Category Archives: Curtains

Review of Best Home Fashion’s Pinstripe Thermal Insulated Blackout Curtain

Today we’re reviewing the amazing Best Home Fashion Pinstripe Thermal Insulated Blackout Curtain. This is a beautiful set of curtain good for any place within your house and could be the perfect set for you. These curtains have a good combination of features to not only reduce noise but keep costs down as well. It’s a set that should be looked into if ever wanted to have a more soundproof house.

So lets look into everything about these curtains:

  • Best Home Fashion Burgundy Pinstripe CurtainGrommet fitting – Bronze grommets with 1.6 inch inner diameter to fit most standard curtain rods. These work very well and allows easy usage of the curtains.
  • Insulating – Made to not only help reduce light coming in but really save on cooling and heating costs by give an extra layer of protection against the elements. The curtains themselves are stated to have over 32% of warmth keeping properties which really high compared to most which can be half that.
  • Blackout – When they stated this curtain was blackout they weren’t kidding as there is absolutely no way light will come through these curtains. At 99.9% blackout of light these will make sure you have a light-less sleep so a really good set for the bedroom.
  • Machine washable and that’s always a plus!
  • Sound reducing – Thanks to the several layer weave and being made to not only be blackout but insulated as well the curtains reduce quite a bit of noise.
  • Soft – To give you that warm cozy feeling you’ve always wanted at home especially during the winter these curtains will not disappoint. The curtains themselves are soft to the touch.
  • Color and design – Currently down to Burgundy and Navy only as Beige is no longer an option. However the design and colors could just work well for about any house and room you wanted to place them.
  • High quality – The curtains themselves are 100% polyester and made by Best Home Fashion which has a great history of making some quite amazing set of curtains that can last you quite a while.

This set is one of the nicer noise reducing curtains we’ve seen with an stunning beautiful burgundy color. If you’re a pin stripe curtain fan as well you’ll definitely want to check these curtains out! The curtains themselves are also on sale currently on Amazon for almost 70% off and look to be going fast at a low price so check them out! A very good purchase for any new home owner looking to add a beautiful set of curtains to their house or apartment owner looking to reduce some city noise.

You can buy them on Amazon here: Best Home Fashion’s Pinstripe Thermal Insulated Blackout Curtain (Burgundy)

Review of Ellis Curtain’s Fireside Tab Top Thermal Insulated Drapes

In this review we are looking at the Fireside Tab Top Patio Door Thermal Insulated Drapes by Ellis Curtain. If you’re looking for something nice to cover your patio doors during all seasons this maybe the curtain set for you. Even if you aren’t looking for something on patio doors it seems to be a good set for even the bedroom environment especially if you have tall windows.

The important good details first:

  • Natural Fireside Tab Top DrapesTab tops – The 3 and a half inch tab tops makes it easy for the curtains to be open and close while looking very stylish at the same time.
  • Over-sized – These are quite the big set of curtains/drapes coming in at 160″ overall width which is from two 80″ panels combined. They come in at around 84″ length to easily cover patio doors and tall windows.
  • Colors – 5 amazingly looking colors to choose from to fit your life style: Plaid, Natural(displayed), Red, Sage, and of course a lovely Blue.
  • Made in the USA!
  • Foam backing – Creates a nice set of thermal insulated curtains which saves money during both the winter/summer seasons from lower heating/cooling costs.
  • Light blocking – During the day they let in a little bit of light but during the night time they block everything out. So not fully blackout but in a lot of ways does a great job at keeping a good balance for people who don’t want to completely shut out the natural light.
  • Sound reducing – Thanks to the foam backing and nice heavyweight cotton face they will reduce sound a bit
  • Nice smooth draping effect – Only comes from the heavyweight cotton and isn’t as possible by other types

The real downfalls with the curtains/drapes themselves is the price and the fact that they are Dry Clean Only but that’s not surprising due to the material used. However for such a high quality set of curtains the price isn’t really a factor if you want to get something that looks amazing in your home.

Overall though a great set of curtains made by Ellis Curtain which produces its curtains right here in the USA as compared to a lot of competitors. While fairly pricey at over a hundred dollars for the set the quality effort does show and by user reviews, quite loved. These curtains also have nice Amazon Prime shipping which of course is always an awesome plus!

Amazon: Fireside Tab Top 160-Inch-by-84-Inch Patio Door Thermal Insulated Drapes

GSM? What is GSM and what does it have to do with curtains?

GSM is for paper!

You may have seen stacks of paper with GSM information on it but a bit surprised to see it listed while shopping for curtains. GSM known as grams per square meter is actually used for not only paper density but fabric density as well. When looking at the GSM listed on curtains the higher the number the more dense it is which in return can help block more sound and possibly more light. Common thin curtains will display a GSM of around 140 which is like the same as a t-shirt. Now if you compare a cotton t-shirt to a wool sweater, one keeps you far more toasty and feels a lot heavier. Wool can have a GSM of up to 550 GSM in some cases so right there you can see what kind of a difference the two numbers have.  There are varied amounts of GSM per curtain and there really isn’t a standard GSM on certain fabrics. So while manufacture A has a 300GSM curtain with velvet, manufacture B can have a 200GSM curtain with velvet. If comparing two similar curtains that don’t have GSM listed, look at the weight of the two as it may show quite the difference. A much heavier curtain can mean a much more dense use of the fabric.

Sound, sound, and GSM.

This is a obvious thought in a sense because a higher GSM is going to block more sound in most cases. Curtains with a higher density is much harder for sound to sneak in compare to low density curtains. A quieter night for you with higher GSM curtains!

Will a low GSM curtain let in light?

Not exactly. It can help in some regards to determine if light will go through but you’ll also want to look at the fabric being used and the weave. Every manufacture is different with how they make their curtains with the same fabric. Some may have a different weave,  use multiple different fabrics, or have multiple layers compared to the other. If unsure always read reviews listed on the seller’s site to see if anyone’s noticed any issues with light. A much higher GSM though will have a significantly lower chance of letting in light due to the density in general.

In the end.

On the final thoughts of GSM, the unfortunate fact is that not all curtains will list their GSM amounts so trying to compare two similarly made curtains in detail may not work. While typically a higher GSM will block more sound additional factors like the weave and type of fabric being used can make quite the difference.

How much noise can be reduced by soundproof curtains?

STC Ratings?

A common question is how much noise can actually be reduced by soundproof curtains. Before we can answer this however we must look at a term used to rate soundproofing materials like curtains, drywall, and windows. STC or also known as Sound Transmission Class is a rating of how well airborne sound is eliminated by the object in question. In other words, it can approximately tell you how much decibel reduction in noise you will get. We’re going to dive into a bit more detail than we normally would in this post so just be warned it may not make as much sense the first time through.

 

Quick decibel levels comparison

20dB – Watch Ticking

30dB – Whisper

60dB – Normal Conversation

70dB – Busy Street

90dB – Lawn mower

 

Drywall, windows, and noises

While in your house a typical layer of drywall with no insulation you’re looking around an STC of 30. This is also known as a paper thin walls because a person on the other side of the wall can hear you talking. So take a normal conversation decibel level of 60dB minus STC of 30 which you’re left with 30dB. Note that different frequencies can affect how much noise is actually reduced. As for windows a single-pane glass window will have an STC of between 20-25 which is doesn’t provide as much sound reduction as one would hope.

 

Soundproof curtains

The top of the line industrial strength soundproof curtains can have a STC rating of up to 35. Unless you’re looking to really stop the noise and spend the money you unfortunately will have to settle for living room curtains which won’t provide as great of an STC rating. A really good set of curtains will probably have a STC rating of up to 15 while you’re most likely going to get between 5-10. Now this may not seem a lot at first but your perception of increases or decreases in decibel levels can weigh in on how much noise is actually being reduced. Plus of course the more layers of noise reduction materials you setup between you and the problem the decibel levels can only go down.

Looking at a quick example of a noisy street, having 70dB can be reduced on average by 20 by a window and then again by 10 by curtains. You’ve reduced the noise down to almost a whisper which is more enjoyable to sleep to though you can reduce it even more with foam, double-pane windows, and an additional set of curtains.

 

Review of Decor Innovation’s Insulated Blackout Curtain Set

Decor Innovation loves making curtains and it shows in the set we are reviewing today. These are specifically made to help reduce noise and cooling costs and look to be a great buy for anyone looking to get a nice set of curtains.

Here are the benefits and features these curtains bring:

  • Blackout – 99% Blackout to allow you to control how much or how little light you want any time of the day. No problems at all of light sneaking its way through on even the brightest day.
  • Well priced – Currently with shipping you’re looking to be spending a decent bit for the entire set but its not too bad. It’s a set and not a panel so no worries about needing to spend an additional amount for another panel.
  • High quality – The quality in these curtains really show and when they said Hotel quality curtains they weren’t kidding.
  • Insulating – Specifically made to help insulate from heat and cold helping you reduce heating and cooling costs. You will make some of your investment back with these curtains.
  • Noise reduction – Does reduce noise by at least 30%!
  • 4 lovely elegant looking colors to choose from: Navy, Gold, Burgundy, and Beige. There are also other similar variations to this set that have several more colors to choose from too.
  • Machine washable! In cold water of course.

Overall these are a wonderful set of curtains if you want to keep the light out any time of the day. With the specific design to help insulate you can keep the room at comfortable temperatures. An additional and most important benefit in my mind is the noise reduction. These will help quiet down busy areas and make sleep time far more enjoyable! Also almost forgot to include that these curtains look amazing and really standout well.

While you can buy these currently at Decor Innovation’s own site you get to save at least 5 dollars by buying through Amazon.

Amazon: Energy Saving Insulated Blackout Curtain Set by Decor Innovation