Blackout Blinds vs Room Darkening Blinds

Calgary Window Covering industry has a hard time differentiating between Blackout Blinds vs Room Darkening Blinds. You may think that, in custom window treatments, “light dimming” or “room darkening” means complete darkness. But when you really think of it, it’s not necessarily the case. If you are looking for complete darkness for a room, only “blackout” blinds will give you the results you’re looking for. Again, Blackout is the term used to suggest the room is nearly blacked out…thus the term…”blackout” blinds.

This term is used in the Calgary Window Covering industry to suggest that products with the Blackout label have complete darkness. However, be mindful that blackout blinds still have a slight light gap along the edges to allow for smooth operation of your custom window treatment.

Blackout Blinds Calgary

At Sheila’s Window Toppers in Calgary NW, we know our clients correlate quality of sleep and relaxation to the comfort and darkness of their rooms when sleeping.

Hunter Douglas blinds and Shade-O-Matic do an excellent job in explaining the opacity differences within their products. Below are some definitions of how some window treatment products will explain the level of blackout or room darkening:

Sheer – Will allow the most light to enter the room while slightly reducing glare
Semi-sheer – You’ll experience slightly more privacy than sheers and more diffused light
Semi-opaque – You will have the most light while maintaining full privacy
Opaque – This option has absolutely no light filtering through the fabric and provides full privacy.

Room-Darkening Window Treatments in Calgary

Room Darkening blinds can vary depending on the fabric and product you choose, as well as the colour and the materials used. Products like the room darkening Silhouette with a roller or shutters will darken a room pretty nicely, but do not necessarily completely eliminate light. Even with blackout roller blinds…when mounted inside of a window frame, you will notice large light gaps along the edges due to the nature of the product. As a result, we categorize roller shades as Room Darkening…even though a Blackout fabric is selected.

Room Darkening Shutters

Blackout Blinds For Bedrooms

The best and only black-out blinds available are cellular honeycomb products. Whether Hunter Douglas or Shade-o-Matic, the results for blackout will be the same. Hunter Douglas Duette Cellular shades and the Hunter Douglas Applause cellular shades are the most popular blackout shades on the market. For a more cost effective solution, Shade-O-Matic has a great blackout cellular shade that will give you the same darkening results with a more cost effective solution. All honeycomb shades will have a foil within the material…a silver metallic lining inside the honeycomb that prevents light from passing through the fabric.

Drapery With Blackout Lining

Any opaque window covering solution you choose within the window will still have some light along the edges. Solution? Draperies! Either adding blackout drapery panels or adding fully functional draperies will significantly reduce any light gaps along the edges of the window frame.

The Best Blackout Window Coverings in Calgary, Alberta

Serving Calgary and area, the custom window treatment professionals at the Sheila’s Window Toppers are experienced and trained to assist you in the selection of the right window covering. Whether it’s blinds, shutters or draperies…our knowledgeable and experienced staff knows how to ask the right questions to ensure your new window treatments exceed your expectations.