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Which Is Best For A Bedroom, Blinds Or Curtains?

There are several rooms in the house in which the choice of whether to have bespoke curtains or blinds in front of the windows is a carefully balanced decision. This is certainly the case when it comes to your bedroom.

Both curtains and blinds have been used to cover windows for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians are believed to have been the first to have developed blinds, although some of these may have been rather more akin to blackout curtains.

The Egyptians used reeds for these, while the Chinese hit upon a similar system but used bamboo. The Romans also used cloth, with these being rolled like modern blinds, rather than being drawn like curtains.

However, real curtains were used in Roman times and other cultures of the classical era and when Venetian blinds were invented, these also drew on older, pre-existing traditions from around the world.

What these different developments had in common was that they were aiming to achieve the same goals, in keeping out bright light and hot sun, as well as providing some privacy.

What Should You Consider When Choosing Between Blinds And Curtains?

These will also be among your aims, albeit with the additional requirement that the choice you make should be of high-quality materials and offer aesthetic quality, ideally matching well to the style of the room. Indeed, the latter is one significant factor in your choice.

What you can be certain of is that there is no simple answer as to which is better for your bedroom. Instead, the decision you make will be based on a mix of practical and aesthetic considerations, as well as the overall list of relative pros and cons.

Among the considerations are:

If space is limited, blinds may be a better option as they use less room, whereas curtains need more room for stacking but can also have an aesthetic benefit in filling up otherwise empty wall space.

On the other hand, you may want to use that wall space, for example, by having cupboards or book shelves stacked against it, which leaves less room for curtains but leaves blinds as a practical option.

Why Is The Amount Of Light Entering Your Room So Important?

Although blinds can block out a lot of light, curtains tend to be better for this, especially blackout curtains. These are ideal if the morning light is very bright in summer, or if there is a streetlight outside the window.

To consider the importance of this, it is a fact that in the shortest days of the year in London, the sun never gets much higher than 15 degrees in the sky. In the middle of summer, it is higher than that by 7 am, so it will be very bright before it is time for many people to get up.

Where blinds have an advantage is that they are not all-or-nothing covers when it comes to light. You can adjust them according to how much light you want to let in.

However, while this may be useful in the daytime in some rooms, depending on how much light you get at any particular time of the day or year, this may be less relevant when you want to sleep at night.

What Are The Aesthetic Reasons For Choosing Between Curtains And Blinds?

The stylish and aesthetic element may depend on whether you like a minimalist or maximalist style. Blinds may appeal more to those who like a modern and sleek look without a lot of soft fabrics and comfort.

Those who like a more cosy style with lots of soft fabrics and thick carpets might find that luxurious curtains are a better fit.

In addition to the above, there are a few other pros and cons to consider:

There may be some cases where curtains have a definite edge, such as if the bedroom is on the ground floor and privacy might be compromised unless the windows are covered very thoroughly.

Another case would be when the room and the windows are quite small, like a box bedroom, which favours blinds.

In most cases, however, it is a matter of taking into account the different practical and aesthetic issues before choosing something from our stylish range of products.