The Short Answer
A truly dark bedroom needs three things: a genuine blackout fabric, a shade cut to the exact opening, and something to close the gap at the edges, either side channels on a roller, a cassette, or a lined roman shade that sits inside the frame. Most 'blackout' blinds sold in Toronto fail on the second and third points, which is why they still leak a bar of light at five in the morning.
Key Takeaways
- Blackout is a fabric and a fit. The fabric alone does not do it; the light comes around the edges, not through the cloth.
- A blackout roller in a cassette with side channels is the darkest single shade we install.
- A blackout lined roman shade is the answer if you want softness and dark in the same window.
- East facing condo bedrooms in June see light before 5:30 a.m. Fit is not optional.
Toronto sunrise in June is before 5:40 in the morning. If your bedroom faces east, or faces the tower across the street with its lobby lit all night, the blind you have is either working or it is not, and you already know which. Here is why most blackout blinds fail, and what we install instead.
Why your blackout blind still leaks light
Almost never through the fabric. Blackout cloth is opaque; that part is easy. The light comes in at the edges, where a stock width shade stops short of the frame, and at the top, where an open roll leaves a slot above the tube. A bar of light down each side and a stripe across the ceiling is the classic condo morning, and no fabric upgrade fixes it. Only fit does.
The three ways to seal a bedroom window
1. Blackout roller with cassette and side channels
The darkest option. A blackout roller sits in a closed cassette at the top, so nothing gets over the tube, and runs inside slim channels at the sides that swallow the edge gap. This is what we fit for shift workers, nurses, pilots and anyone with a baby who has finally started sleeping.
2. Blackout lined roman shade
If a flat roller feels too clinical for a bedroom, a roman shade with a full blackout lining behind the folds gives you the softness of fabric and a room that is properly dark. Mounted inside the frame and made to the millimetre, the folds seal the edges better than most people expect.
3. Blackout cellular shade
A cellular shade in a blackout fabric runs in its own side tracks, blocks light and, as a bonus, insulates the glass. It is the pick for a cold north bedroom or a patio door off the master.
What about zebra shades in a bedroom?
Do not. A zebra shade always passes some light through its sheer bands, even closed. It is a superb living room shade and the most common bedroom regret we are asked to replace. If you love the look, we pair a zebra with a blackout roller behind it in the same cassette. Read the zebra vs roller comparison before you decide.
Blackout and the rest of the room
- Colour: Blackout fabric is available in whites, linens and greys as well as charcoal. Dark room does not mean dark fabric.
- Motorize it: A blackout roller on a schedule opens with your alarm and closes at dusk. Nothing else in the room does as much for the way you sleep and wake.
- Children: In any home with children we fit cordless or tensioned controls as standard, meeting the current Health Canada rules.
- Noise: A lined roman or a cellular shade takes an edge off the street noise. Clients on the Gardiner tell us this unprompted.
What the online blind will cost you
A blackout roller ordered to a stock width, hung with the supplied clips into drywall next to a concrete header, leaks light on both sides and sags in a year. Then you buy it again. Made to measure, installed by the person who measured it, and covered by a five year warranty with labour, it is bought once.
“I work nights and I have tried every blackout blind sold in this city, trust me. The blackout lining behind the folds is the thing nobody else was offering. Room is properly dark now.”
Questions People Ask
Frequently Asked
What are the best blackout blinds for a condo bedroom?
A blackout roller shade in a closed cassette with side channels is the darkest. A blackout lined roman shade is the softest. Both must be made to the exact opening to work.
Why does light still come in around my blackout blinds?
Because the shade is narrower than the frame, or the roll is open at the top. Light enters at the edges, not through the fabric. A made to measure shade with a cassette and channels solves it.
Do blackout blinds have to be black?
No. Blackout fabrics come in white, linen, grey and taupe. The blackout layer is a coating or a lining, not the colour.
Can I motorize a blackout blind?
Yes. Every shade we make is available motorized, with a schedule that opens it with your alarm and closes it at sunset.
