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This really just comes down to your own personal preference in most cases. The colour of a blind doesn’t dictate its performance in any way, and neither dark blinds nor light blinds have an edge or disadvantage comparatively.
However, depending on the sort of look and finish you’re trying to achieve in your room or factors like how much light the room gets during the day, you might find that one option is a better choice for you than the other. This blog post will tell you whether dark blinds or light blinds are better in different situations, and why.
Are dark or light blinds better to achieve a full blackout?
The answer to this one can come as a surprise to some people, because it seems like a no-brainer that a blackout blind is going to be most effective in a dark colour, right? Wrong! Whilst your logic is impeccable, it is also wholly incorrect!
If you’re dealing with regular blinds (dimout blinds, if you will) then it does stand to reason that light coming through a darker fabric will appear dimmer than light coming through a paler fabric. But blackout blinds aren’t reliant on being dark in colour in order to work; blackout blinds are made that way thanks to an impermeable lining, which is, interestingly enough, most commonly white!
Ultimately then, as long as you choose an actual blackout blind (rather than picking a blind on the basis of its colour and how effective you think this should be in theory at keeping the sun out) it doesn’t matter if the room-facing part of the blind is light or dark.
Are dark or light blinds better to dim the room?
If, on the other hand, you want to dim the light in the room but not black it out entirely, how dark the fabric of the blind is will play a part (assuming that we’re talking here about actual fabric blinds, not those made of solid materials like wood or rigid PVC).
So, are dark or light blinds better to dim the room? Dark in this situation, but it depends to an extent on how dim you want the room to be, and the sort of tone that you want the light that does filter through to have.
Also, the colour or tone of the blinds isn’t the only way to dim your room; you can choose light-filtering blinds like vertical blinds, Venetian blinds, wood or faux-wood blinds, or day and night blinds to the same effect, with colour once more not a factor at all.
Are dark or light blinds better in a room that gets a lot of sun?
If your room is an absolute sun trap, the colour of the blinds you have in it is once more, not really relevant. Very dark blinds aren’t going to make the room look overly dim when the blinds are open if the sun is bright, and neither will light blinds look incongruous either.
Are dark or light blinds better in a room that is be a bit dark and dingy?
Light blinds would generally be the right pick in this situation. If your room doesn’t get a lot of sun and can look a bit dark and dull even when it’s really bright outside, choosing blinds in a dark colour will bring the tone down even further. Light coloured blinds on the other hand, can help to reflect the light you do get, and give the room a little bit of a lift.
Are dark or light blinds better with certain designs and colour themes?
It might seem obvious that if the room and other furniture in it are dark or light respectively, you’d choose blinds to match. But that’s not a rule, and you can also contrast too; and most rooms do contain a combination of dark and light items all within the same colour theme or family.
The only thing I would caution here, is that regardless of the hues in play and even if you’re contrasting a lot of different shades or colours, you should keep the tone consistent; so a warm-themed or cool-themed design respectively should carry though all aspects of the room, including to the blinds.
