Made To Measure Blinds the complete Buying Guide.

Made To Measure Blinds Buying Guide

Blinds are the most widely available alternative to curtains, being more affordable, easier to maintain, whilst still offering complete privacy. However, if there is one aspect of blinds that is often lacking when compared to curtains, it’s their ability to completely block out daylight and harsh inner city lighting.

Most blinds will give you a degree of protection from unwanted light and they may suit your needs perfectly but using a good quality blackout roller blind will give you 100% blackout control.

How they work …

They’re many styles of blinds that can give a completely blackout offering as a blackout blind is not any particular style of blind. The most commonly used style of blind for a blackout effect are roller, Roman and vertical blinds, pretty much in that order. Roller and Roman blinds assure you of 100% blackout, in the case of vertical blinds however because of the way the blind is constructed shafts of light may come through via the spaces between the vanes when not completely closed or from the gap between the head rail and top of the hanger.

The main idea behind blackout blinds is to be able to block out as much daylight or harsh street -lighting as possible, as well as offering even more privacy compared to other blinds. This is great in many situations, such as those bright mornings that flood your bedroom with daylight or offering more privacy in a downstairs shower room or toilet for example.

To achieve the blackout effect, the blind fabrics are normally fitted with a blackout fabric backing  that helps to block out as much natural light as possible, helping to keep a room darker and cooler.

Styles …

Blackout blinds are available in a few styles, most typically as roller blinds, but you will also find vertical and Roman blinds with blackout features. As a result, there’s a massive selection of style options for anyone looking for blackout blinds!

A common misconception about blackout blinds is that the fabrics used will need to be dark to be effective., these days that is simply not the case. It is very possible to get light-coloured blackout blinds, with whites, creams and other soft colours widely available as well as plain, patterned and textured fabric blind options.

This means you can get a blackout blind in almost any colour, making it easy to find a specific style that caters to the décor of a room.

Advantages

Of course, the most obvious advantage of blackout blinds is the ability to block out as much light as possible. There’s many situations this can be very useful, such as in a bedroom to avoid being woken by streaming daylight or blocking the sun glare from a screen.

As many styles of blinds can have this feature, there is a massive selection of designs available, with various colours, textures, materials, and patterns to choose from, making it easy to find a style that matches your décor.

Blackout blinds are also very effective at retaining heat due to the thicker material lining the blinds. Conversely, if a room is being overheated by sunlight beating down on a window, blackout blinds are great at blocking out UV rays and keeping the room nice and cool – perfect for the summer months!

They offer the perfect compromise between curtains and blinds, offering the best of both worlds!