Samples (
The main USP (unique selling point, I did a course) of blackout blinds is to block external light so that the sun can’t make it past the window to assault your retinas and fade your fabrics. However, a lesser-asked but equally valid question about blackout blinds is “can you see through blackout blinds from outside?
This question naturally tends to be less about whether or not “you” personally can see into your own home or office from the garden/car park, and more to the point, if a nosey neighbour hell bent on seeing your bum or a commercial competitor hell bent on seeing your PC screen can see in.
Whatever your reason for asking then, can you see through blackout blinds from outside? This technically depends on the type of blackout blinds you have, how well they fit the window, if they’re functioning properly, and your theoretical nosey randomer’s commitment to seeing in compared to their interest in not going to prison for spying.
In this blog post, I’ll answer a couple of important questions about blackout blinds and privacy such as “can you see though blackout blinds from the outside at night, in general, and if you try really hard in certain specific situations depending on the blind.” Read on to find out more.
Can you see though blackout roller blinds from outside at night?
Roller blinds are the most commonly requested type of blackout blind, and for good reason. They’re not hugely costly, come in the widest range of colours and designs, and when combined with a blackout coating, their fabric blocks 100% of light from passing through it.
This means that when it comes to the solid fabric of the blind itself, you cannot see through blackout blinds from outside at night, or during the day for that matter either. Blackout blinds then do provide privacy at night, and won’t let either light in or out, nor the sight of things best kept private.
But (oh yes, there’s always a “but,” albeit hopefully not a “butt” in terms of what your theoretical stalker might see):
If your blackout blind doesn’t properly fit the window, i.e., there are gaps at the sides of the blind that means it doesn’t cover the full width of the glass, someone who stuck their nose right up against the window would be able to get a limited view of a certain angle of inside.
This problem is only realistically likely to arise if you buy readymade blackout roller blinds that you have to trim or cut to size, and/or decide that “almost a fit” is good enough…
Or I guess, if you got the measurements wrong when ordering made-to-measure blackout roller blinds; albeit this latter almost never happens, because it’s actually really easy to measure for blinds accurately and we explain in simple terms exactly how to do this for each type of blinds we sell on their individual item pages.
Can you see through blackout vertical blinds from outside at night?
Once again, pick vertical blinds in a blackout fabric and the fabric itself will block 100% of light and nosiness respectively. Once again again, this comes with the caveat that this won’t be fully true if the entire block of closed fabric doesn’t cover 100% of the glass.
There are another couple of variables with this specific type of blinds too, which are that a faulty blind might have louvres that won’t close so that they lie flush (leaving small gaps); and if you’ve got a bit of airflow going on with an open window, the louvres might blow about and provide fleeting glimpses of inside too.
Can you see through blackout Roman blinds from outside at night?
Blackout Roman blinds are a bit different again, because they’re made of a separate layer of blackout fabric for their lining, as opposed to having their main fabric treated with a blackout coating.
This lining will block all of the light (and ability to see in) of the areas it covers; so assuming that your blind fits the window properly and is in the closed position, you cannot see through blackout Roman blinds at all.
Once more, if the blind doesn’t fit the window, its ability to block light and protect your privacy goes out of the err, window too; but as you don’t get Roman blinds that you can cut to size, this is less of an issue than it is for other types of readymade blinds that you can MacGyver at home.
Do blackout blinds provide privacy at night: How to test it out
If you’re not 100% sure whether or not chinks of inside are visible from outside at night through a fabric blind or in general, there’s a really simple way to tell, which will no doubt be obvious as soon as I’ve explained what you have to do. Blackout blinds provide privacy at night if you can’t see out of them when they’re closed during the day; so…
Fully close your blind during the day; can you see anything of outside from any angle, by trying to peer down the sides of the blind or by any other means without actually touching it?
If not, you’re golden, but if so, well, that’s the same angle and extent of view to inside that folk from outside will be able to see when it’s dark out and you’ve got the lights on in the room.
Can you see through blinds at night as a general rule?
With non-blackout fabric blinds, can you see through? Blackout blinds from outside at night look basically completely dark when closed, but non-blackouts may show the dim glow of any lighting in the room behind it, which might in turn permit a glimpse of shadowy outlines or particularly, moving silhouettes in the room as well.
This tends to be less clear than for example, someone walking close to frosted glass in a brightly lit bathroom, but if you were theoretically hiding from the in-laws, we recommend you stay still and away from the windows if your blinds aren’t blackouts, but feel free to knock yourself out boogying away if you’ve got blackout blinds that fit properly.
