When choosing curtains with a blackout effect, it seems that it is very simple and it is enough to take a dense or light-blocking fabric and that will be enough. But do not forget that such curtains will affect the interior, since they will not only solve one problem, but will also darken the entire room. When choosing, you should pay attention to some details. Let's consider the options when installing curtains with complete blackout is required:
The computer or TV screen is shining, and there is no way to rearrange it;
The sun shines too much through the windows in the morning;
There is a billboard next to the house that glows at night and interferes with a restful sleep;
Any light prevents the child from falling asleep and it is necessary to create complete darkness for a restful sleep;
You sleep during the day and work at night, and during the daytime you need to create 100% darkness for a restful sleep;
There is a projector in the office or at home that needs to be turned on during the day, for example, to give presentations or watch movies.
Issues of this kind can be resolved with the help of simple curtains or with the use of thick blackout fabrics.
Options when 100% darkening of the room is not required, but it is enough to choose the right fabric:
The need to leave light in the room because complete darkness will not be comfortable;
Windows on the lower floors, which are covered by trees, in this case less light naturally enters the room and if it is completely darkened, it will disappear altogether;
Situations in which curtains can be used as light filters to color the light to the desired shade, curtains with 100% blackout do not provide such an effect.
Often, when complete blackout is required, blackout fabrics are used; this is the most popular choice, which is often offered if the client wants to block out the sunlight. The light transmission of such fabrics is zero because they are on a special rubberized base on the outside of the window; from the inside, the fabric can be of any color; even if the fabric darkens the window, it itself does not have to be black. The result is a combination in which the fabric performs a decorative function, and the rubberized base is responsible for functionality.
Full blackout fabric combines well with curtains and other types of curtains. For example, a window should let in light or be covered with curtains in the color of the walls, while roller blinds can hang neatly on the windows in a roll without attracting attention, but when there is a need for complete darkness. Roller blinds are lowered and the fabric blocks the light flow. At the same time, the fabric can easily be matched to the interior.
Don't forget about the disadvantages of blackout fabrics. They help you fall asleep well, but when the sun rises, it will not enter the room while the curtains are down, so in the morning such curtains can be partially disorienting due to the lack of “dawn”.
The color of the curtain does not affect light transmission. For some reason, a stereotype has developed that says that dark curtains darken the room more, this is partly true because rolled fabrics are light filters, that is, with the use of red fabrics, furniture elements and walls next to the curtain will be painted red, but if the curtain black and the color from it will be black, which creates a feeling of darkness, although this is not always the case. The easiest way to determine the level of light transmission is to take a phone flashlight and apply it to the fabric; if the fabric from the blackout series does not transmit light at all, other types of fabrics, regardless of color, will be translucent.
Roller blinds or blinds with full blackout
They solve problems well where it is necessary to use a compact curtain with a blackout effect; often, in order to achieve a similar effect, it is necessary to install curtains with dense, heavy fabrics as an alternative. Roller blinds are perfect for an office or kitchen, and with the help of a variety of fabric colors, it is easy to choose a curtain for other rooms with a more sophisticated interior.
The disadvantages include the severity of the designs; it is a rectangular fabric without folds, which in some types of interior may seem too formal. In addition, roller blinds are an excellent option for sun protection for allergy sufferers, because the fabric is coated with a special impregnation and does not accumulate dust and also does not itself emit harmful substances or excess odors when heated in the sun.
There is another small life hack that often no one uses - these are protective roller shutters. When the roller shutter is in the box, it is not visible from the room, and it does not in any way affect the visibility of the room, and if darkening is necessary, it is enough to lower the roller shutter curtain, which will completely block the light from the street; roller shutters also have additional advantages in the form of sound insulation and protection against heat loss in the winter time. It turns out in this combination that we have complete darkening of the room, which in no way affects the interior of the room and you can easily use classic translucent curtains to partially darken the room.
If you need to regulate the amount of light in the room from partial to complete darkening, you can combine several fabric options. For example, blackout and regular curtains or tulle and roller shutters. With the help of such combinations, it is possible to maintain privacy without completely blocking the light flow. In turn, in the evening, the curtain will work the other way around; if you stand next to the window, and there is a light source inside, then silhouettes from the street will be clearly visible, which is not always good.
Bottom line - before choosing curtains, you should always think a little, because there are many options and combinations, both in color and fabric density, as well as the number of curtains. When installing blackout fabric, it can easily be combined with other types of sun protection to achieve maximum functionality.