Image courtesy of Room Resolutions

There are many reasons you’d want to control the light coming from your windows in Houston. Whether it’s from ambient street light, cars constantly driving down your street, or ordinary sunlight, blocking the light coming from your windows is necessary for relaxing and getting quality sleep.

For those looking to get better sleep, here are a few ways Houston homeowners can best black out their windows.

What Window Coverings Black Out The Best?

A good amount of Houston window treatments claim to darken a room for better sleep, and you can pretty easily divide them into three categories: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Here’s how they stack up.

Blackout Window Treatments – The Good

The best window treatments to darken your windows should do these things:

• Effectively block light from coming in.

• Adjust easily depending on your preferences throughout the day.

• Look fantastic.

The window covering that hits all these marks is Houston plantation shutters. When the louvers are completely shut, shutters form a kind of seal on your windows, blocking almost all the light. Our patented Polywood shutters even have built-in weatherstripping that fills in the gaps along the frame, so very little light enters your home. And unlike vinyl shutters, Polywood is guaranteed to warp or split, which can result in gaps in between the louvers and frame.

And unlike some gaudy DIY blackout solutions, shutters look beautiful in any room. Instead of looking like hardware, they’re as good looking as they are functional.

Another option in the “good” category is room-darkening cellular shades. These are made with thick and dense material to block a good amount of light, and extend beyond your window opening. There can be some small spaces around the edges of the window where light may peak into the room. But for something other than shutters, light-blocking shades make a pretty good option.

Blackout Window Treatments – The Bad

In this category we have window treatments that don’t quite go the distance when it comes to blocking out light. Any kind of fabric window covering, from curtains to drapes, will allow some light in unless they’re both extremely thick and go beyond the edges of your window.

Blackout Window Treatments – The Ugly

Search for “Houston window blackouts” on the internet and you might find some do it yourself sheets that you can hang up in your window frame to completely black it out. Most of them are customizable to your window’s dimensions, and stick to your frame via velcro or something similar. And for the most part, they do what they’re supposed to do.

But the issues with those products are twofold. First off, they’re kind of ugly. Most of these products give up fashion for function. So if you put in of these blackout sheets, make sure to do it in a spot that you don’t mind looking dull.

Let Sunburst Shutters Houston Help You Control the Light

To learn more about plantation shutters or other window treatments that can help you get the light control you need in your home, get in touch with your Houston shutter team. Use the form below or call us at 713-853-9629 today to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation in your own house.