Blackout Drapes

There are times when blackout drapes are almost a necessity. If you have a projector and projector screen mounted in your home theater you will most certainly want to keep the room as dark as possible when viewing. Parents of young children may want to purchase kids blackout curtains for their child’s bedroom to ensure that the child has a full night’s sleep and is able to take a nap during the day when needed. Anyone who works shifts and must sleep during the day will also appreciate being able to rest in a completely darkened room. Fortunately they are very easy to locate and for the most part are not that much more expensive than regular drapes. With the large selection of blackout material available it is also possible to match any room’s existing décor, whether it is a child’s bedroom or your living room.

Blackout drapes can be very effective at eliminating almost all light from a room providing they are hung properly. Unlike regular drapes, in order to get the maximum benefit from them you will need to make some adjustments in how they are hung. If you have previously installed regular drapes you will probably need to not only replace the drapes themselves but also the curtain rods.

Extra Room Needed at the Top and Sides: In order to successfully block all light from entering the room you will need to position the curtain rod up to twelve inches above the top of the window, as well as have it overhang anywhere from six to twelve inches on either side of the window frame. Less than this and you may find that the blackout panels are not able to effectively block all light. This may not be a problem if you are aiming for a darkened room but if you want total darkness in the room or if the sunlight coming through the window during the daytime is particularly direct and strong you will need the extra length and width of curtain rod. If you have a high ceiling you can position the curtain rod even higher, closer to the ceiling as that is normally where a lot of the light tends to shine through.

If you have two or three sections of drapery you may want to attach Velcro along the side of the drapes so that you can attach the pieces together when the curtain is closed. If you sew the Velcro on the inside seam of the curtain and match the color closely to the curtain color it should not be seen and it is a fairly simple matter to simply snap the Velcro together as you close the curtains. This will also help cut back on the amount of seepage that slips into the room through the mid opening section.

Finally, make sure that your drapes are weighted down at the bottom by running a heavy chain through the bottom hem. This will help to prevent the drapes from billowing out and thus will help keep light entering the room to a minimum. One point to note; if your drapes are machine washable you should make sure that the chain you insert will not rust. If you are not sure, make tiny slip holes in either side of the bottom hem so that you can easily take the chain out before laundering the drapes.

Aside from that blackout drapes are hung the same way as regular drapes. You should mark where you want to attach the curtain rod, make sure that the rod will be level and then attach it to the wall by whatever means is recommended. Once the rod is mounted you can slide on or attach the drapes and then pull them out either side till they reach either end of the rod. It is a fairly simple procedure with only a few small adjustments in the overlap needing to be made.

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