Getting a good night's sleep is much easier when your bedroom is dark and comfortable. However, early morning sunlight, streetlights and passing headlights can all make that difficult.
Blackout curtains are designed to give you greater control over the light coming through your windows. As well as helping you sleep, they can improve privacy, reduce glare and keep your room more comfortable throughout the year.
In this article, we cover the key benefits of blackout curtains and what to look for when choosing the right option for your home.
Do Blackout Curtains Really Help With Sleep?
Darkness plays an important role in helping your body wind down, so a bright bedroom can make it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Blackout curtains keep your bedroom dark at night and after the sun comes up. This makes them a popular choice for shift workers who sleep during the day, as well as for children's bedrooms and nurseries.
While blackout curtains won't solve every sleep problem, they do remove one cause of broken sleep that's easy to control: unwanted light.
What are the Benefits of Blackout Curtains?
Blackout curtains do much more than darken a bedroom at night. Here are some of the key benefits they offer throughout the day and across the seasons.
Reduce Early Morning Light
In summer, the sun can brighten a bedroom hours before you're ready to get up. Blackout curtains keep that light out, so you can sleep in without being woken by the sunrise.
Greater Privacy Day and Night
When closed, blackout curtains stop people from seeing into your home from the street or neighbouring properties. This is especially useful at night, when interior lights make it easy to see into a room with bare windows.
Reduce Heat and Glare
Strong direct sun can quickly heat a room and cause glare on TV and computer screens. Closing your blackout curtains during the hottest part of the day helps keep the room cooler and makes screens easier to see. This is ideal for west-facing bedrooms and living rooms.
Keep Your Home Warmer in Winter
Windows are one of the main places heat escapes from a home on cold nights. Heavy or lined curtains act as an extra layer between the room and the glass, slowing heat loss and keeping the room warmer longer. For best results, close your curtains at dusk to hold in the warmth built up during the day.
The difference you notice will depend on the window, the fabric and lining, and how well the curtains fit. Curtains can help improve comfort, but they're not a replacement for proper insulation.
Reduce Outside Noise
Heavier and layered fabrics can absorb some of the sound coming through your windows. While blackout curtains won't block out noise completely, they can soften the sound of traffic and voices compared with an uncovered window.
More Flexibility in How You Use a Room
Blackout curtains let you choose between natural light and darkness at any time of day. This makes them a practical option for rooms used at different times, such as a nursery where your little one naps during the day.
What to Look for When Choosing Blackout Curtains
Keeping a few key points in mind makes it easier to find the right blackout curtains for your space.
Blackout Fabric or Blackout Lining
Mr Blinds offers three options for creating darker rooms with curtains:
- Blackout fabric on a single track – offers the most light control and privacy in one simple layer
- Sheer fabric with a blackout lining – combines the soft look of a sheer with the light-blocking of a blackout lining, available on single or double tracks
- Sheer fabric with a dimout lining – softens incoming light without fully darkening the room
Colour and Texture
Because the blackout fabric or lining blocks light, you're free to choose the colour and texture that best suits your room. Explore our curtain fabric range and compare options against your walls, flooring and furniture to find the right match.
Coverage and Fit
Even the best blackout fabric will let light in if the curtain doesn't fit properly, as most light enters around the edges rather than through the fabric. Your curtains should extend past the window frame on both sides and sit below the sill, so accurate measuring is key.
Order Free Fabric Samples
Colours and textures can look quite different on screen or under showroom lighting. We recommend ordering free fabric samples so you can see them in your own home, in both daylight and evening light, before making a final decision.
Find Right Blackout Curtains for Your Home
Blackout curtains make a real difference to how a room feels, from darker mornings in summer to warmer evenings in winter. Choosing a fabric that suits your space and getting the fit right will help you get the most from them.
At Mr Blinds, we make every curtain to measure in our Mt Wellington workshop, and all our curtains come with a three-year warranty. Browse our blackout curtains range, or if you're in Auckland or Waikato, book a free in-home consultation and we'll help you find the right option for each room. Customers elsewhere in New Zealand can use our curtain measuring guide to order made-to-measure curtains delivered to their door.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Blackout Curtains Completely Opaque?
Blackout fabrics and linings stop light passing through the fabric itself. Some light can still come in around the edges, so well-fitted curtains that overlap the window will give you the darkest result.
Are Blackout Curtains Suitable for Living Rooms?
Yes. Blackout curtains work well in any room where you want more control over light, including living rooms, media rooms and nurseries.
Should I Choose Blackout Fabric or a Blackout Lining?
Choose blackout fabric if darkness is your priority. If you prefer the softer look of a sheer fabric, a sheer with a blackout lining will still give you a dark room when the curtains are closed.
Can I See Blackout Curtain Samples Before Ordering?
Yes. Mr Blinds offers free fabric samples, so you can see the colour and texture in your own home before you order.