In this guide, we'll look at the best bedroom blackout blinds, how to stop light coming around the edges and how layering your window coverings can help if you want to make your bedroom as dark as possible.
What Are the Best Blackout Blinds for Bedrooms?
Blackout Roller Blinds
Blackout roller blinds are one of the simplest and most effective options for bedrooms. The blackout fabric prevents light passing through the blind and they're available in plenty of colours, so you aren’t limited to a dark fabric to get the blackout effect.
Made-to-measure blackout blinds will give you a much neater fit than a standard-sized blind. However, some light can still creep around the edges, particularly when the blind is fitted inside the window recess.
Perfect Fit Blackout Blinds
Perfect Fit blinds sit directly within suitable window frames, keeping the blind close to the glass and creating a really neat finish.
They're particularly useful for uPVC windows and can help reduce some of the more obvious gaps you'd get with a conventional blind. Aspiration's Perfect Fit blinds are available with blackout fabric for rooms where stronger light control is needed.
Roman Blinds with Blackout Lining
If you want something softer and more decorative, Roman blinds can be made with a blackout lining to significantly reduce the amount of light entering the bedroom.
They're a great option if you want your window covering to feel more like part of the room's décor.
Blackout Vertical Blinds
Blackout vertical blinds can work well on larger bedroom windows, patio doors and French doors where a roller or Roman blind may not be practical. They also offer greater control over light and privacy during the day, making them an ideal choice for bedrooms.
Why Is Light Still Getting Into Your Bedroom?
Even with the blinds closed, light can still enter around the sides, above or below the blind, or through gaps between slats.
Blackout fabric blocks light passing through the material itself, but it doesn't automatically make the whole room completely dark if the blind is ill-fitting. If you want a true blackout effect, you also need to minimise the gaps where light can get in.
How to Stop Light Coming Around Blinds
Choose Made-to-Measure Blinds
Made-to-measure blinds are designed specifically for your window, helping to reduce the gaps that can occur with standard-sized blinds. When you're trying to block as much light as possible, a few millimetres can make a noticeable difference.
Fit the Blind Outside the Recess
Where suitable, fitting a blackout blind outside the window recess allows it to overlap the opening. This can help reduce the amount of light creeping in around the sides.
Choose a Closer-Fitting Blind System
Some blind systems naturally sit closer to the window than others. Perfect Fit blinds, for example, fit neatly within suitable window frames, helping create closer coverage around the glass.
Layer Blinds with Curtains
For even greater light control, try combining a blackout blind with lined or blackout curtains. Extending the curtains beyond the sides of the window can help catch any light that escapes around the edges of the blind.
How to Make a Bedroom Completely Dark
If you're trying to make a bedroom completely dark, particularly for daytime sleeping for shift workers or babies, tackling every source of light will give you the best result:
- Start with properly fitted bedroom blackout blinds.
- Minimise any gaps around the window.
- Add lined or blackout curtains for another layer of coverage.
- Make sure the curtains extend beyond the edges of the window.
- Check for light entering underneath or around the bedroom door.
- Cover any LEDs from electric devices such as chargers
For the darkest possible result, it's often a combination of these measures that works best. A well-fitted total blackout blind can take care of the main source of light, while curtains and a few smaller changes around the room can help deal with anything that's left.
Does the Colour of a Blackout Blind Matter?
Blackout blinds don't have to be black or dark to work effectively. It's the backing and construction of the fabric that blocks the light, rather than the colour itself.
This means you can still choose white, cream, beige, soft grey or another colour that suits your bedroom. So, if you prefer a lighter, more calming space, you can get an effective blackout without compromising on your décor.
Getting the Right Fit for Blackout Blinds
When darkness is the priority, how your blind is fitted matters just as much as the fabric you choose.
The best fitting position will depend on your window. In some bedrooms, fitting outside the recess can provide greater coverage, while closer-fitting systems may work better for others.
This is where professional advice can be useful. An experienced fitter can look at where light is likely to enter and recommend the best combination of blind style, blackout fabric and fitting position for the room.
You can explore Aspiration Blinds' range of blackout blinds to see the different options available.
How Aspiration Blinds Can Help
If you're struggling with a bedroom that never seems dark enough, we can take a look at the window during a free home consultation and work out where the light is coming from.
We'll recommend a suitable blackout solution, take care of the measuring and professionally fit your made-to-measure blinds, so you don't have to work out the best setup yourself.