What are the most effective blockout blinds? A comparison of roller blinds, pleated blinds and roman blinds.

Your sleep may be disrupted by early morning light, perhaps it's waking up the children at some unearthly hour. In summer it can be difficult for children to go to sleep as their body clocks are telling them it is still playtime. Or there are annoying street lights keeping you from nodding off in bed?

The solution is a blockout option at your windows.

But which kind? - choices can be confusing.

Firstly let's get this out of the way. Total blockout would only be achievable if you boarded up your window. Not really a practical solution. Whilst blockout blinds and curtains dramatically reduce the light, they have limitations.

Roller Blinds

Pale grey blockout roller blind

These have been around for decades. Their operation is simple. A sheet of fabric is attached to a cylinder and the blind is rolled up or down. When an opaque fabric is used it can block out 100% of the light BUT there will be some light coming in around the outside of the blind fabric. Roller blind fabric doesn't go all the way to the end of the cylinder because of the winder and the fixing brackets. If the roller is not in a cassette header there will be a strip of light coming in across the top. If the window ledge is skew then light may even leak in under the blind.

Pleated Blinds

Pleated Blind with pinholes

Becoming more popular, these blinds consist of fabric that is folded like a concertina. It can be a single sheet or two sheets fused together to form cells. If an opaque fabric is used then the fabric itself can block 100% of the light. However, these blinds have light bleed down the sides like roller blinds. If the single fabric is used then it will also let light in through the small pinholes created for the string to go through. The fused version may only have holes in the rear sheet so the light doesn't come through. The fabric extends further towards each side of the header than roller blinds therefore they tend to have less light bleed down the sides and almost none across the top. They can let light in at the bottom if the window sill is skew just like the roller blind.

Roman Blinds

Roman blind behind curtains

The fabric on a roman blind can be opaque itself or have a blockout backing layer to keep the light out. Depending on how it is made, it can be the best blockout solution of the three. There are no punched holes, the fabric extends to the edges of the top header so less light down the sides and the blind can be lowered onto the window sill to keep out bottom light.

Curtains depend on the opacity of the fabric or a blockout lining to keep out light. The drawback can be light coming in from behind the rail at the top and down the sides if the fabric doesn't sit next to the wall. Using a pelmet can help to reduce the top light.

Note: Blinds such as venetians and verticals can be made from blockout materials but light tends to come in through string holes or between each slat / louvre and down the sides like the other types of blind.

There are versions of these blinds that are encased in a frame - sometimes called Perfect Fit - and they block out the most light.

So what would we recommend?

Installing two types to create a double layer of light reduction.

In bedrooms, a blockout roller can be installed behind curtains or a blind (typically a roman). The roller can be out of the way during the day and only lowered when light reduction is required. A pleated blind can be used in the same way.

Roman blinds work well behind curtains but cannot be pulled up as far as pleated or roller blinds unless they are not fixed in the recess. Consider roller or pleated if you are concerned about the amount of light reduction during the day or loss of view.

Layering has the added bonus of increasing insulation, keeping the room warmer in winter by trapping colder air next to the window, or cooler in summer by keeping warmer air next to the window and blocking out strong sunlight.

Written by Harrogate Blinds