Blinds, Shutters & Curtains for Bedrooms

What usually matters in a bedroom

• Darkness – how much early-morning light or streetlight you can tolerate.
• Privacy – particularly at night with lights on inside.
• Comfort – an extra layer at the window can make the room feel less draughty.
• A calm look – bedrooms usually suit quieter colours and simple lines.
• Child safety – important in children’s rooms and anywhere children visit.

Blackout fabric is not the same as a dark room

A blackout fabric stops light passing through the material, but light can still get in around the edges, above and below the blind. How dark the room ends up depends on the whole system and how it is fitted. It helps to think in three levels:

1. Blackout fabric – a standard blind with a blackout material. A big improvement, but expect some edge light.
2. Improved room darkening – careful fitting, overlaps, and a second layer such as curtains to reduce gaps.
3. Specialist blackout systems – side channels, cassettes or frame-fitted designs that close off more of the gaps, where the window suits them.

Our blackout blinds page explains these levels in more detail.

Often a good fit

• Blackout roller blinds – neat, straightforward and available in a wide choice of blackout fabrics.
• Cellular blinds – blackout cellular fabrics combine darkness with an insulating honeycomb construction.
• Roman blinds with blackout lining – a softer look; very good dim-out, though light can pass around the edges and through stitching.
• Perfect Fit blinds – frame-fitted on suitable windows, which reduces the gaps a recess blind leaves.
• Full height shutters – excellent privacy and a tidy look, with louvres you can tilt for morning light.
• Blackout-lined curtains – soften the room and help cover gaps when used with a blind.

Depends on the room

• Shutters are not a blackout product. With louvres closed they make a room much darker, but light will show around the panels and between louvres. Shutter & Shade adds a blind behind the shutter where darkness matters more.
• Venetian and wooden blinds are good for privacy and adjustable light, but slats never seal completely.
• Day & Night blinds are useful for daytime privacy, but the solid bands are not usually blackout.

Usually compare another solution

• If someone in the room is very sensitive to light, a single blackout blind in a recess with visible side gaps is unlikely to be enough on its own. A specialist system or a blind plus curtain is usually a better route.
• Sheer-only treatments look lovely but give little night-time privacy once lights are on inside.

Layered schemes

• A blackout blind behind curtains – the blind does the darkening and the curtains cover the edges.
• Shutters with blackout curtains for bedrooms that need both a tidy exterior and a darker night.
• A cellular blind with curtains for extra comfort in colder rooms.

Child safety

All internal blinds supplied in the UK must meet child-safety requirements. Cordless and motorised options remove operating cords altogether, and where a corded or chain control is used, the required safety devices are fitted. See choosing blinds for homes with children and our nursery blinds page.

Darkness is easiest to judge at the actual window. At a free home survey we look at the recess, frame and gaps and suggest what will realistically work.