Are blackout blinds worth it?

Are blackout blinds worth it? If you hate sun, can’t sleep if there’s even the slightest amount of light getting in, or the ambience of your daytime online poker games require zero natural light and a flickering neon glow in order to allow you to play at your best, then yes.

If you need to get on Zoom and ensure you can fully control the light, can’t see your car on Grand Theft Auto at certain times of the day, or are like, a mole? Chinchilla? Or something else nocturnal, then that’s another “yes” to be going on with too.

All of this does depend of course on your blackout blinds doing exactly what they say on the tin, i.e., more or less entirely blacking/blocking out light. No stray rays, no “slightly gloomier but still light,” nothing.

In this blog post, I’ll outline a few applications for which blackout blinds are totally worth it, and also answer the question of “are blackout blinds better than curtains.”

Are blackout blinds worth it for bedrooms?

Use in bedrooms is probably the most popular and certainly obvious application of blackout blinds. They can help you to get a good night’s sleep, or if you work nights or otherwise odd shifts, good day’s sleep for that matter too, with the whole point being that you get total control over the external light.

Blackout blinds for children’s rooms can also help to improve your own sleep too by proxy, as they may help to keep the kids away from you for longer (ooh, we should definitely use that as a marketing slogan) and basically, stop the sun waking you, or your family, up at a time other than your choosing.

Are blackout blinds worth it for other rooms?

Why blackout blinds for other rooms than the ones you sleep in might be warranted at all isn’t always obvious to anyone who hasn’t dealt with one of the scenarios I’m about to outline.

Blackout blinds have a wide range of other applications too, instead of or as well as “ you being asleep.”

If any sort of screen glare or lighting-on-a-screen-you’re-watching issue is a problem or preference, be that for work-related Zoom, daytime horror movie binges, gaming, or anything else, blackout blinds might be a good pick.

Blackout blinds can also help you to keep rooms cool in summer, and of course, darken a room more or less entirely for any potential application, which, let your imagination knock you out there if you wish, but I personally was not thinking of anything rude.

Oh, one other thing, blackout blinds can protect things in the room they’re used in (and the pretty side of the blind itself) against fading or discolouring over time from UV exposure… Greatly reducing the frequency at which everything from your carpets, wallpaper, and soft furnishings start to look a little tired and in need of replacement.

Are made-to-measure blackout blinds worth it?

Most definitely. However impenetrable the fabric of a blackout blind is itself, if there’s gaps around the edges or poor workmanship involved, the benefits will be negated or greatly reduced and the sun is gonna get ya. Readymade blackout blinds almost always have to be cut to size or trimmed to fit to some extent, which impacts upon their blacken-outing-ability and increases their gappy-failability in its turn.

Also, good quality made-to-measure blackout blinds are far more thermally efficient, giving you an offset cost saving on your heating bills…

Are blackout blinds better than curtains?

“Better” is a somewhat loaded or contentious statement here, because while blinds of different types can be used in many more functions than curtains and for many more applications, a big part of the “blinds or curtains, which is better” argument comes down to nothing more than personal preference.

Preferences aside, however, blackout blinds are far most cost-effective like for like than blackout curtains (particularly for good quality options of either type) and they also give you a more exact/snug fit to the window.

The pros and cons of blackout blinds vs. blackout curtains summed up are:

Team Blinds

• Blackout blinds are cheaper than blackout curtains like-for-like.
• Blackout blinds come in faaaar more different types and styles than curtains, which gives you many more options on both appearance and function.
• Blackout blinds are easier to install in most cases, and almost always easier to clean, than blackout curtains.
• Blackout blinds can be made in PVC or vinyl and so, used in rooms that are wet or humid.
• Blackout blinds are lightweight and easy to operate, plus they don’t look weird left half open and half closed…
• They have a smaller footprint and take up less space around the window and in the room.
• Your cat can’t climb them. Usually. I mean, my cat can, but he’s not normal.

Team Curtains

• Blackout blinds will always have a very small degree of light leakage around the edges, although this is too small to be noticed by all but the most sensitive of people when the blind is fitted properly.
• Blackout curtains are even more thermally efficient than blackout blinds.
• Blackout curtains also have a greater noise-dampening effect on the outside world.

Don’t know which to choose? Don’t want to offend either blinds or curtains, don’t feel you should have to pick a side? Ok.

For a best-of-both-worlds approach and/or if you really, really hate light and cannot be doing with it, we suggest a made-to-measure blackout blind inside of the window recess, with a pair of good quality blackout curtains over it.