace our dark brown blackout thermal curtains with something lighter. I ended up getting the curtains I wanted from World Market (a pretty blue flroal pattern on a white backgroudn) and ordered fomr balckout/thermal liners off Amazon (these ones: http://www.amazon.com/Thermalogic-Ultimate-Window-Liner-45/dp/B005C93ZZ6/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1401173707&sr=1-1&keywords=Thermalogic+Ultimate+Window+Liner). They work PERFECTLY! The light is truly blocked and if it weren't for the gap at the top of the rod it would be pitch black in our bedroom. Next house I will hang the rods closer to the ceiling to avoid that problem. It has been really nice when my hubby had had to work nights and he slept all day, he gets the dark room during the day and I get my cute curtains!
Oh my gosh, my typing got messed up. It should read: I ended up getting the curtains I wanted from World Market (a pretty blue floral pattern on a white background) and ordered some blackout/thermal liners off Amazon
You should check out Ikea's block out curtain and shade selection. The sun never really sets in the Swedish summer which makes these necessary for everyone. The shades pull down to block the sun and you raise them to let in light. I haven't seen these curtains with lighter fronts -- I think you would have to double up with curtains as well.
good luck,
Kamil
You can buy blackout fabric at JoAnns and make your own curtains. I did this for our house and I love them! I had the same problem when I was looking for blackout curtains, the selection is just not that great. Buying your own fabric should eliminate that problem 🙂
We have the long version of these, in the beige color: http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Solid-63-Inch-Insulated-Thermal-Blackout-Panel-Pair/2946006/product.html?searchidx=2
They block out all the light coming through the window. We did not velcro the edges to the wall, so a little bit of light does get through around the edges, but it work well enough for my husband to sleep all day when he is on night shift.
I bought these when my husband started working night shift. We really like them and they have worked very well.
http://amzn.com/B003S6QBF6
I saw this on Nom Nom Paleo, she works the night shift...
http://nomnompaleo.com/post/55156756199/surviving-the-night-shift
I love the light streaming in during the day (when husband is not sleeping), so we hung a double rod with pretty white mesh curtains on the bottom, and black black-out curtains on the top- our room is a champagne color with black and white accents. I used the curtain rings on the black-outs, so opening and closing the curtains is a breeze.
Kristen,
I've purchased several blackout curtains in different colors for my kids rooms since without them they would be up with the sun, and I don't want to be up that early. From my experience only the dark colored ones "really" block out the light. My daughter has some pink ones and the sun shines thru to brighten the room. It is likely much darker in there with than without but definitely no black out. I also close the blinds behind them shut when the curtains are drawn to give a better idea. We have similar blinds to yours in our windows. My son has navy blue blackout curtains and I absolutely have to turn on a light of some sort to go get him from his crib. If not I may trip over the rug or something. It's VERY dark. the only time any light comes in his room thru these is when the sun is right on his window and its only a little seepage on the sides. It is not enough to keep him up during naptime despite his severe light sensitivity when trying to sleep. It's no brighter than a night light. My oldest has Chocolate brown black out curtains in her room, and again....super dark when drawn.
So if you want lighter curtains but a good blackout effect, and less expensive...I would definitely make them myself because the commercially sold ones don't cut it. Or you could find some inexpensive curtains you like and just add some good blackout fabric(maybe double up) to those.
Hope that helps!
Buy the blackout curtains and sew your preferred curtain to the front.
Hey! My hubby works 3rd so we have "blackened" our bedroom so he can sleep during the day. We first bought black-out curtains from Sears. We bought Navy blue but I have seen light colored ones as well at Sears, Kohls, BB&B, etc. Yesterday, we took down our faux wood blinds (similar to those you pictured) and replaced them with Bali double-cell blackout blinds. I purchased the kind that you can open from either the top or the bottom or both. Before we installed those, I had to leave our curtains closed ALL the time because the faux wood blinds didn't make it dark enough. We can now leave the curtains open so it doesn't seem quite so morbid and they are so easy to open when I want to let some light in. They are sandy colored on the inside but show white on the outside so they still blend with the window frames. They were super easy to install too. Just have to make sure you get the right measurements for a snug fit. Good luck!
My suggestion would be window quilts, that is energy saving, heat out or cold out as well, pretty and frugal if you make it from scraps from the kids clothes or yours or hubby's. Good luck, I know about sleeping during the day some. Also another suggestion is the eye covering, like in beauty treatments, those can be sewn pretty easily too and that is another frugal and practical thing. Good luck.
I was a night nurse for years and had this same problem. I used a tension rod and clip on hooks which I clipped to the edge of a fleece blanket and put it in the window. If it was a window with blinds, the closed blinds and the blanket did a good job of darkening my room. If no blinds, I hung curtains over it all, and that worked, too.
I am a little late reading this but we have these blackout curtains in the girls room and they do a great job. They are a little pricey BUT I had tried cheaper ones before and was VERY disappointed. You probaply only need one panel per window since the window seems to be on the small side.
My mother made me a set of very simple, tabbed curtains out of faux leather material from a fabric store. I have severe dust allergies and being able to wipe them down was fantastic. It turns out they also make a fantastic set of blackout curtains since the material is thick. They also look really nice.
Hi Kristen!
You've received a lot if great comments. Mine is pretty simple. Buy the dark curtains others have suggested. Get 3 curtain rods, each 2 feet longer than your window is wide. I think a black metal would look nice with your color scheme. Leave your current white blinds intact.
Center each rod over the window. When you wish to have sunlight in the room, separate your curtains and push them to the far left and right. They will flank, but not obstruct the window since you have extra rod length.
I think the crazy number of responses you received over these curtains is a testament to your awesomeness!! Love your blog!
- Kim from Philadelphia
Interesting concept - could you post a picture of the placement of the 3 rods ?
Hi Kristen.
I had the same issue in my apartment. My grandmother gave me white/silver blackout curtains that she didn't need any longer. They are very ugly indeed and do have the shower curtain feel to them.
As they were free AND very efficient, I decided to keep them, but I put beautiful red cotton curtains over them, facing inside my apartment. The plastic blackout curtains are facing outside (behind the red ones). They are completely invisible from the inside.
Another option, but far more expensive, would be to install shutters. That's what my grandmother - she had to change all her windows anyway. She chose the electric thingies that are really handy and efficient.
Hope this helps!
F.
Over here in the UK I would just have curtains made with any fabric you like and a blackout lining behind. I don't know if bespoke curtains are a big industry over in the US but here that would be easy to do, and for simple windows like that, not vastly expensive. Most people have curtains which are non-standard so bespoke curtains are easy to get.
We live far enough north that blackout curtains are required in the summer for the kids to get any sleep!
I ended up making a curtain for their one big window - fabric from JoAnn, sewed with a simple sleeve at the top for a rod, and with blackout fabric (bought with a coupon) sewed along the seam of the pocket to hang loose behind the curtain. You really don't need to attach it everywhere - just a single seam across the top is enough, and helps to avoid weird sags or bulges if you didn't get all the edge seams perfectly aligned.
We had a similar situation because we live in Denver and it gets light here super early in the morning! I was super reluctant to try out "faux silk" curtains from Wal-Mart, but I couldn't be happier with them. They could easily be fancied up with some trim sew along the edges. They come in a few light colors.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Better-Homes-and-Gardens-Back-Tab-Window-Panel/20927048
They are $21 per panel which is a really fair price!
Good luck!
My son is super sensetive to light so in the hopes of more sleep for us all I kept his light colored curtains and added those clip-on curtain rings. Because I could attach a piece of blackout fabric to the back, but didn't have to sew it on, the curtains are easy to take down/wash etc. we haven't had any trouble with the being light colored/letting in too much light.
Hi Kristen,
I see that this post was written over 2 years ago, so you've probably found a solution by now, but I wanted to share a tutorial that I wrote on making your own DIY No-Sew Removable Blackout Curtain Liners. I had a set of curtains that I wanted to turn into blackout curtains without permanently attaching the liner to the curtain. I bought some blackout liner fabric and made some liners that look seamless, but are completely detachable. And it cost less than $20 per panel! You can check out the full tutorial here: https://seagraindesign.wordpress.com/2016/09/14/diy-no-sew-blackout-curtain-liners/
Cheers!
Rachel
As I was reading your article about blackout window treatment suggestions, you talk about having issues finding blackout curtains that would match your burgundy walls. I assume that you have thought about window blind coverings. My husband and I had a hard time finding the right kind of blackout curtains for our babies room.