When it comes to being indoors, natural sunlight can be your friend or foe. Sure, it will brighten up your room and inject some positive energy. However, unwanted glare can make it hard to watch TV or use the computer, while the soaring temperature can leave you sweating bullets.
With this in mind, it’s a good idea to invest in a set of quality blinds. The kind that will help your home stay cooler in summer, give you some much-needed privacy, and enhance the style of your home.
Here is a quick breakdown of the best block out blinds on the market right now.
Blockout Roller Blinds
Roller blinds are comprised of a thick fabric layer you can raise and lower to adjust the amount of natural light you let in.
What makes the blockout variety unique is the inclusion of a special blockout fabric. This type of fabric offers the highest level of privacy, climate control and sun protection you can get. As a result, the fabric shields close to 100 percent of natural sunlight, thus making the room darker and cooler.
When installed by a highly skilled professional, the fabric should prevent the light from ‘bleeding’ through the edges of the screen. This is achieved by eliminating the gaps that exist between the wall and the blinds. Sometimes a special mount may be used to achieve this effect. Of course, when done properly, the mount blocks natural light without causing the blinds to scrape against the walls.
Unsure which the best blinds are to block out sunlight? Call 1300 899 306 for expert advice today.
Panel Blinds
Prefer the look and feel of vertical blinds but won’t want the natural sunlight to seep through the gaps? If so, then panel blinds are for you. These innovative blinds feature a seamless tracking system, which let you glide the panels left or right. The smooth rollers are quiet and easy to use. So you can easily slide the blinds in whatever direction you see fit. Plus, you can choose either a curtain wand (hung from the ceiling) or pulley cord to operate the blinds.
What about sun protection? Panel blinds come in a range of fabrics. These include both blockout and sunscreen fabrics. As you just found out, blockout fabric offers the highest level of privacy and sun protection, making them ideal for rooms that get a lot of daytime sun. However, if you still want some natural sunlight to shine through, then a lighter sunscreen fabric is an ideal choice.
Roman Blinds
Roman blinds are a clever hybrid of curtains and blinds. They operate just like traditional roller blinds, but with a twist. Instead of the fabric rolling up at the top, the fabric is pleated in such a way that, when raised, the sheet begins to fold in on itself and stack in layers. When fully raised, the blind has folded into several neat stacks, which ‘crumple’ up nicely at the top.
What about the sun blocking capabilities? Well, just like traditional roller blinds, the flat fabric sheet covers the entire window. And, as it gets raised, more light seeps in from the bottom up to the top. Of course, thanks to the highly durable range of fabrics – blockout or sunscreen – the extra layer greatly reduces heat transfer.
To help prevent light from bleeding through the edges, you can install curtains on both sides of the window. This not only looks great and blocks the light, but also cover up pulley cords or rods used to operate the blinds.
Not sure which blinds are the best for blocking out sunlight? Get FREE expert advice from Allcoast Blinds and Shutters today. Simply call 1300 899 306 to connect to a local expert.
