Blackout Roller Blinds

What are blackout roller blinds?

Blackout roller blinds use a special fabric that light cannot penetrate in order to darken the room. The fabric is densely woven and typically has a 'barrier' coating that prevents light ingress through the fabric. Roller blinds typically consist of fabric mounted onto an aluminium roller tube, fixed in position at the window using a bracket at either end of the tube. The fabric is weighted at the bottom with a hem bar which runs the full width of the fabric. The blind is rolled and unrolled typically using a metal or plastic chain-driven side-winder. Increasingly, with the advent of smart technology, roller blinds can be motorised and controlled using a handset, mobile app, or voice. When the fabric is lowered, the blind acts to reduce the amount of light that is allowed to enter the room.

Where to use blackout roller blinds?

A blackout roller blind is typically used as a bedroom blind, but they can also be used in other areas of the home where it may be beneficial to reduce light levels. For example, you may wish to install a black out roller blind in your living room or TV room to reduce glare on your TV screen, or because it is occasionally used to accommodate guests using a pull-out sofa bed.

We also find that educational environments use roller blinds in blackout fabric because they are also available in a range of fire-retardant fabrics, which are often wipe-clean in nature. They are also very easy to use and maintain.

Do blackout roller blinds work?

Blackout roller blinds are an incredibly popular and very effective way of reducing light levels within a room, such as a bedroom, so that one can enjoy a good night's sleep. However, it is important to acknowledge that a typical roller blind with blackout fabric, will still allow a degree of light into the room around the side edges and at the top and bottom of the fabric. So, if you are a night worker who relies on a more complete light exclusion in order to sleep during the day, you may wish to consider a roller blind product which has a head cassette and side channels which act to reduce incoming light even further. Alternatively, you may also wish to further dress your window with curtains outside of the recess in front of the roller blinds. You could also consider a supplementary wooden blind or aluminium venetian blind positioned behind the roller blind, to enable enhanced light reduction, and allow variable light control when blackout is not required.

Do roller blackout blinds need to be black?

No! Some people think that a blind fabric needs to be black or dark in colour to keep out light. In fact, the choice of colour has no impact on the amount of light that is excluded. A blackout fabric typically has a weave that is very dense and often has a coating on the rear of the fabric which helps exclude the light. This coating is often white in colour but can also often be coloured the same as the front face of the fabric. This means that you can choose virtually any colour or pattern from our wide range of blackout fabrics and be assured that the fabric will have the same great light exclusion capabilities. If you would like to check whether your choice of colour or pattern suits your decor, then please feel free to order free fabric samples from our collection! 

Are blackout roller blinds easy to fit?

If you are a capable DIY'er and can use a drill and screw-driver, then roller blackout blinds are quite straightforward to install. The blind is fixed at the window using two brackets - one on the left-hand side of the window and the other on the right-hand side. Each bracket requires two screws. So installing the blind is as simple as drilling four holes, inserting rawl-plugs into these holes, and then fixing the brackets in place using screws into your plugged holes. Once fixed in place, you then clip the roller blind itself into these brackets. It's that simple. 

How quickly are they delivered?

We have a popular range of blackout fabrics, which are available for quick delivery in 2 to 5 working days. Typically, our other fabrics are delivered in 7 to 10 working days.

What alternatives are there to roller blinds for blackout?

Whilst roller blinds are our most common type of blackout blinds, we are also able to offer other types of blinds for this purpose.

If you are looking for a blind for a skylight, then we have custom-made electric pleated skylight blinds with blackout fabrics. We also have blinds specifically made to suit branded skylights such as VELUX, RoofLITE, DAKSTA and FAKRO windows. 

Blackout Vertical Blinds are also a popular choice because they offer light exclusion when closed and variable light control when tilted open. They can also be drawn fully to one side, allowing a completely unobstructed view out of your window.

For those looking for blinds with softer aesthetic, roman blinds are available with a blackout lining, which serves to exclude light. Roman blinds fold away towards the top of the window when not in use.