Room Darkening Shades – Dull it Down a Bit

When it’s a hot summer’s day outside, and you really just need a weekend indoors away from it all, then it’s great to know that you home will remain cool and comfortable and allow you to take a well earned break. This can be spoilt quite quickly, however, if you have a window that seems to allow too much light and heat in, not matter which of your curtains you put on it. Even worse is when you are trying to get to sleep at night, and the council, in all its wisdom, has installed a street light right outside your bedroom window. Most people will be driven to despair trying to sleep under these situations, it’s bad enough when there is a full moon beaming in. If this sounds like the situation that you are in, then you could definitely benefit from the addition of some room darkening shades in your home.

Firs up, I’d like to clear up some misconceptions about room darkening shades. There are many people who don’t even look at this style as an option, because they straight away think that we are talking about some drab dreary design that sits lifeless on your window and blocks out all the light. This couldn’t be any further from the truth. Room darkening shades come in a whole range of styles and shades. One of the most popular styles are honeycomb blinds, and from the inside, you wouldn’t even know that these were especially designed to keep the light out. They just look like a well designed blind on your window, but are specially lined with thermal lining to keep out the light and the heat.

room darkening shadesThese are the perfect style of blind to be using in the nursery, as they are bright and cheery, and have a unique texture that will bring out the rest of the baby’s decor in the room. Another style that works well, in the living room especially, are room roman shades. Everyone loves roman blinds, and the classic way they fold up under themselves when open, but many don’t realise that they can have this classic feel in their home and still benefit from the insulating effects of a room darkening shade.

Browse Our Selection Of Room Darkening Shades

As nice as the roman shade style is, there are times when you want something a little more contemporary, and a little less casual. Take for example if you have a home office. More and more people are working from home every year, and many of these people are also seeing their clients in their own home. When a client comes into your office, it is important for your business that they feel like they are in a professional setting, in order to make them feel more at ease with doing business with you. At the same time, you want them to be comfortable and not have to be subjected to too much light or heat. Room darkening roller shades are great in this situation, and look professional on any office window. You could even go that one step further and have them motorized, which is sure to impress your potential clients.

Whether you are a shift worker that has to sleep during the day, a new parent that is trying to keep their baby settled for their daytime sleeps, a business owner that wants to impress their clients and keep them comfortable, or even a movie buff who wants to create the optimal cinematic experience in their home, there are a huge range of room darkening shades out there. You are sure to find the right style for you if you do a little bit of research.

Blackout Shades – Hiding From the Sun

It seems sometimes that us humans have a love hate relationship with the sun. On the one hand, we acknowledge its importance in our lives, we know that it is the source of all life, and some of us even worship it. People spend their whole lives chasing summer around the globe, eager to get as much of it as they can. On the other hand, we spend vast amounts of time, effort and money in trying to minimise our exposure to it. This is especially true in the home, with a whole range of blackout options available to the home owner, including blackout shades.

This style of shade is the best choice for anyone that wants complete control over the light entering their homes. Good quality blackout window shades can stop 99% of the suns rays coming in, and in many cases are a necessity, albeit an expensive one. There are many different reasons why you may want to block the light from coming in. For example, if you have a home cinema, then it’s important that you manage the lighting in that room so as to reduce the glare on the big screen. Shift workers are another example of people who will benefit greatly from this type of window covering. For someone who has to work all night, it can be really hard for your body to adjust to sleeping while it’s light outside. A set of blackout roller shades will trick your brain into thinking that it is night time, and give you more chance of getting a decent “nights” sleep.

Another reasons for installing a blackout shade in your home is for babies that sleep a lot during the day. blackout shadesMany new parents don’t realise just how many hours a baby will sleep each day, and it is imperative that you make the nursery as comfortable as possible to ensure that they get all the sleep their growing bodies need. A side benefit of blackout blinds is that they will reduce the amount of heat entering your home, or keep the heat in when it is cold outside. They will even help to dampen any noises, such as traffic and the neighbour’s dogs.

Browse Our Selection Of Blackout Shades

Blackout roller shades are the most popular style, and this is mainly because they are the cheapest of all the options out there. While they are extremely inexpensive and easy to install, they are not incredibly aesthetically pleasing, and if it’s a fashionable decor that you are looking for in your home, then you would be better off looking at something like blackout roman shades.

Some people seem to think that if a shade is a blackout, then it’s literally going to be black. The truth is that these shades come in a whole rainbow of colors, and looking at them you may not even know that they are blackout shades. Apart from romans and roller shades that we have mentioned, you can also get the ever popular bamboo and honeycomb blinds with blackout material lining the back of them. There are also blackout curtain solutions available if you would prefer to go down that road.

The most effective material for blackout shades is fibreglass, and while this is the best solution, it is also the most expensive. For those of you on a bit more of a tight budget, you can get almost as good a result from the more popular vinyls and plastics available. Don’t get confused when shopping for blackout shades, some shops will label their products as “room darkening” shades, and while they do filter out a lot of light, they are not a complete blackout solution.