Bedrooms that actually go dark

The fabric is the easy part

A true blockout fabric stops light passing through it. That bit is simple, and most blockout rollers, romans and lined curtains do it well. The trouble is the gap: the strip of light down each side, over the top, and under the bottom of the blind. In a bedroom that faces the morning sun, those gaps are the difference between a dark room and a room with glowing edges at 5am.

Fit beats fabric

Getting a room dark is mostly about how the covering is fitted, not which fabric you pick.

• Fit inside the reveal, close to the glass, or well outside it. A roller mounted tight in the recess minimises side gaps; one mounted outside and oversized covers them. The wrong middle ground leaves the worst light strips.
• Go wider and longer than the glass. A blind that overlaps the frame blocks more of the spill than one cut exactly to the opening.
• Consider a double layer. A blockout roller behind a curtain, or a dual "day and night" roller, gives you full dark at night and a softer option by day.

This is exactly what an in-home measure sorts out, we look at the window, the frame and where the sun comes from, and fit to kill the gaps.

Kids' rooms: dark and safe

In a nursery or a child's room, the same blockout thinking applies, plus one non-negotiable: no cords in reach. We'll steer you to cordless or motorised control in these rooms, and any corded covering is installed to the national child-safety standard. There's more on that in our child-safe blinds guide.

Book a free measure for the bedrooms