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Blackout Window Coverings


Whether you are a shift worker, sensitive sleeper or parent of a child who just will not believe it’s time to go to bed while the sun is out, having the right window coverings can make a huge difference in your bedroom.  You can control the amount of light in your room so it can feel like night time even when it is midday.

You can find blinds and drapery on the market that say they are “blackout”.  This can be misleading as there is almost always some light that leaks in from around the edges.  For this reason, Hunter Douglas calls their opaque window covering options “room-darkening” or “room-dimming” to set expectations properly.  This glow of ambient light may be fine for you but if you are in need of a truly dark room, here are some of the top choices that work well on their own or can be layered for even better effect.

  1. Hunter Douglas Duette or Applause Cellular Shades in a Room-Darkening Fabric:Cellular shades fit more tightly in the window frame than most other styles of blinds and so have the smaller light gap.
    Changing Curtains
  2. Hunter Douglas Designer Roller or Screen Shades in an Opaque Fabric, Mounted Outside the Frame: When made at the size of the window trim, and not the inside frame, Roller Shades provide very good room-darkening. By overlapping the window trim, light will still come in but as a “glow” around the edges and not a hard stripe of light.
    Shades from Blinds.com
  3. Hunter Douglas Cellular and Roller Shades with Trim Kits:  If ordered at the same time, you can have a metal “trim kit” added to your shade.  This trim piece is added to the frame of your window and blocks the gap between the shade and window frame reducing the amount of light creeping in.  As this frame is still visible when the blind is raised, it is usually colour matched to the window trim and not the shade itself.
  4. Add Stationary Drapery Panels to Blinds or Shades:  To block the light escaping on either side of a blind, you can use single width drapery panels to cover the gap.  This helps reduce the light in the room but of course, they also add colour, style, and texture. Our Calgary South Gallery has excellent blinds to shop. 
  5. Full Ceiling Height Drapery with Room-Darkening Lining:  With a simple ceiling mounted drapery track, room-darkening drapery can block a considerable amount of light with little glow escaping at the top of the drape.
  6. Full Drapery and Box Valance with Room-Darkening Lining:  Any standard drapery style can work here but capping it with a valance will block the light from the top of drapery.