A question that frequently comes up is, what is the best blackout shade? I’m reminded of a gentleman I spoke with not too long ago and those were the first words out of his mouth. Anyone who is sleep deprived will relate and may even find relief just like this gentleman, Mr. Douglas did.
Here is his story: He, his wife, and one-year-old son live in a small 2 bedroom, Manhattan apartment. Mr. Douglas works as a concierge at a hotel in downtown New York. Mrs. Douglas has just returned to work not far from their apartment. Her hours are the normal 9:00am to 5:00pm. Not wishing to thrust Baby Jonathan out into the world at such a wee age, Mr. Douglas agreed he’d watch Jonathan during the day and work the late shift from 6:00pm to 2:00am. The couple felt quite confident they could keep this up for two years until Jonathan was old enough to attend preschool. As it turned out, it was only two weeks into the new arrangement when, a very cranky Mr. Douglas called me. Apparently Jonathan and Mr. Douglas had different ideas of when the day started. Baby Jonathan woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed at the crack of dawn. Getting three or four hours of sleep a night was grossly insufficient for Mr. Douglas. He could think of little else because, more than anything else, he craved sleep.
It didn’t take him long to realize the east facing windows in each of the bedrooms was the culprit. Thanks go to Mrs. Douglas, who was cruising the web, and found the perfect answer - blackout shades.
The answer I gave to Mr. Douglas is, if nothing else will do and you’re determined to have total blackout, consider a standard roll, blackout roller shade. I went on to explain that for optimum coverage, it should be mounted either on or outside of the window casing. This type of mount is called an outside mount or OB. Be sure to add at least three inches to the width to block light gaps and some sort of valance or cassette to contain light leaking through above the roller. It should extend at least an inch and a half below the bottom molding or sit squarely on the sill. That is the best blackout, period.
Another very good choice would be a blackout cellular shade that is mounted to the inside of the window casing. This type of mount is called an inside mount or IB. The reason this is also a good choice is because you’ll have negligible light gaps due to it’s snug fit inside the window casing. Roman or pleated shades either inside or outside mounted would be the next best option as long as you add a blackout liner.
Whether they are wood, aluminum, or vinyl, regardless of being vertical or horizontal, blinds are not an ideal choice for blackout. Some are better than others though, such as wood blinds with the route-less feature. Rather than being strung together through holes drilled through the center of the slats, they are strung through notches cut out in the back of the slats to hide the holes and keep additional light out. Another way to hide the holes, and avoid light peeping through, is to add the vintage look of decorative tapes. The main problem though isn’t really the little holes, it’s the light gaps in between the slats, louvers, or vanes.
When you are thinking blackout, think window shades, not blinds. If you are set on blinds, try wood blinds or faux wood blinds. - David Brooks
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