hunter douglas blackout blinds shades calgary in 2019

Light control is a year-round concern, especially in spring and summer. These seasons bring on shorter nights, which can be troublesome for those people who need the room dark to sleep.  Whether it be a newborn, young child or an adult needing darkness to sleep, there are window covering options for room darkening or room dimming effects.  It is important to note that room darkening blinds are not all created equal.

So, which blackout blinds or coverings are best for your home? In today’s blog post, we will discuss some of the details to consider when choosing a room darkening window covering. This includes a recommended list of a few choice products of blackout blinds from Hunter Douglas that provide ample light control and design options.

What is the difference between blackout blinds and room darkening window coverings?

These terms refer just to the fabric component of the blind, it does not pertain to any mounting options. These mounting options may also alter the light control capabilities of the blind.

Room Darkening Shades

A room darkening shade is a fabric that cuts out approximately 95% of the light.  That is, when you lower the shade, and place a bright light behind the shade, you can see a glow of light through the fabric.  This could be an issue if you are a night shift worker or light sensitive and require complete darkness to sleep.  If you fall under these categories of sleepers, or even if you are controlling light in a home theatre, you will want to investigate the option of blackout binds.

Blackout Blinds

Blackout blinds are completely opaque, meaning that no light penetrates the fabric. Depending on the mounting location, whether inside the window or mounted on the wall, you may have complete darkness from the window.  Therefore, it is crucial to determine the level of darkness you require and consider where to install the blinds to provide optimal light control.

Honeycomb shades, such as these ones from Hunter Douglas Canada, provide a great solution as a large window covering.

Our Top Choice in Blackout Blinds

The optimal blackout blind is the honeycomb or cellular.  The mylar inside the cellular construction makes the blind completely opaque. That is, no light penetrates through the fabric of the blind.  The cellular provides the tightest fit in your window and the deductions are minimal. The fabric goes to the edge of the moving rails. Light has a way of creeping everywhere, so you will have a glow of light around the perimeter of your window.

The blackout cellular also gives you the option of Powerview®, cordless and/or “top down bottom up.” They are a perfect option for excellent versatility in function. The variety of available colours, along with the simplistic design, lends itself to any interior.  Hunter Douglas honeycombs may also be installed with a trim kit for the sides to block the light glow around the perimeter.  Discuss this option with your window coverings consultant, as you are limited to cordless or Powerview® operating systems if you require the light blocking trim kit.

Are you looking for a bit more elegance to your blackout blind?

Hunter Douglas Solera® is created from the same cellular construction of the honeycomb.  This product has a soft flowing look to the honeycomb, providing a more elegant  finish to the window covering.  It is available in room darkening opacities and has minimal deductions. This gives a tighter finish in the window frame, much like the traditional honeycomb.

A photo of Hunter Douglas Solera model, an example of custom Roman Shades that help block out excessive sunlight.

Mounting Roller Shades & Darkening Curtains

Another room darkening or blackout blind is the roller shade.  This is best as an outside mount as it has a light gap on each side due to the operating mechanism. This prevents the fabric from going to the edge of your window jamb.  The fabric can be opaque, making it a good consideration for blackout as an outside mount. This means that it is mounted on the wall above the window trim.  If you prefer a cleaner look of an inside mount, which most do, you could look at mounting room darkening curtains on the side to block the light.

Roller shades provide an elegant and functional solution to larger windows and patio doors, perfect for the Calgary home owner.

Some Roller Shade manufacturers, such as Hunter Douglas, offer a trim kit for roller shades. These are mounted along the sides of the window. The roller fabric fits in this channel, thereby minimizing the light that comes from the light gap at the sides.  This trim kit is only available as a cordless or Powerview® operating system.

Introducing the Elegance of the Silhouette A-Deux®

The Silhouette A-Deux® or the Silhouette Duolite® are fairly new room darkening window covering options. It combines the beauty of an elegant silhouette with a blackout roller shade. This combination operates separately from the shade facing the room. This combination offers the roller shade in behind the shade facing the room, which raises and lowers separately from the front shade.  This provides very good light control, however there is still a large glow on the edge due to the light gap on the sides. Also, the reflection of light on the white rollershade in behind can add an unwanted glow.  The silhouette also has light coming between the fabric vanes in a room dimming fabric. Therefore, this can let quite a bit of light through.  However, for those that can withstand this amount of light, this is an excellent option providing versatility and elegance.

Vignette or Vignette Duolite

Perhaps you would like to have a room darkening blind that provides more softness. This leads us to the Vignette or perhaps a lined Roman Shade. The Vignette Duolite® offers you two opacities in fabric housed together in one product.  You can combine a light filtering luxurious fabric as the front shade and have the room darkening roller shade behind it.  It is an ingenious solution. It gives the elegant texture of a soft roman shade with light filtering fabric to the room and a hidden room darkening shade behind it.  The fabric will act as drapery for your window and provide you with a dressier finish to your interior. However, it won’t compromise the room darkening qualities.  You may want to consider drapery side panels. This helps to prevent a light gap on the sides and a glow from the back roller shade, which is white in colour.

Provenance Woven Woods

Are you looking for a more natural woven look to your room darkening window covering?  How about the Provenance Woven Woods® with a room darkening liner attached?  The natural roman shade provides a unique texture with handwoven seagrass and bamboo. This, combined with the optional room darkening liner, can provide excellent light control.

There are a number of options for room darkening window coverings. One may summarise options by room depending on your style and darkness needs.

When consumers are considering blinds for the bedrooms or nurseries, what room darkening blinds are best?

If the honeycomb reflects your personal style it is a perfect option. However, you may want the simplicity of a roller shade or the natural woven texture of the Solera® or Provenance Woven Woods®.

Which blackout shades should you view for your media room? Perhaps you like the look of the honeycomb, which will also absorb some sound. Or, do you want a theatre presence with automated drapery with a room darkening liner?

With today’s innovative designs and wide variety of textural fabrics there is a product to suit your style if you require room darkening blinds in certain rooms.

Blackout Blinds & Light Control

We may ask ourselves, do we need blackout blinds in our bedroom if we can sleep with some light?  It is a fact that we have light receptors in our skin as well as our eyes.  Therefore, it is important to eliminate as much light as you can from a room and try to make it as dark as possible.  This will assist you feeling rested for the day, rejuvenating your body and mind.

We are surrounded by light pollution. Blue lights from our devices, TV, even our digital clock, affect our sleep patterns.  If you do not feel rested after what you thought was a good night sleep, consider a room darkening shade for your bedroom.

Custom Blackout Blinds for Cochrane & Calgary

If you are looking for blackout blinds and curtains in the Cochrane and Calgary area, call Blind Infusion today! Make the most of your night’s sleep all year round. Make sure you choose the right type of blinds for your home’s decor. A well chosen solution will give you the optimal amount of light control from room to room. For more information, contact Kirstin at 403-801-6434.