Top 5 Blackout Curtains you will love in Summer!

Summer is here and it’s time to shop for something that’ll keep out that sunlight but also look nice for the home. Of course you’re thinking but I don’t want to keep out the sunlight entirely but…well maybe when you want to sleep in on the weekends so lets look at good options to buy! Our top five picks are all blackout curtains that stop the sunlight and help make your room even quieter in this noise filled world.

#5
First pick of summer we start off with light color of yellow and white in a gorgeous floral pattern. Right away just makes you feel like the sun and flowers are right there inside your house with you even at night! The color isn’t too bright or dark to really make it a nice feel for any room but we do recommend the living room for these.

Just wake up every morning, open these curtains, and look outside to see the real sun and flowers but when you can’t see them, maybe these will be a nice hint that summer is here. At night it’ll give you a hint to not work the day away and you should head outside tomorrow to taken in all that lovely sunlight.

#4
For our next pick we went with these lovely dark blue with lines in them as they remind us of the awesome summer nights with the stars in the sky. Summer night time is the perfect time to get the bonfire going and watch the stars fly by as the night passes. Well now you can have that same feeling at home when the lights go low in the room and you can’t see the lovely stars from where you’re currently but these can be a nice reminder of those wonderful nights.

A nice little zoomin to show the details. These are definitely a good fit for anyone who wants a darker bedroom day and night.

#3
At spot number three for July is these very soothing purple curtains that remind us of the rain at night. The gradient adds a unique twist to the typical one solid color curtains that most people go with. This feels like a washing of rain to take away the heat of summer day and for some of us that have to spend a lot of time outside in the heat these may help remind us of that cool we desperately need at night.

On a calm summer’s night with a light rain can just put some of us in a relaxed and calmed state. Not everyone loves the rain but we do here and hope you do to and want to check these out!

#2
Our second from the top pick for July is these long teal curtains with solid silver grommets. Hopefully you have been to the sea this year but well even if you haven’t these wonderfully color teal curtains will really brighten a room and remind you of the sea all day long. That fresh warm sea air and nothing else to see for miles around just sounds like the most relaxing time especially during these times.

Highly recommend other sea related colors to go alongside these inside the house like white or cream color furniture or decorations. Should put a very nice feel to the room and make it feel even more relaxing!

#1
Our number one pick for July is these absolutely wonderful triple weave microfiber curtains in beautifully summer color of Coral. Nothing reminds us more of the beach than the color coral and this curtain set really does the job.

Plus the nice feel of the curtains and that they are insulated nicely you can keep them up all year round if you really want. For us though it’s for Summer only. Take a look into these lovely curtains!

We hope you all have an absolutely lovely relaxing summer! Come back soon for more curtain suggestions!

Lets talk room darkness.

The Problem

You’re trying to fall asleep. You toss and turn and you think to yourself….”sigh, nothing seems to work, I will never fall asleep.” One thing that we’ve seen and heard people talk about is just how difficult it is to block out everything. Everything from street lights to cars passing by and in today’s crowded cities its only getting worse. Sure you can get somewhat use to it but doesn’t really fully solve the problem especially when you’re a light sleeper. Then it doesn’t matter even little amounts of distractions can be bad. Lets see what we can do about this problem. Lets focus on light again.

The Understanding

Not everyone likes purely dark rooms but if you’ve never slept in a pure dark room before you maybe missing out on a really relaxing experience. When there’s less light in all forms you’ve got less for your mind to see and think about. Instead it can now focus more on the job at hand, falling asleep. The more recent studies have shown that one of the biggest reasons people can’t fall asleep in this day in age is the constant light from their phones into their eyes. How can the brain know its time for sleep if you have a flashlight in your eyes in a dark room? The problem is just amplified! Too much light is going on around us and we need to be cut off!

The Solution

Now you may be thinking, what does soundproof curtains have to do with light? Well the good news is the more sound you block the more light you’re blocking as well. The two go hand and hand together. Typically around here we talk about getting blackout curtains since that helps but there’s another solution you may have overlooked. Velcro. Your awesome soundproofing blackout curtains do a fantastic job but most curtain setups have a small flaw for keeping things really dark.

Take a look at your curtains closed at night when you have a good set of blackout curtains. Do you still see light? Typically yes, on the sides are usually the biggest places light still comes in. You could get a better seal / reduce this light problem by attaching Velcro to both the curtain and your wall. Doesn’t need to be a lot either since curtains don’t move much and aren’t heavy enough to need a lot. Since you’re likely using blackout curtains already its unlikely you’ll notice the Velcro anyway because it’ll be out of sight most of the time.

A simple quick solution to help you sleep better at night!

If you don’t have blackout curtains yet checkout some of our articles about them or checkout these white curtains with 100% blackout. Never did we think someone would have the two opposite ends of colors on a curtain before but here we are!

White Blackout Curtains

Double Soundproofing curtains really does help! Here’s how!

You’ve put up some soundproofing curtains and yet its still too noisy in the area at night especially and think there’s nothing more once can do besides putting up ugly blocks of soundproof padding? Well guess again! You can put up dual curtains rod setups to help out! As stated lightly before hand on the site this can be a big helper against sounds / noise you don’t want coming into your house.

The basic setup

Something like the following will get you started towards this awesome setup.

Double curtain rod set
Double Curtain Rod SetDouble curtain rod set

Once you put this up then you can get those soundproof curtains in place. With the double curtain rod setup you can do a few options. If super noisy and you don’t care about seeing light come in or rarely look outside then definitely go with two very heavy soundproofing curtain setups, remember if unsure look for blackout curtains as they will typically help out most with blocking sound. If however you wish to let light in a bit at times or see outside when it may not be as noisy outside then get a nice heavy curtain and a lighter one. Avoid sheer as this won’t help block noise at all but with a lighter non-blackout curtain you’ll still be stopping some noise but definitely not as much. Does allow also to let some light and possibly look outside even if just a little.

Curtain placement

The best option on how to place your soundproofing curtains is mainly determined on who the heavier curtain or blackout curtain is. If both are of similar type then your choice and decision on which setup does the best job. However if one of the curtains focuses on soundproofing while the other doesn’t then put the soundproofing curtain closest to the window/door. This way more of the noise is blocked before it can continue through to the rest of the room. Another reason to do this is when you have the curtains open the soundproofing curtain is still along the sides where the most sound comes through and helps stop that.

If you’re still looking for a good light soundproofing curtain to put along side your more heavier curtain, highly recommend Best Home Fashion’s curtains:

soundproofing curtains

Good luck on setting up your awesome curtains!

Methods of silencing sound in every day life

Sound is a constant in every day living. No matter where you go or where you stay, there is always sound. Some sound may be welcome, but more often than not there is always some kind of unwelcome noise in your dwelling. The good news is there are many different ways to soundproof your space which can drastically reduce all sorts of noises and sounds.

The first thing you need to do is make sure the area you wish to soundproof is not empty. Sound travels through vibrations, and an empty room means that sound is going to vibrate on every empty space (and eventually in to your ear.). Fill your space with furnishings, and welcome soft materials that will absorb the vibrations. Accent Pillows, blankets, even bean bag chairs and stuffed animals are all great options for absorbing vibrations. There is never too much of these as long as you don’t feel cluttered. Each item reduces more and more of unwanted noises bouncing from object to object. Carpets are also a great noise reducer, especially in situations where you live above someone else. Larger and thicker carpets are the best choice, but these can often be more expensive. If you don’t mind the idea of it, try to find one in a second-hand store. Your walls are the next focus of attention. Bookshelves or cabinets with books or knick knacks, posters, and even fabric art are great ways of reducing the amount of vibrations bouncing to and fro. Just remember to put these items firmly in place, as loose objects on a wall can cause more noise.

Last but not least, remember to seal as many edges to your living space as you can. If the noise you want to stop is coming from a window, draft door blockers on the edges of your windows, combined with thick curtains can reduce vibrations from even entering. The same draft door blockers are great for their original purpose as well, under your door and blocking out excess noise. If cancelling the noise does not work for you, finding an alternative, more welcomed noise can also be an option. It is a good idea to keep anything that can create white noise in mind, as this is a consistent frequency and vibration that can absorb and cancel out other noises. With all these options in mind, I believe anyone can soundproof their home with the right combination. If all else fails, however, there is the foolproof option of noise cancelling headphones. These are guaranteed to work, as long as you don’t mind them over your ears.

Soundproofing with blinds or shades!

window blindsWhile most of the time we talk about curtains on this site there seems to be a lot of interest in blinds and shades and if they can help with sound issues. Lets dive into our options and take a look!

Curtains, The Best Option


Curtains will always be your best option in terms of blocking and reducing external sound. Curtains are usually thicker and have multiple layers compared to thin blinds which helps reduce noise a lot more. With blinds and shades there are slots between each one which will allow sound which you obviously don’t want! Remember from other various posts, when ever you can see light and space you basically have a hole in front of you that has a free pass into your entire house hold. However not all blinds and shades are the same and there are some that are thicker and thinner than others. We’ll go more over this later on.

 

Shades, The Best Alternative Option


Shades typically have much better protection against blinds as they cover most of the white space out so something at least is in the way even if they are thin. Costs can vary with shades so its hard to put a price figure on anything but go with the thought that the thicker and more extravagant they are going to be more expensive. When comparing prices to curtains the chances are the cost will be more for shades than curtains. Lets get to it though and look at some different types of shades!

The first being roller shades, which are going to be a common thing you run across in offices and various homes. These literally “roll” off a spindle at the top of the window and the fabric comes down. Now in some cases this fabric can be very very thick and soundproofing/sound reduction (exactly what we want!) however this is sadly rare due to cost and sizes available. If you’re a fan though of shades/blinds vs curtains these are likely going to be a favorite. They are simple and hassle free.

Another type of shade is roman shades which are a bit unique in the sense these “stack”. They are typically great at blocking out light (sound as well then of course) which makes them a good choice. Depending on the type of shades you get these can be very thick and even contain types of wood which will really block out sound! Though the downside is cost and weight though in some cases the benefits outweigh those. Various hardware stores can typically create custom setups for your house but be careful not to spend too much unless cost isn’t a factor but you could be looking at spending several hundreds just for one window setup.

The last type of fabric like shades we’ll be quickly looking at is cell shades. These are weird and different than most types of shades you see especially if you’ve never seen one before. Cell shades have a sort of honeycomb like weave that is typically between one cell to triple cells thick. While in a lot of cases they may seem thin the fact they are so thick with the honeycomb weave provides great benefits! Most important of course in our mind, noise reduction! The other benefits like blocking out light completely and insulating can really help keep heating and cooling costs down. I rarely see triple cell shades being used but when I do I think they look amazing even if they are quite thick and will likely take up an entire window sill. Definitely worth it in my book!

 

Blinds, The Okay Alternative Option


Blinds you’ve probably seen everywhere in your life especially in your very first apartment. Typically very very thin metal and will bend easily which brings in why they are so cheap and break easily. While an open window with no protection at all, metal blinds will help a decent amount with sound and light though in my mind its worth spending the little extra on curtains or a great set of shades. Now there are some not super cheap metal blinds that will help and some will be plastic or a mixture of various materials. You’ll want to look for blinds that close tight together and show very little of what’s behind them. Plastic will be the better option over metal if you want to help keep out sound as they are usually thicker. One special note is that the heaviest plastic blinds can actually be a bit too much for some people to open up so be careful on your selection. But if you never need to open that window or want light to come in from that window you’re in a perfect situation! Always want to look on that upside of things.

 

Overall thoughts


I’ll still prefer curtains over anything else as they look nicer and give a lot more variety of what you can put inside your house to make it look nice. Not to also mention the fact curtains block the sides of windows for noise and light and not all blinds and shades do this so lots of noise can just come in through there. Plus you’ll be more insulated with blackout curtains than your typical cheap blinds and that run up to the same price depending on where you buy them. Good luck on finding those perfect shades or blinds for your home!

Summer is here again so keep cool and enjoy it as much as you can!