Burt’s soon-to-be nursery is rammed full and serving as a storage cupboard. I spent last weekend doing home improvement stuff around the house. I’ve made Our Pregnancy To-Do List and I’m ticking things off as fast as I can. I want to know whether we need blackout blinds in the baby’s room. This is something I wanted to research early so, if we do want them, we can look out for sales.
What Are Blackout Blinds?
A blackout blind is a type of blind that uses an opaque fabric to block as much light as possible. They are often used in bedrooms and rooms with screens or projectors. The low level of light achieved by using blackout blinds can help with sleeping or improve the viewing experience with screens.
Types Of Blackout Blinds
There are five main types of blackout blinds. I’ll go through them briefly below.
Skylight Blinds
Skylight blinds have a side rail to prevent them from hanging down. This rail also stops light from getting in through the edges. Our nursery doesn’t have a skylight, so we won’t be considering these. Obviously.
Roller Blinds
The fabric in these blinds rolls up into a cassette at the top.
Roman Blinds
Roman blinds are made of fabric that folds in layers when the blind is raised. Picture a pleated look. Many blackout roman blinds can help to regulate the temperature of a room.
Vertical Blinds
Vertical blinds have slats that run from top to bottom rather than side to side.
Double Roller Blinds
Double roller blinds have two different kinds of fabric. They usually have both a translucent fabric and a blackout fabric. The translucent fabric allows a little soft light through. You can use the blackout fabric when you want to block out light.
Day & Night Blinds
Day and night blinds work in a similar way to roller blinds. There are two layers of fabric that have alternating strips of translucent and blackout fabric. If the two layers align the blackout strips, light can pass through. But if the blackout strips are staggered correctly, the light will be blocked.
What We’ve Decided
I’ve been looking through forums, blogs and anywhere I can get opinions on blackout blinds. Some people think they’re essential. Some believe it’s better to have your child sleep and wake more naturally. Your child’s Circadian Rhythm is key with this approach. Finally, I’ve seen plenty of recommendations for more light during naps and blackout for nighttime.
We’d like to have the flexibility to adapt to Burt as they develop. That means having the option of blackout blinds. We’re planning to get some double roller blinds. The plan is to use the translucent blinds for nap time and blackout blinds for bed. We can adapt as we go and double roller blinds seemed the most adaptable.
We’re expecting to get the blinds from Blinds2Go. But we’ll be looking out for some sales in the next couple of months. The price already seems good, but we need to save money where we can.
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