Blackout shades for bedrooms and media rooms

Mountain mornings come early

East-facing bedrooms in Park City, Kamas and Heber get bright long before most people want to be up, especially in summer. On ski weekends, guests want to sleep after a long day on the hill. Blackout shades use a fabric that light can't pass through, so the room stays dark until you open them.

Blackout fabric vs. a dark room

Blackout fabric stops light through the fabric itself. A standard roller shade still leaves small gaps at the sides, top and bottom, and in a very dark room those gaps show. How dark the room ends up depends on how the shade is mounted:

• Inside mount: the cleanest look, with a thin line of light along each side.
• Outside mount: the shade overlaps the trim, which cuts most of the edge light. A good choice for bedrooms.
• Side channels: tracks along each side of the window that hold the fabric edges, for rooms that need to be as dark as possible, like nurseries, media rooms and night-shift bedrooms.
• Cassette or fascia: a cover at the top that hides the roll and blocks light over the top.

We'll tell you plainly what each option will look like in your room before you choose.

Blackout in more than one style

Blackout isn't only for roller shades. Cellular shades come in blackout versions that also help with drafts at older windows, and Roman shades can be lined for a softer, more traditional bedroom. For rooms where you want light by day and dark at night, a dual shade or a double roller puts a sheer or solar fabric and a blackout fabric on the same window.

Motorized blackout shades

Battery-powered motors let bedroom shades close at a set time and open slowly in the morning, and they keep fabric away from little hands, since there's no cord. In rentals they mean guests can't leave a shade half-open all week. See motorized roller shades and our guide to shades for short-term rentals.

Cordless for kids and pets

Loose cords are a safety concern with young children and pets. For nurseries and kids' rooms we recommend cordless or motorized operation, and we'll talk through options at the consultation.