A question we get asked a lot is ‘which blackout blinds are best?’
It is a question we usually get asked in the summer month because the children are waking very earlier, or many be someone working night and their bedroom is too bright to sleep in the daytime.
Vertical Blinds…avoid, avoid, avoid. Even with blackout fabrics a vertical blind is not an option if you need to block out sunlight due its design, being made of separate strips of fabric that will let light through the gaps between the strips.
The same is true of wooden venetian blinds. No light can get through the slats but as with the vertical blinds it can get through the gaps between them even when closed.
Roller Blinds with Blackout fabrics are by far the most popular type of ‘blackout blind’. This is mostly due to price and availability. When it comes to which blackout blinds are best the roller blinds do a pretty good job but they are best.
With all roller blinds you will have an 18mm gap at each side of the blind between the wall and where the fabric starts, not the best if you need blackout.
You will also have a gap at the top of your roller blind which is the room you need to allow the fabric to roll up. This light gap can be easily and very neatly blocked by adding a cassette to your roller blind.
A better option than a roller blind when it comes to blackout blinds is a Roman Blind.
More expensive than a roller blind, but with the big advantage that the fabric on a Roman Blind finishes flush with the end of the blind meaning the 18mm light gap on each side that you get with a roller blind is reduced to 4mm with a roman blind.
When ordering a Roman Blind as a blackout blind please make sure you request a blackout lining.
In my opinion when it comes to which blackout blinds are best? there is only 1 winner.
Honeycomb blinds with blackout fabric are brilliant at blocking out the maximum amount of sunlight.
As with the Roman Blinds the Honeycomb Blinds aren’t the cheapest option.
The honeycomb fabric runs right to the very end of the blind leaving very small gaps at the side.
The top of the blind has a light sealing brush strip to eliminate any light coming in at the top of the blind.
