Blackout blind vs blackout curtains
Both block light. The difference is where they sit. Blackout curtains hang from a rod in front of the window, so light still comes round the top, the sides and the line where the two panels meet. A blackout blind that goes on the glass stops the light before it gets into the room at all.
Side by side
| Blackout blind on the glass | Blackout curtains | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | On the window glass | On a rod in front of the window |
| Light round the edges | Covers the glass itself, so the frame does the edges | Leaks round the top, sides and middle unless they're oversized |
| Install | Suction cups, no drill | A rod, which usually means drilling into the wall or frame |
| In a rental | Comes down with no marks | Holes to patch when you move out, unless you use a tension rod |
| Trips | Ours folds flat into a suitcase | Stays home |
| Big windows and glass doors | Ours comes up to 130 x 200 cm | Any width, just add panels |
| How the room looks | Plain black on the glass | Any colour or fabric you want |
When the blind is the better pick
You rent, or you just don't want holes in the wall. You sleep in the day, after a night shift or with a baby napping, so the window has sun on it for your whole sleep. You want the same dark room in a hotel. Or you already have curtains and the light is still coming round them.
Our Blackout Blind goes up on the glass with the suction cups along its top band. The window side has a PU coating that stops the light and the room side is soft brushed black fabric. It comes in 130 x 100 cm for C$44.99, or 130 x 200 cm for taller windows at C$54.99. Measure the glass, not the frame, before you pick.
When curtains are the better pick
Your window or patio door is wider than 130 cm and you want one piece across it. You want the window to look a certain way in the day, curtains come in every colour and the blind is black. Or you want something you open and close in one pull every morning and night, and you're fine with a little light round the edges.
The darkest option: both
They don't compete. The blind does the glass and the curtain covers what's left round the frame, so the gaps a curtain leaves on its own get covered. If you already own curtains, keep them up and add the blind behind them.
To see how much daylight hits your window while you sleep, put your city into our sunrise calculator. For the rest of the room, the gaps, the door and the little LEDs, read how to make a bedroom pitch black. Everything for a dark room is in our blackout collection.