What Are The Biggest Benefits Of Blackout Curtains?

Choosing the best curtains or blinds for your needs is not always easy, as it is important to balance out practicality, aesthetics and high-quality materials.

With our one-stop shop approach, made-to-measure curtains and bespoke blinds, we can provide the ideal solution regardless of your needs and the goals of your interior design.

From a practicality standpoint, some of our most popular and more important window coverings are blackout curtains, which tend to be most effective when they are made to measure.

What are blackout curtains? Why are they used? And what are their biggest benefits for your interior design?

What Are Blackout Curtains?

Unlike sheer curtains, which filter but do not completely block out light, blackout curtains come with an extra layer of lining that helps to block out sunlight and nearby artificial light sources.

This means that they can provide almost complete darkness at any time of the day, even during a summer day or in an area which frequently has a lot of light pollution.

Why Are Blackout Curtains Used?

The name blackout curtains was largely adopted in the 1940s during the Second World War, because of their primary purpose during the Blitz and the Battle of Britain to thwart potential bombing craft.

The “blackout” rules required all windows to be covered to stop light getting out, which for most homes meant the use of thick black curtains to completely cover up lights.

In the modern day, blackout curtains are primarily used for privacy and comfort; by enabling total or near-total coverage of a window, they allow people to get to sleep more easily and stay asleep for longer, particularly if they happen to be light sleepers.

What Are The Biggest Benefits Of Fitting Blackout Curtains In Your Home?

Aside from helping with sleep, there are countless benefits to fitting made-to-measure blackout curtains in your home, and they can provide both a beautiful complement to your interior design and a range of passive benefits to make your home more comfortable and your bills lower.

Here are just a few of the biggest benefits of fitting blackout curtains in your home.

Lower Energy Bills

One of the greatest causes of higher energy bills is poor insulation, often the result of draughts coming from the windows. Conversely, windows are often also the source of uncomfortable levels of heat during the summer, requiring the use of expensive fans and air conditioning systems.

Blackout curtains act like an additional insulating layer, blocking out UV radiation that heats your home in summer and traps warm air inside your home during the winter.

This means that your home is benefiting from passive temperature control, which is essentially free once the curtains are installed, and both your heating and cooling systems are used far less often as a result.

Protects Your Furniture

Direct sunlight eventually can cause significant damage to your furniture, soft furnishings, carpets and hardwood floors. This damage is so gradual that by the time you notice it, it is too late to fix it.

By closing your blackout curtains when the sun is at its highest in the sky, typically between mid-morning and mid-afternoon, you can provide extra protection for your furniture and extend their lifespan at no additional cost.

Sun-bleaching is a constant frustration for homeowners, but it is not an inevitability if you have the right type of curtains.

No More Silhouettes

Most people choose curtains for their privacy benefits, but the problem with many standard curtains is not necessarily seen during the day, but becomes quite prominent at night.

Typical curtains can produce silhouettes, depending on where people are in the room relative to the light source. This means that neighbours and bystanders can see the outlines of people in the room, something particularly disconcerting for bedrooms and bathrooms.

By contrast, blackout curtains block out all light going in and out, meaning that they provide a total level of privacy not found through other means.

Blackout blinds using a similar material offer the same level of benefit, and can be preferable for smaller rooms and smaller windows.

Sound Dampening

Whilst thick blackout curtains are sometimes used in recording and rehearsal studios to assist in soundproofing and aural soundscapes, they are not, strictly speaking, soundproof. Closing blackout curtains will not completely stop you from hearing noises outside your home.

However, what they can provide is sound dampening, which helps to take the edge off of loud, shrill noises.

This makes them essential if you live on a main road or in a busy neighbourhood, as they can reduce high-pitched sounds by as much as ten decibels.