Yay! Spring is here! The daffodils are out in force, the trees are heavy with blossom and the sun has finally made an appearance. The thing is, although I love warm weather and lashings of sunshine during the day, the opposite is true when it’s time for bed. That’s when I’m grateful for my blackout curtains and blinds.

Getting it ‘just right’.

Call me Goldilocks, but when I finally flop into bed at the end of the day, everything needs to be just right. Let’s just say there’s a reason I take my pillows with me when I go on holiday and have spent years begging mum to get proper curtains up in her guest room instead of her transparent swathes of voile. Mum’s window dressings may look beautiful, but the Goldilocks in me can’t help thinking they’re hardly fit for purpose. Curtains are meant to shut out the light, not wave it through at 5am with an access all areas pass and licence to burn my retinas.

Bedrooms with voile curtains might look lovely but they’re not much good for those of us who need to minimise the light for a good night’s sleep.

I like my bedroom to be pitch black. So dark that I can’t see my hand in front of my face. It does mean I’ve more chance of dropping dead from shock when I’m woken by the disembodied voice of youngest in the middle of the night! However, if it means I’ll get a good night’s sleep, it’s a risk I’m prepared to take.

Happily, I’ve created the perfect environment for a good night’s sleep in our bedroom. Our curtains and handmade roman blinds with blackout linings mean that even Goldilocks can sleep like a log.

I’m not the only one who considers blackout curtains and blinds essential ingredients for a good night’s sleep. If you’re a light sleeper or a parent of young children who ping awake at the faintest glimmer of light, you’ll know how important it is to keep the light at bay. Mind you, I may be the only one who’s resorted to covering the awkward-shaped porthole window in our bedroom with black, self-adhesive Fablon!

If you’re looking for effective ways to shut out the light in your bedroom, here are some of my favourite examples of blackout blinds, curtains and shutters.

Heavy curtains or curtains with blackout linings.

Source: Ashley Wilde Group

When choosing curtains for your bedroom, you’ll need to use heavier fabrics, preferably with blackout linings, if you want to keep the light out. The curtains shown in the image above are one of the many beautiful fabrics available from www.ashleywildegroup.com. If you really do want to keep the light at bay, the curtains need to fit well, too, so light doesn’t shine through them or create a halo around the edges.

We chose eyelet curtains for our bedroom. They look modern and stylish but they aren’t very good at blocking out the light, which shone around the edges. We solved the problem by fitting a neat, unobtrusive curtain track to the wall just below the curtain pole for our blackout linings. No more chinks of light chez Taylor!

Blackout curtains aren’t just important for a good night’s sleep at home, either. In my opinion, the measure of a good hotel room isn’t just the complimentary shampoo and the complimentary mini pack of Crawfords biscuits, it’s the quality of the curtains. Travelodge and Premier Inn might be budget hotel chains, but credit to them, they usually have blackout curtains!

Velux blackout blinds.

Last year I told you about our plans to buy blinds for the Velux windows in our extension, (HERE). We love having such a light and airy open plan living space, but in the summer months it can be too bright. We don’t need blackout blinds for that particular living space, but Velux blinds that filter the light and reduce glare are still on our wish list.

The good news is, if you’re a light sleeper and you have Velux roof windows in your bedroom, it’s easy to shut out the light completely with Velux blackout blinds. The specially designed blinds fit within a track that’s fixed to the Velux window frame, so there’s no chance of light breaking through.  If you’re looking for Velux blinds in a wide range of styles, colours and designs, (including blackout blinds) visit the VELUX website: HERE

Total blackout roller blinds.

Total blackout roller blinds from www.orderblinds.co.uk Image: The Twinkle Diaries.

Even the best blackout window roller blinds let in light, creating an annoying halo around the edges of the blinds on bright mornings. However, the lovely Caro over at The Twinkle Diaries discovered a company who can make blinds for windows which fit within a frame, just like Velux blinds. Total Blackout Roller Blinds, from Order Blinds, comprise a metal frame which fits your window frame with the blind fitting within it. This means there are no annoying chinks of light!

To find out more about Order Blinds and their revolutionary Total Black Out Roller Blinds, read Caro’s blog post: A Good Night’s Sleep: Featuring Order Blinds.

Integrated window blinds.

If you’re planning on replacing your windows and you’re prepared to spend a little more money on creating the perfect environment for a good night’s sleep, these integrated window blinds from Sunshade Blind Systems Ltd offer a neat and innovative solution.

Window shutters.

Image source: Thomas Sanderson http://www.thomas-sanderson.co.uk/

I am happy to report mum has finally given in to my constant moaning about her voile window dressings and has ordered some shutters for the guest room! Happy days! They won’t necessarily cut out the light completely, but shutters are the perfect choice for those who want to add a touch of elegance to their bedroom. Of course, if you’re determined to block out the light completely, you could always add a blackout blind to the window recess, but I can’t help feeling it would spoil the effect.

Over to you.

When it comes to creating the perfect environment for a good night’s sleep, are you with mum and her voile-loving ways or are you a blackout blinds fanatic like me? What are your top tips for a good night’s sleep? As always, I’d love to hear from you.

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This is a sponsored post. As always, the words and opinions are my own.

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